Shashank Randev – There Is No Surefire Formula to Venture Capital Investing

<p><strong>BIO:</strong> Shashank Randev has acquired a depth and breadth of experience from working in large companies, being the founding member for a SaaS startup (acquired by a Fortune 500 Company), to an early-stage fund investing in technology-enabled startups.</p><p><strong>STORY: </strong>Shashank was the lead investor of his angel network and was advocating for a startup looking for funding. They had an impressive conversational artificial intelligence assistant for retailers. Their one problem, though; they didn’t have proof of concept. Shashank was unable to convince the founders to work on proof of concept, so he pulled his support. A year later, the startup was acquired by a huge company. Had Shashank not pulled out, he would have made 7x of his investment in the acquisition.</p><p><strong>LEARNING:</strong> Identify your buyer even before you create your product. Have different perspectives when evaluating an early-stage startup.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p class="ql-align-center"><strong>“You cannot possibly have one set of perspectives when looking at an early stage company because anything can happen; acquisition can happen at any time.”</strong></p><p class="ql-align-center">Shashank Randev</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h2><strong>Guest profile</strong></h2><p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/shashankrandev/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Shashank Randev</strong></a> brings entrepreneurial and investment understanding with 15+ years of cross-functional expertise. He has acquired a depth and breadth of experience from working in large companies, being the founding member for a SaaS startup (acquired by a Fortune 500 Company), to an early-stage fund investing in technology-enabled startups.</p><p>Shashank is Founder VC at<a href="https://www.100x.vc/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> 100X.VC</a> (x)-India’s first venture fund to invest in early-stage startups using iSAFE Notes. Go to<a href="https://www.100x.vc/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> https://www.100x.vc/</a> and s