Abhishek Agarwal is an angel investor-turned-fund manager with 13+ years in the Indian Financial Market and Start-up Ecosystem. He started his career as a research analyst and is now the Founder of Rockstud Capital. He has a proven track record of successfully investing in both Startups and Listed Equities space.
Rockstud Capital is India's first hybrid fund that invests in early-stage startups and listed equities traded on NSE in India.
Key takeaways from the episode:
- What does Pioneer Investcorp do? What was Abhishek's role there? Why did he choose to specialize in the cement sector? How important was this role for Abhishek in developing his entrepreneurial career?
- What was Abhishek's role in Fortune Interfinance? What was the switch like from a research analyst to a director? What were the challenges for setting things up in the family business? What was the trigger that told Abhishek that he must branch out on his own? How is being an intrapreneur different from being an entrepreneur?
- What was Abhishek's first investment? Where is this company today? Why did Abhishek decide to move from investing and syndicating from angel networks to set up his own fund? how many investments did he make before starting Rockstud Capital?
- How was the idea behind Rockstud Capital conceptualized? What does Rockstud mean? What was the genesis of launching a hybrid fund when the VC fund itself was a new concept in India? What was the whole experience like raising capital for the first time?
- What was the thesis Abhishek was going after when he was looking to invest in companies? What was the most challenging startup that he invested in? What are Abhisheks top 2 favorites in listed equities and startups?
- When should a founder press the accelerator when it comes to PR? After screening a bunch of startups, what's Abhishek's biggest advice to founders?
