New-born startups want parenting from investors for right grooming

As investors are rushing to put money in new-born startups, there is more than moolah that startup founders want.

Startup founders have begun giving more importance to their investors and are looking to bring seed investors on board under whom they can get the right grooming, in a bid to grow right.

A good seed investor is one who works closely with the founders and helps them in analysing the product-market fit for their offering and standing out of the crowd.

Paavan Nanda of ZO Rooms told ET it is very important for an investor to believe in a portfolio startup's vision, trust the team, and give them the freedom to work independently.

Support from the beginning is critical in helping a startup scale quickly.

In a survey of funded entrepreneurs by ET and Tracxn, seed investors in India were rated high for their ability to open doors for partnerships, back founders' judgment, and reach out to other investors for the next funding round.

Mayank Kumar, cofounder and CEO of months-old logistics startup Opinio, benefitted from this.

"Accel helped us tremendously in talent acquisition. They gave us a few personally vetted profiles within a 24-hour turnaround. They would also connect you to any CEO in the country immediately," said Kumar.

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