Timing is everything, and competition landscape determines success of a pitch: Sateesh Andra

In an interaction with ET, Sateesh Andra, Managing Partner at Ventureast, shares his knowledge on Venture Capital, and how startups may benefit from them.

What should I keep in mind when pitching to a VC?

One of the first questions to answer is how large is the market. Also, many startup ideas fail as they are ahead of their times. The timing has to be right and competition landscape determines the success of a pitch.

Best stage to approach a VC?

If you can't wait it out, go ahead with the funding. Often a company might wait it out to scale but they run the risk of not-so-good competitors getting funded and scaling faster.

How much should I dilute at series A?

Investors don't run companies, entrepreneurs do.There has to be enough skin in the game for the entrepreneurs to be involved in the company, even after two to three rounds of funding. Often the entrepreneurs may get more than they were looking to raise -a plusminus of 10 per cent is okay but you should avoid diluting too much too early.