Gurugram-based business and technology school Masters’ Union has launched a Rs 100 crore early-stage investment fund, MU Ventures, to back entrepreneurs under the age of 25.
The fund will invest between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 50 lakh per startup, with an average first cheque of Rs 10-20 lakh, Partham Mittal, founder of the institution, told ET.
"It is easy to raise $100,000, $1 million or even $10 million. But the first $10,000—that is the hardest,” said Mittal. “That first cheque gives you the confidence to leave your job and validates your idea. That is what we are trying to solve."
The advisory board includes Shishir Maheshwari, managing director at Eversource Capital and former Blackstone executive; Arjun Vaidya, founder of Dr. Vaidya’s and cofounder of V3 Ventures; and Swapna Gupta, former partner at Avaana Capital and an ex-director at Qualcomm Ventures.
MU Ventures will operate through four dedicated tracks, including a ‘Dropout Fund’ to support school and college dropouts building startups, a ‘Founders’ Union Fund’ backed by marquee entrepreneurs, a ‘Bharat Capital Fund’ focused on Tier 2-4 markets, and a ‘Content Creator Fund’ for founders building businesses around digital distribution.
"Across these, we are building a differentiated but comparable model to something like Y Combinator in the US, but adapted for India," Saksham Kotiya, managing partner, MU Ventures, told ET. He added that the fund is targeting about 10 to 20 investments per year.
The fund is sector-agnostic and will run on a rolling application basis.
Beyond capital, selected startups will get access to mentorship, a co-working space, technology credits, CXO networks and investor-readiness support. The support ecosystem includes partnerships with companies such as Amazon, Google, Razorpay, Webflow and Airtable, the university said.
Founders of startups funded through MU Ventures will also be flown to San Francisco for a dedicated demo day, where they will interact with global venture capital firms and founders.
Early-stage startups that have emerged from the institution’s ecosystem include Sanyark Space, Cryptique, Flourish Foods, Bambaii, Guardex, Bana Roma and Mom’s Mixes.
The move comes at a time when India’s startup ecosystem is seeing a paucity of early-stage capital, particularly at the idea stage, where institutional support remains limited. Over the last year, many funds have been trying to address the lack of financing through venture studios, incubators, and by launching cohorts for young entrepreneurs.
The fund will invest between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 50 lakh per startup, with an average first cheque of Rs 10-20 lakh, Partham Mittal, founder of the institution, told ET.
"It is easy to raise $100,000, $1 million or even $10 million. But the first $10,000—that is the hardest,” said Mittal. “That first cheque gives you the confidence to leave your job and validates your idea. That is what we are trying to solve."
The advisory board includes Shishir Maheshwari, managing director at Eversource Capital and former Blackstone executive; Arjun Vaidya, founder of Dr. Vaidya’s and cofounder of V3 Ventures; and Swapna Gupta, former partner at Avaana Capital and an ex-director at Qualcomm Ventures.
MU Ventures will operate through four dedicated tracks, including a ‘Dropout Fund’ to support school and college dropouts building startups, a ‘Founders’ Union Fund’ backed by marquee entrepreneurs, a ‘Bharat Capital Fund’ focused on Tier 2-4 markets, and a ‘Content Creator Fund’ for founders building businesses around digital distribution.
"Across these, we are building a differentiated but comparable model to something like Y Combinator in the US, but adapted for India," Saksham Kotiya, managing partner, MU Ventures, told ET. He added that the fund is targeting about 10 to 20 investments per year.
The fund is sector-agnostic and will run on a rolling application basis.
Beyond capital, selected startups will get access to mentorship, a co-working space, technology credits, CXO networks and investor-readiness support. The support ecosystem includes partnerships with companies such as Amazon, Google, Razorpay, Webflow and Airtable, the university said.
Founders of startups funded through MU Ventures will also be flown to San Francisco for a dedicated demo day, where they will interact with global venture capital firms and founders.
Early-stage startups that have emerged from the institution’s ecosystem include Sanyark Space, Cryptique, Flourish Foods, Bambaii, Guardex, Bana Roma and Mom’s Mixes.
The move comes at a time when India’s startup ecosystem is seeing a paucity of early-stage capital, particularly at the idea stage, where institutional support remains limited. Over the last year, many funds have been trying to address the lack of financing through venture studios, incubators, and by launching cohorts for young entrepreneurs.