Business Today has a cover story on how Indian entrepreneurs who have cashed in on their first ventures - often by selling out to MNCs - are taking the plunge again. The list includes Rajeev Chandrasekhar (who earlier founded and sold BPL Mobile), Tushar Jani (Blue Dart Express), Atul Shah (Anchor Electricals), Yunus Bilakhia (Micro Inks), Narottam Sekhsaria (Gujarat Ambuja Cement), etc.
Arun Natarajan is the Founder & CEO of Venture Intelligence, the leading provider of information and networking services to the private equity and venture capital ecosystem in India. View free samples of Venture Intelligence newsletters and reports.
So what exactly are these opportunities that India's new breed of "Alterpreneurs" has sniffed out? They're indeed diverse, although transforming into a private equity pasha seeking out investment-worthy targets clearly appears the favourite avatar. A few prefer the hurly-burly, high-returns universe of financial services, which includes non-banking finance companies and mutual funds. Of course, there are those who quite simply prefer to pump the loot directly into the equity markets, into stocks with promise. Real estate, and allied ventures like special economic zones and infotech parks, is another prospect these swashbucklers have found difficult to ignore. A few second-life promoters are also eyeing either exotic or esoteric sectors like renewable energy and biotech. And there are those who prefer to hover around the industry they know best.
The blueprints are ambitious and the investments huge, often larger than the proceeds raked in from the sale of the flagship.
Arun Natarajan is the Founder & CEO of Venture Intelligence, the leading provider of information and networking services to the private equity and venture capital ecosystem in India. View free samples of Venture Intelligence newsletters and reports.