E120: Rohit Sood (Partner, Bertelsmann India Investments)

The Desi VC: Indian Venture Capital | Angel Investors | Startups | VC

Rohit Sood is the Partner at Bertelsmann India Investments (BII), an investment firm that invests in companies in the digital, education, media, and services sectors. The firm also focuses on early-stage, as well as growth-stage investments. Rohit was the founding team member and has been part of Bertelsmann from Day 0 having seen the growth of the fund over the last decade as well played an instrumental part in shaping India’s startup ecosystem. Prior to Bertelsmann, he spent some time at Deutche Bank and holds an MBA from IIM-Kohzikode with a Bachelors from IIT Delhi.

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Episode Notes:

1. Intro (1:50)
2. Why did Rohit pick a career in venture (3:42)
3. Trading vs venture capital (7:30)
4. Indian growth story: 2010-present (10:37)
5. Learnings from backing companies that haven’t scaled as per expectations (16:10)
6. How does Berterslman conduct its post mortem on startups (20:40)
7. How does one build a great working relationship with their portfolio founders and guide them (28:06)
8. How and what do investors mean when they talk about market? (32:42)
9. Can the market be manipulated (35:42)
10. Thoughts on investing in the ‘Valley of death’ (41:15)
11. Exits for VCs (50:10)
12. Insights from investing in winners (54:50)
13. What can we expect from India in the coming years (1:03:01)
14. How has Rohit evolved as an investor over the years (1:07:30)

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Social Links:

BII on Twitter: https://twitter.com/biifund

Rohit on Twitter: https://twitter.com/doostihor

Podcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thedesi_vc

Akash Bhat on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bhatvakash

Podcast on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thedesivc

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