My fixed management fee is INR 1 cr a year, the maximum based on committed capital.
Baseline operating costs amount to INR 25 lac a year on a conservative basis.
Fund‑side due‑diligence expenses total INR 25 lac a year (INR 2.5 lac per deal × 10 deals).
Other recurring expenses (website, marketing, tech, travel) are INR 10 lac a year.
Total non‑salary costs are INR 60 lac a year.
The salary pool for the GP and associate is INR 40 lac a year.
I brand my fund as First and Fast Capital.
I warned that over‑reliance on generic AI‑generated fundraising replies is deal‑breaking, urging founders to craft authentic communication themselves.
I observed a “mind‑boggling” volume of trend‑following pitches in HR‑tech, sales‑agent, cab/taxi, and home‑services sectors, noting that incumbents such as Zomato, Swiggy, Uber and Ola dominate the market.
My pop‑up office‑hours on a Wednesday (8 am‑11 am IST) had six 20‑minute slots; two founders didn’t show, leading to a 10‑minute wait and a follow‑up email that received no reply after two hours.
Data from 2010‑2026 shows that four‑fifths of unicorns were founded by people with more than five years of experience, while fewer than one‑tenth were founded by those with under two years of experience.
Among 99 experienced founders, roughly 25 % came from IITs, 10 % from IIMs, and 8 % from foreign elite schools, with most of the rest having industry backgrounds.