Two traits that Rajan Anandan looks for while investing in start-ups

For more than 15 years, Rajan Anandan has been investing in technology companies. But the MD of Sequoia Capital looks out for certain traits before putting his money in a company.

“As an early-stage investor, you are looking for amazing founding teams. Founders who really want to build very large businesses and are capable of doing that,” Anandan said at the India Economic Conclave.

The former VP for Google South East Asia and India added, “The other thing that you are looking for is large markets. Because at the end of the day, it takes 10 to 15 years to build a large business… To do that, you have to focus on large markets. It is very important that whatever you are trying to build is safe in these markets.”


Anandan explained how startup companies in India are reaching a value of over $1 billion. “There are really good founders who are trying to build niche companies. It is not difficult. There are great founding teams going after gigantic markets. That is what we are looking for,” he said.

Innovation is spreading all over and the need to make it big is what is in the minds of startup founders, he said. “Today, we are seeing a lot of Indian entrepreneurs who want to be global from day zero. When they launch, they want to be a global company. The best examples of those are of companies like Freshworks, Druva, Icertis. These are three SAAS unicorns and they are going places.”

The credit for this goes to the digital revolution and the internet. “What we are seeing in India is this incredible transformation in young India. They are ambitious, aspirational and more knowledgeable,” Anandan said.