This is how big family-run businesses will ensure that startups keep sprouting all across India

At a time when startups are booming in India and gutsy youngsters are opening up new businesses, the trend where family run businesses are collaborating with start-ups and entrepreneurs is further picking up pace. While earlier this year, we saw the likes of Tatas and Ambanis investing more and more in entrepreneurial programs and mutual benefit schemes for entrepreneurs and investors, now even others industrialists are following the suite.

According to The Economic Times, the Burman Family Office, the private investment arm of the promoters of consumer conglomerate Dabur India will be stepping up its pace of investments in the new fiscal, as an increasing number of Indian entrepreneurs look to bring family offices on board, seeing them as investors of choice.

The family office will look to invest between Rs 250 crore and Rs 300 crore this financial year, across asset classes and stages, including in technology and consumer Internet ventures, as well as in sectors such as food, hospitality and healthcare.

This move comes at a time when family offices are increasingly emerging as a safer, strategic alternative to conventional risk capital, not just for their long-term investment approach, but also for the brand recognition they bring to early-stage ventures looking to establish themselves.

Led by Gaurav Burman, the Burman Family Office will allocate capital ranging between Rs 20 crore and Rs 100 crore per investment.

"We are interested in investing in consumer internet ventures. We would like to find business that are not pure startups, but have traction. We don't, therefore, end up taking on much venture risk," Burman has told the financial daily.

The investment arm has picked up stakes in Karnataka Bank and RBL, and has entered into a number of joint ventures, such as its partnership with insurance giant Aviva to set up one of the country's largest life insurance companies.

"Given that this is generational business, in the mid-90s we decided to take a generous portion of our dividend income and invest in new businesses, and we decided to do that as a group rather than individually, because as a group we have more capital to invest, drive better deals, find better opportunities, leverage each other's networks," Burman said.


The Burman Family Office, which has invested about Rs 2,000 crore till date, is looking for opportunities in the digital space as well.


Recently, Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of the $100-billion Tata Group, made a slew of investments in the country's e-commerce space, including in online marketplace Snapdeal, auto portal CarDekho and online jewellery retailer BlueStone.

So far this year, Indian family offices, led by PremjiInvest, have already invested about $200 million across stages, according to Venture Intelligence.

(Image: India Times)