Worlds first Whatsapp-based Startup Investment platform headed to Bengaluru for its 6th Edition of Investors Meetup this month
Start-up and fund investment tech platform Soonicorn Ventures (SV) has announced its roadmap for 2023. The Gurugram-based entity has shared plans and ideas about its future expansion strategies while also offering insights into current industry trends.
SV Team, L-R: Neha Rathore, Divya Shekhawat, Vijay Singh Rathore, Pravesh Goel, Karan Saxena
Within 10 months of launch, the firm has invested in 8 high-growth startups with ambitions to take this number to 30 in the upcoming year.
“Our future target is to bring the community closer using simple tech tools and building an ecosystem tailored to the individual needs of the investors. It is hidden from no one the potential India commands in the global VC scene. And with the recent shift in focus of the investor community from late-stage ventures to early-stage startups, I think there is a need for players like us to be actively present in the ecosystem since there has been and will always be a need for bridging and reducing the gap between different elements at play,” answered Vijay Singh Rathore, Co-founder, summing up the “Why” behind starting Soonicorn Ventures.
To begin with, Soonicorn Ventures is building an invite-only community of investors and founders that facilitates platform-led investments in high-growth startups, working to make their investor community even better connected and reach 5000 members by the end of next calendar year.
Since its inception, SV has managed to build a 1200-strong investor community with participants from over 24 countries. The platform is host to more than 200 VC Funds, 110+ Angel Networks, 60+ Family Offices, 30+ accelerators & incubators, and 800+ Angel Investors, with the majority actively collaborating with SV on various co-investment opportunities. Investors can invest as low as INR 2.5 lacs with no upper limit.
Startups building a scalable business and raising up to Series A round get shortlisted by the investment team to be pitched to the SV community. Till now, 600 startups have applied to the platform for their funding requirements, out of which 8 startups hailing from different sectors of the industry; from Energy Tech to Fintech to Freelance Gig Tech to Drone Tech got funded, a practical manifestation of the sector agnostic investment philosophy followed by Soonicorn Ventures.
To build the platform with a hybrid approach, events are held in virtual and offline modes. So far, 12 virtual and 5 offline events have been conducted by the SV team. SV has launched 5 Chapters in Gurugram, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Delhi & Mumbai by hosting investor meetups that garnered more than 400 investors from different backgrounds with distinct investment philosophies.
The next meetup is slated to undergo on 19th November in Bengaluru, the Silicon Valley of India, which will host the local community of investors and visionary founders.
After Bengaluru, the platform plans to open Chapters in Hyderabad and Chennai followed by tier-2 Indian cities. To bring more varied opportunities to their investor community, SV recently started showcasing UAE-based promising startups with plans of bringing more international opportunities.
Another accolade under SV’s belt is having introduced the Indian industry to the concept of “Fund As An Offering” wherein akin to investing in startups, family offices and HNIs can now discover opportunities to invest in early-stage VC Funds being offered through our platform. Highly bullish on the said concept, the platform aims to bring closed room conversations to stage with this move.
“At Soonicorn, we are driven by our passion for growth and innovation through unifying the investor community and achieving synergies. Keeping this in mind, we are working to invest in more high-growth startups, grow SVs investor community and expand our reach domestically and globally,” said Pravesh Goel, Co-founder, Soonicorn Ventures, when asked about the driving factor behind SVs performance and future plans.
The major problem faced by investors has always been the time lag in exchange of information resulting in lost opportunities. The current tech of SV platform enables investors to receive timely alerts of deals on the most widely used messaging platform, Whatsapp. Investors can also use self-help menu any time to explore open opportunities, upcoming meetups, access startup documents, commit and also to chat with the SV team on a real-time basis. There is no need to install any third-party apps or to sign-up on any web platform. This enhanced the experience of investor members and we wish to keep on building this platform with the X-factor being ease.
About Soonicorn Ventures
Founded by Vijay Singh Rathore and Pravesh Goel, Chartered Accountants by qualification, Soonicorn Ventures was started in January 2022 with the aim of democratising the fundraising process in the startup ecosystem.
Soonicorn Ventures is backed by Nucleus Advisors, a boutique Advisory firm possessing extensive experience in Investment Banking and Risk Advisory Services, Co-founded by the same team in 2019, which facilitates the deal screening and manages post-investment compliances.