/indianstartupnews/media/agency_attachments/s1FnhAYONODoxNkoC8xA.png)
Follow Us/indianstartupnews/media/post_banners/f8gUrpLUAX2OCRdXJsv8.png)
9Unicorns, India's first accelerator VC firm, announced on Friday the launch of a student-focused VC fund called campus fund, to invest in early-stage startups on college campuses.
Every year, the sector-agnostic fund intends to write checks ranging from $50,000 to $75,000 to approximately 20 startups, inspired by the model of US-based Dorm Room, launched by First Round Capital.
Follow IndianStartupNews on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter for the latest updates from the startup ecosystem.
9Unicorns will appoint scouts from 23 different institutes, including IITs and IIMs, to evaluate ideas before writing a cheque. Furthermore, the fund aims to provide students with a second opportunity to launch their startup before graduating from college.
“Colleges are the hotbed of innovations. The idea is to sensitize the students about the startup ecosystem and enable them to be a part of it right from the beginning. Besides, several institutes these days have started entrepreneurship-focused courses, proving that India is fast emerging as the land of startups. We are targeting concept-stage startups, which we will mentor and nurture further.” Dr. Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, co-founder & president at 9Unicorns, said.
Dr.Sharma added, “For us, it could be two strokes of luck as we get closer to concept stage startups and be able to invest in the future Unicorns”.
Dr. Sharma went on to say that taping institutes like IITs and IIMs exist solely because IITs have produced the most Unicorns in the country and have a ready talent pool. They will, however, shift to second-tier institutes and those in Tier 2 cities.
“These students now have options to whether to sit for campus placement and drop out and start their ventures,” Dr. Sharma said, adding that this idea emerged from his personal experience of writing the first cheque to Ritesh Agarwal, Founder of OYO, who was a college dropout then.
Venture Catalysts, the parent company of 9Unicorns, has invested in Vested Finance, a startup focused on investing in US equities.
Venture Catalysts, the parent company of 9Unicorns, has invested in Vested Finance, a startup focused on investing in US equities. The founders came up with the idea for the company while still in college.
Venture Catalysts is a company that focuses on technology commercialization through entrepreneurship. The company paves the way for the development of new technology-based ventures by assisting visionary researchers and entrepreneurs in realizing the full potential of their technologies.
9Unicorns, on the other hand, is India's first accelerator VC. The fund will function as an accelerator and will invest in very early-stage startups. It intends to disrupt idea stage funding in India by providing $100K in initial capital with additional committed capital for deserving portfolio companies. In three years, the accelerator VC will fund 100+ early-stage startups.
To date, the company has curated 16,500 startups, funded in 168 deals, and has expanded to 27 new cities.
Also Read:
Follow IndianStartupNews on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter for the latest updates from the startup ecosystem.