Indian startups have been flourishing unlike anything we have ever seen before, with companies adding millions and millions to their valuations in just a few months. This has also led to increased activity in the Venture Capital world, as one would expect. The country’s fledgling startup culture is led by a few leaders, one of them being the venture capital firm Accel. Today, the VC org has announced Accel Atoms, a pre seed funding round where it will look to invest in early stage startups.
Prayank Swaroop, Partner at Accel, noted that “early needs of a startup have changed dramatically in the last few years, and there’s a need for early capital, with minimal constraints, to help founders take that step into what could be the journey of their lives.”
It was for this reason that Accel Atoms was created- to help founders get $250,000 during the earliest stages of their story. The investments made through this program will be uncapped convertible notes, which means that it will convert into equity only in the next round of the startup’s funding. This was done to limit the constraints on a startup, so the founders can focus on what matters the most-growth.
Moreover, Swaroop also noted that startups don’t need to be generating revenue or have any customers to apply for Atom.
Apart from the financial help, startups will also be offered opportunity to have interesting conversations with Girish of Freshworks, Abhiraj of Urban Company, Sriharsha of Swiggy, or Amrit of Zetwerk – and ask them for their advice.
“The Accel network of entrepreneurs and experts help you get the almost all questions answered – like how to file VAT in Germany, the best practices for ESOP, or how to go about choosing a sales consultant. Giving you verified advice, so you can speed up your progress,” Swaroop said.
This comes at a time when Indian startups are growing at an unprecedented rate, reaching new users every day. Almost 9 months into 2021, and 25 new startups from the country have entered the unicorn club, reaching a valuation of more than $1Bn.
Zomato’s IPO also paved the way for a new era in the Indian startups ecosystem, leading by example for others like Paytm, PolicyBazaar, Flipkart and many others who are looking to go public in the coming months.
Venture Capital firms have benefitted heavily from all of this, making multi million dollar in exits. Thus, it’s no surprise that firms now want to enter companies at the earliest stages possible.
