Building a business is like driving a car and having a VC on-board is like having a passenger on-board who funds the fuel. A VC can fuel your car and occasionally help navigate. But regardless of navigation and fuel, if you cannot drive your car, it's likely you will not reach your destination.

At Tuscan Ventures they believe, VCs are not necessarily indispensable, but very important resources. Fund managers are typically seeing plethora of business models and are adepting at dissecting and identifying organisational needs. Leveraging this knowledge and a fund manager's industry wide connections can help a startup spring board its growth and build high barriers to entry.

What to Do in Case of a Slowdown?
Since it is pointless throwing money at a problem that you cannot control, the general consensus among investors, amidst a slowdown, is to conserve cash rather than chase growth at the risk of burning capital. It is also important to understand that a slowdown is a cyclic phenomenon and that battling such a cycle requires a skill set which founders need to learn, a skill set that will help them prepare for future cycles.

Tuscan Ventures believes that it is

the startups who are disrupting the VC industry. Innovation is attracting participation from more and more fund manager year on year.

How to Gather a Win in the Startup Ecosystem?
Team Tuscan Ventures believes, there are three key aspects that ultimately indicate the likelihood of success-

• Value Proposition: The founders of a startup need to unequivocally demonstrate the value proposition of its service or product.

• Competitive Edge: Although many startups are creating new markets for themselves, they are always competing with conventional businesses. Hence having a clear indispensable competitive edge which can stand the test of time is essential.

• Founders & Team: Team members need to have a tangible and intangible vested interest in the company's success. And creating such an environment & culture is ultimately the responsibility of the founders. Founders need to have the ability to inspire team members and build a strong foundation for the company's success.

Tuscan Ventures considers its investments as partners where these partners can expect year-round, quality engagement from them towards their businesses. Being a witness to hundreds of businesses each year and the cumulative experience that they draw from these interactions informs the venture's investment evaluation process. Furthermore, it constantly solicits diverse input from industry experts to keep the perspectives current.

Shantanu Baviskar Investment Associate
Shantanu holds an engineering degree from Mumbai University and is currently part of the Investment Team at Tuscan Ventures. He is actively looking for investment opportunities in Fintech, Logistics, Technology SaaS and Food Services. He manages portfolio companies such as LoanTap Financial Technologies and ColdStar Logistics. He is building his investment thesis on the Indian Electric Vehicle Industry and would love to connect with entrepreneurs, business managers or consultants who have expertise in this industry.