AngelPrime is an incubator launched by Sanjay Swamy (earlier CEO of mChek), Bala Parthasarthy and Shripati Acharya (cofounders of Snapfish, which was acquired by HP). Essentially, AngelPrime will co-ideate the business plan with entrepreneurs and work like cofounders. The idea is to get the first version of the product out, ensuring a product/market fit, provide substantial (~12+ months) seed capital and also help the company in raising Series A funding.
I had a brief conversation with Sanjay regarding the incubator model and here are a few highlights
– The AngelPrime team will focus on three key areas to start off : mobile internet, ecommerce and tablet/mobile app space.
– The team works like cofounders, i.e. in partnership mode with entrepreneurs (no cash-compensation).
– As far as equity is concerned, there is no set number.
– AngelPrime has raised funds from 12 individual investors and the incubator will provide mentorship and of course real estate (the incubator is located in Whitefield, Bangalore).
– AngelPrime is actively scouting for exceptional leaders who want to be co-founders and build great companies.
– Current portfolio includes a product in payment space (which I am in the know of and is surely a promising product) and another startup in smartphone/tablet space.
Incubation/Accelerator Model In India
The incubation/accelerator mode in India has so far mostly focused on real estate part of the incubation centers. While there are quite a few incubators operating in the country, there surely is a need for incubators who can actually provide business mentorship.
Very few incubators in India actually focus on strategic aspect of business – i.e. providing industry insights and access to industry contacts. Most of the incubators tend to focus on either the real estate part or operational aspects of running a business, which is quite a sub-optimal definition of ‘incubator’.
AngelPrime’s big differentiator is the team and focused approach (i.e. expertise based) and is surely an initiative to watch out for.
If you have questions for AngelPrime team, do leave them here (in the comment section).
