T-Hub, which leads India’s pioneering innovation ecosystem, announced the launch of its redesigned funding program T-Angel, to cater to the startups funding needs amid the COVID-19 pandemic. T-Angel will be supported by Angel Investors who will collectively invest up to INR 50 lacs in each of the qualified startups.
T-Angel is a 45-days acceleration program. 15-20 tech startups with the leading-edge solutions in the various sectors will be shortlisted. The program for the second batch of chosen startups will commence in July 2021. Startups will be shortlisted from applications received after an extensive screening process by a committee of investors and mentors.
Applications are open and will close on 30 June 2021. The program will focus on understanding and resolving two key constraints or pain points of a startup’s business operations that are hindering their chances of raising capital. Startups across India can apply to be a part of the program.
Even though there has been a substantial increase in startups’ ability to raise funds, only a small percentage of them are successful in raising funding from angels. We realized that the success percentage can considerably increase if entrepreneurs are aware of what the angel investors are looking for
Ravi Narayan, CEO of T-Hub, said, “Even though there has been a substantial increase in startups’ ability to raise funds, only a small percentage of them are successful in raising funding from angels. We realized that the success percentage can considerably increase if entrepreneurs are aware of what the angel investors are looking for. T-Angel’s existence has been smartly tailored to solve this issue, T-Hub believes that there are plenty of technology startups that are investment-ready provided they learn the fundamentals from an investor perspective. With startups from the previous batch raising funds, the program has bridged a good percentage of gap between the investors and the startups.”
A Customized Work Plan
During the program, T-Hub will do an in-depth assessment of the startup’s business plan. Based on this, a customized work plan will be developed for each of the startups, with specific interventions. Post that, the shortlisted startups will undergo intensive training of five online sessions of two hours each from subject matter experts/consultants who will help in making them investment ready. However, the frequency of consultations will depend on various factors and will be jointly decided by the program and participating startups. The outcome of this will be a refined business plan and investor pitch deck.
A five-member Investment Committee (IC) will evaluate onboarded startups and decide on the investments. Additionally, other investor members of this program can also join the IC deliberations. The INR 50 lakhs will be invested in three tranches.
Benefits that the startups will get from the program:
- Guidance to solve major pain points concerning their business operations through virtual group learning sessions and detailed curriculum.
- Two-day boot camp at the T-Hub to finalize pitch deck, presentation skills and overall Go-To-Market plans.
- One-on-one assistance on refining the business plan and investor pitch deck and rehearsing pitch to investors.
- Demo Day at T-Hub to showcase the startups which includes Investor Committee meetings and closing the funding.
Benefits that the investors will get from the program:
- One-on-one connect with 15-20 high potential startups.
- Improved chances of exceptional returns from the investment.
- Three tranches of investments to eliminate risk factors.
The startups must meet the following eligibility criteria to apply:
- Should be an early-stage startup.
- Should have a Market Viable Product (MVP) or prototype or have done a pilot.
- Should be a company incorporated and operating in India.
- Should be a company that develops technology (software or hardware) or employs technology to change the way a traditional business or set of business operations is carried out.
The first batch of startups from the T-Angel program received strong support in terms of refining their business model and investor pitches. This enabled selected startups with innovative solutions to raise funds, despite the ongoing pandemic, from key investors like TechStars, Lets Venture, and Phoenix Business Solutions. The program not only helped them with the investor connects, but startups have also raised over INR 10 Cr funds since the end of the program.
