Sushma Kaushik's guest appearances

Sushma Kaushik

The Neon Show

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In this episode, Sushma Kaushik (Partner @ Aavishkaar Capital), joins our host Digjay, to talk about her path to VC, the genesis of Aavishkaar Capital &amp; it’s key portfolio startups, the evolution of the fund’s thesis across 4 funds, unlocking of the massive Bharat opportunity, the DNA of impact entrepreneurs, the evolving exit landscape for impact funds &amp; key learnings from Sushma’s decadal experience as a VC. Aavishkaar Capital is an early-stage VC firm &amp; the equity arm of The Aavishkaar Group which is focused on developing the impact ecosystem in Asia and Africa. Aavishkaar Capital has ~$500mm in AUM &amp; has invested in notable companies like Chqbook, Agrostar, Soulfull, Utkarsh Small Finance Bank among others. Sushma has ~18 years of diverse experience in the field of early stage investing, small business incubation and consulting across sectors. An ISB Hyderabad alum, Sushma has also been recognized as “40 under 40 Alternative Investment Professionals in India” in 2017 and one of the “Top 100 women in finance in the leading category”. You can connect with her here on Linkedin/Twitter. ---- Show notes –  (01:50) Sushma’s background &amp; path to VC (05:50) Aavishkaar Capital - Genesis, key portfolio companies &amp; evolution of thesis across 4 different funds (11:05) How India’s digitization push has unlocked the massive Bharat opportunity? (18:25) Evaluation framework for impact creating startups; The DNA of impact entrepreneurs (27:40) Evolving exit landscape for impact funds; Importance of making timely exits for LPs (32:55) Key learnings from her decadal experience as a VC (37:05) Rapid fire and closing remarks  ---- If you liked our episode, you can subscribe to our podcast on any podcast platforms of your choice (like Spotify &amp; Apple iTunes). We would appreciate if you could leave us a review on Apple iTunes. This helps others discover the podcast. You can visit thevcpreneur.com and follow us on Twitter @thevcpreneur_ &amp; Instagram @thevcpreneur for more episodes and interesting insights on the startup ecosystem. You can also follow our host Digjay here on Linkedin &amp; Twitter

In this episode, <a href="https://in.linkedin.com/in/sushmakaushik" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sushma Kaushik</a> (Partner @ <a href="https://aavishkaarcapital.in/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Aavishkaar Capital</a>), joins our host <a href="https://twitter.com/digjaypatel?lang=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Digjay</a>, to talk about her path to VC, the genesis of Aavishkaar Capital &amp; it’s key portfolio startups, the evolution of the fund’s thesis across 4 funds, unlocking of the massive Bharat opportunity, the DNA of impact entrepreneurs, the evolving exit landscape for impact funds &amp; key learnings from Sushma’s decadal experience as a VC. Aavishkaar Capital is an early-stage VC firm &amp; the equity arm of The Aavishkaar Group which is focused on developing the impact ecosystem in Asia and Africa. Aavishkaar Capital has ~$500mm in AUM &amp; has invested in notable companies like Chqbook, Agrostar, Soulfull, Utkarsh Small Finance Bank among others. Sushma has ~18 years of diverse experience in the field of early stage investing, small business incubation and consulting across sectors. An ISB Hyderabad alum, Sushma has also been recognized as “40 under 40 Alternative Investment Professionals in India” in 2017 and one of the “Top 100 women in finance in the leading category”. You can connect with her here on <a href="https://in.linkedin.com/in/sushmakaushik" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Linkedin</a>/<a href="https://twitter.com/sushmakaushik1?lang=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a>. ---- Show notes – <ol> <li>(01:50) Sushma’s background &amp; path to VC</li> <li>(05:50) Aavishkaar Capital - Genesis, key portfolio companies &amp; evolution of thesis across 4 different funds</li> <li>(11:05) How India’s digitization push has unlocked the massive Bharat opportunity?</li> <li>(18:25) Evaluation framework for impact creating startups; The DNA of impact entrepreneurs</li> <li>(27:40) Evolving exit landscape for impact funds; Importance of making timely exits for LPs</li> <li>(32:55) Key learnings from her decadal experience as a VC</li> <li>(37:05) Rapid fire and closing remarks</li> </ol> ---- If you liked our episode, you can subscribe to our podcast on any podcast platforms of your choice (like<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/3FVZHqU3kV8WeSGti1DdJd" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"> Spotify</a> &amp; <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-vcpreneur/id1523227219" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Apple iTunes</a>). We would appreciate if you could leave us a review on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-vcpreneur/id1523227219" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Apple iTunes</a>. This helps others discover the podcast. You can visit<a href="https://thevcpreneur.com/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"> thevcpreneur.com</a> and follow us on Twitter<a href="https://twitter.com/thevcpreneur_" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"> @thevcpreneur</a>_ &amp; Instagram<a href="https://www.instagram.com/thevcpreneur/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"> @thevcpreneur</a> for more episodes and interesting insights on the startup ecosystem. You can also follow our host Digjay here on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/digjay-patel-cfa-685b9396/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Linkedin</a> &amp; <a href="https://twitter.com/digjaypatel?lang=en" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a>

EP#41 Sushma Kaushik – Investing in the Bharat opportunity, DNA of impact entrepreneurs & the evolving exit landscape for impact funds

