We often get this question from founders raising their maiden round from institutional investors – What should be the size of the ESOP (Employee Stock Option Plan) Pool to be created in seed stage? Before we answer that, let’s quickly understand, why are ESOPs even required in the first place? Great tech companies are built by great teams, not just founders. Startups are usually hard pressed for money and therefore attracting high quality talent solely with cash compensation

You’ve closed the round. The wire hits. Now what? Before the first big hire or campaign, the smartest founders make one decision that quietly extends runway: where to park the cash . We handpicked 10 Unicorns which were flushed with accumulated funds of $1.8 Billion as on 31st March’24 and studied their strategy of dealing with idle funds. Here’s what it boils down to: Source: Startup Indian analysis based on Financial Statements published by the 10 Indian unicorns for FY23-2

Today’s ecosystem is getting crowded - angels, angel networks, micro-VCs, sector VCs, family offices, corporates, venture debt, grants, incubators - and almost all of them say they “fund startups.” That’s why many founders burn months chasing the wrong investors: the cheque size doesn’t fit, the stage is off, the sector thesis isn’t aligned, or the geography/ownership targets don’t match. The real work is matching your  company to the right capital for your stage and story -

Fundraising isn’t something you wing over coffee with a deck and a dream. The best raises are planned well before the first investor meeting is even on the calendar. It’s about being sharp on your numbers, clear on your strategy, and ready to show why now  is the time to bet on you. And as you put yourself through the process, you gain deeper insights into your business, align your management team, and even identify potential vulnerabilities. Here’s a comprehensive list of to

Here’s the deal: On one side, we have the younger generation championing startups that disrupt industries and make it large. And on the other side, we have veterans glaring with shock at the massive amounts of cash these startups burn in pursuit of growth, coupled with the lofty valuations they command. This leaves many founders wondering, when should startups aim to break even? is it standard practice for them to burn cash during their early stages, or should they strive for

Now that you know about when to raise and how much to raise, the next natural question is how much stakes should you dilute or retain for that matter. Your intuitive mind might say that this is an outcome of how much you are raising and your valuation, but the truth is that more often than not it is the other way round - valuation is the outcome of how much you raise and how much you dilute. Therefore, it is imperative for founders to decide how much stakes they must retain a