The VC world has a certain mystique to it: big cheques, unicorns minted overnight, champagne corks flying when everyone makes a fortune.
Sometimes that happens. However, more often, the work is quieter, longer, and full of small, unglamorous steps that make those big moments possible. Here’s a peek at what the past quarter looked like inside our fund – the real version, without the Instagram filter.
Deal Flow – The Front Door
The last quarter began, as they always do, with deal flow. We screened dozens of pitches – most don’t make it past the first five minutes, for several reasons:
- The market is too small to support venture-scale returns;
- We also see pitches where the business model is vague;
- Competitive moat is missing;
- The numbers simply don’t add up;
- Sometimes the founding team’s skills don’t match the challenge they’re tackling and so on.
The few that clear the first hurdle get researched, shortlisted, and lined up for founder calls.
From there, it’s a game of narrowing down further: requesting data, testing assumptions, and finally putting across only a select few for team discussion and Investment committee and then going for a full-fledged due diligence by a third party.
Investor Relations – Keeping LPs Close
Quarter-end means investor updates .The numbers matter, but so does explaining the “why” behind them.
Some days it was about responding to LP queries (“How’s Company X after that market shift?”). Other days involved meeting prospective LPs, sharing the fund’s performance and thesis, and onboarding those who committed — from contribution agreements to welcome calls.
Portfolio Management – Where the Real Work Lives
Every month, we have a brief call with founders and a much more detailed one at the end of the 1st fortnight of every quarter, where we discuss with the founders the progress that the companies have made so far, wherein we cover all business updates, headwinds, tailwinds, action plans for the next quarter, statutory compliance, key hires, and so on.
Also, we make it a point to attend board meetings of companies where we have a seat or an observer role. Most are routine. One of the meetings in this quarter involved an AVM matter -approving the formation of a subsidiary overseas.
Between those meetings came the founder calls:
- One seeking a follow-on round, where we weighed whether debt or equity was the better option.
- Another discussing IPO readiness — are we really there yet, or do we just want to be there?
- A third debating whether to expand the ESOP pool.
These conversations are equal parts financial analysis and therapy -part spreadsheets, part late-night founder calls about self-doubt, hiring headaches, or the pressure of the next fundraise.
Transactions – From First Call to Close
- One transaction closed: SHA and SSA signed.
- Another is in the early diligence stage, with the draft DD report in hand and plenty of evaluation still ahead.
- One transaction did not see the light of the day – the valuation expectations and our return models simply didn’t align.
Fund Management and Compliance – The Invisible Backbone
Compliance never gets the glory, but it’s the framework holding the fund upright. This quarter, these are some of things that we did:
- Prepped for the newly introduced SEBI CSCRF guidelines.
- Sent out capital drawdowns, investor consent notes for new investments (mandatory for Angel Funds), and coordinated on capital inflows
- Filed a term sheet with SEBI before investing. (Angel Fund rulebook).
- Accepted a private placement offer after the SHA and SSA were signed off (PAS-4, Part B).
- For a previously closed transaction, coordinated with custodian, company, and depository to ensure shares were credited in demat form on time — which sounds simple, until you’re chasing multiple times. (Demat of shares is time-consuming)
These processes are essential, sequential, and time-bound
The Ecosystem – Staying Connected
VCs don’t work in silos. We spent time engaging with other GPs, consultants, legal advisors, and sector experts, as well as attending ecosystem events.
These conversations keep us informed, plugged in, and able to connect our founders to the right networks at the right time.
Closing Thoughts
From screening a hundred pitches to chasing a demat credit, from advising on an ESOP pool to closing a portfolio exit – this is the real life of a VC fund.
The big cheques and unicorn headlines? They are just the tip of the iceberg.
The rest is made up of disciplined processes, unexpected curveballs, and a lot of conversations.
And every once in a while, those small steps line up to create the moments that make the champagne worth opening.
The quarter’s big headline? An exit from one of our portfolio companies, Wiom Everyone had been quietly counting down to this one — and yes, there may have been cake involved.
The next quarter promises more of the same and more to look forward to.
We will be advancing deals currently in diligence, supporting portfolio companies gearing up for follow-on rounds, and meeting fresh opportunities through our network.
On the operational front, compliance requirements and LP onboarding will keep us on our toes.
And, as always, we shall stay embedded in the ecosystem, because the best investments often start as conversations long before they become term sheets.
Author,
Mansi Handa