Sushma Kaushik is a Partner at Aavishkaar Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm currently deploying out of its 6th fund and has close to half a billion dollars in AUM. She has over 18 years of diverse experience in the field of early stage investing, small business incubation and consulting across sectors.She is an engineering graduate from RVCE, Bangalore and has an MBA from the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.Follow Sushma Kaushik (@sushmakaushik1), host Akash Bhat (@bhatvakash) and the podcast (@thedesi_vc) on Twitter.. . .In this episode you will learn:1. Sushma’s background (3:58)2. What Sushma loves about her job as a Partner (6:21)3. What does a Partner do at a VC firm? (7:20)4. First check written by Sushma (9:55)5. How do you convince fellow Partners to invest in an under-performing sector and justify the investment? (12:06)6. Learnings from investing (13:36)7. Aavishkaar Capital and their thesis (15:45)8. Challenges within the Impact Investment space (21:15)9. Should seed-stage investors also consider growth-stage investments? (24:34)10. How do you measure impact? (26:47)11. How often do investors track the metrics? (29:54)12. What is corporate governance for startups? (32:35)13. What is the relationship between investors, board members and executive leadership within a startup and who calls the shots once investors’ share in the business exceeds the founders? (41: 32)14. How do we solve for diversity within venture capital? (44:38)15. Rapid fire (49:00)

<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sushmakaushik/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sushma Kaushik</a> is a Partner at <a href="https://aavishkaarcapital.in" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Aavishkaar Capital</a>, an early-stage venture capital firm currently deploying out of its 6th fund and has close to half a billion dollars in AUM. She has over 18 years of diverse experience in the field of early stage investing, small business incubation and consulting across sectors.She is an engineering graduate from RVCE, Bangalore and has an MBA from the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.Follow Sushma Kaushik (<a href="https://twitter.com/sushmakaushik1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@sushmakaushik1</a>), host Akash Bhat (<a href="https://twitter.com/bhatvakash" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@bhatvakash</a>) and the podcast (<a href="https://twitter.com/thedesi_vc" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@thedesi_vc)</a> on Twitter.. . .In this episode you will learn:1. Sushma’s background (3:58)2. What Sushma loves about her job as a Partner (6:21)3. What does a Partner do at a VC firm? (7:20)4. First check written by Sushma (9:55)5. How do you convince fellow Partners to invest in an under-performing sector and justify the investment? (12:06)6. Learnings from investing (13:36)7. Aavishkaar Capital and their thesis (15:45)8. Challenges within the Impact Investment space (21:15)9. Should seed-stage investors also consider growth-stage investments? (24:34)10. How do you measure impact? (26:47)11. How often do investors track the metrics? (29:54)12. What is corporate governance for startups? (32:35)13. What is the relationship between investors, board members and executive leadership within a startup and who calls the shots once investors’ share in the business exceeds the founders? (41: 32)14. How do we solve for diversity within venture capital? (44:38)15. Rapid fire (49:00)

E21: Sushma Kaushik (Partner, Aavishkaar Capital)

With over 14+ years of experience in investing, Sushma has been acknowledged for “40 under 40 - Alternate Investment Professionals” in India.Currently, at Aavishkaar, she majorly looks after Fintech &amp; Microfinance.Aavishkaar is also well-known for being one of the few VC firms in India, well known for its Impact Investing Thesis. Some of its portfolio companies are - Chqbook, Agrostar, and Soulfull among others.In this podcast, Sushma shares her experience of investing in high-growth socially responsible startups.   Notes - 01:10 - Her Journey from real estate equity background to joining Aavishkaar03:08 - How does Aavishkaar differentiate itself from other funds in terms of thesis - Impact Investing06:36 - Is impact-investing successful in giving justified returns to LPs?08:55 - Investing in socially responsible businesses - Micro-finance &amp; Agritech13:42 - Investing in Chqbook - Making credit cards &amp; short-term loans accessible19:23 - Diversification in investments between early-stage &amp; growth-stage companies22:25 - Significant evaluation around Exit-thesis at the time of new investments28:33 - What does the Indian startup ecosystem requires to mature similarly to Silicon-valley?30:48 - Gender Diversity in the VC &amp; Startup Ecosystem in India

With over 14+ years of experience in investing, Sushma has been acknowledged for “40 under 40 - Alternate Investment Professionals” in India.Currently, at Aavishkaar, she majorly looks after Fintech &amp; Microfinance.Aavishkaar is also well-known for being one of the few VC firms in India, well known for its Impact Investing Thesis. Some of its portfolio companies are - Chqbook, Agrostar, and Soulfull among <a href="http://others.In" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">others.In</a> this podcast, Sushma shares her experience of investing in high-growth socially responsible startups. Notes - 01:10 - Her Journey from real estate equity background to joining Aavishkaar03:08 - How does Aavishkaar differentiate itself from other funds in terms of thesis - Impact Investing06:36 - Is impact-investing successful in giving justified returns to LPs?08:55 - Investing in socially responsible businesses - Micro-finance &amp; Agritech13:42 - Investing in Chqbook - Making credit cards &amp; short-term loans accessible19:23 - Diversification in investments between early-stage &amp; growth-stage companies22:25 - Significant evaluation around Exit-thesis at the time of new investments28:33 - What does the Indian startup ecosystem requires to mature similarly to Silicon-valley?30:48 - Gender Diversity in the VC &amp; Startup Ecosystem in India

Sushma Kaushik on the Exit thesis of Aavishkaar Capital & investing in socially responsible startups