A corporate honcho turned angel investor, Rajan Anandan, helps companies and individuals fund start-up projects
When Rajan Anandan quit as the Managing Director of Microsoft India in August 2010, many within the industry assumed he would start his own company. But Anandan had other plans.
From running the billion dollar businesses of the global software giant and PC manufacturer Dell, Anandan is now focusing on creating new businesses in India.
So far he has invested in 17 start-ups. The investments were from his own corpus. During the last six months he has invested in six technology start-ups in the Internet, mobile and software product space, in Chandigarh, Pune, Gurgaon and Hyderabad.
“I believe the time has come for Indian IT companies, especially those in Internet, mobile and software space; and they will see lots of successes. I want to focus on ‘India on India’,” said Anandan.
After spending nearly two decades in the US, Anandan returned to India in April 2006 to head Dell’s India operations. As Dell’s vice-president and country general manager, he grew the PC manufacturer’s business from $250 million to over $800 million. At 37, he was given the responsibility of managing Microsoft’s India business. Under his leadership, the company became the highest performing subsidiary for Microsoft in the large emerging markets in 2009.
Investing in start-ups has been a passion for Anandan. He was an angel investor in the US in the 90’s. “But in India, it’s only in 2006 when I started investing in early-stage technology start-ups either on my own or as part of the Indian Angel Network. As I have a lot of time now, I have stepped up my focus,” he said.
But after manning billion dollar businesses, how does working with start-ups feel? “This is the way I want to stay focused on technology industry and share my experiences with start-ups and entrepreneurs in India to help them become successful.”
Investing in early stage companies and in new ideas is risky. But that has not stopped Anandan in investing in Indian technology. In many cases, Anandan has bought ideas of aspiring entrepreneurs by providing them angel funding.
For instance when Supriyo Gupta, a PR professional and founder of Digilogue Communication, approached Anandan and other members of the Indian Angel Network with a business proposal, Anandan and his co-investors were quick to spot the importance of the product that was still under development and invested in the company. “Today, Digilogue has emerged as one of the leading digital communication companies in the world,” said Anandan.
He also believes in being where the action is: When Jaspreet Singh, a co-founder of Pune-based Druva Software, visited him with a business idea on server back-up, Anandan liked the team of seasoned technology and marketing professionals under Singh and despite knowing that competition was tough he and his colleagues backed the project.
To start with, Druva developed a concept of back-up software for notebooks, instead of servers. Today, the company has NASA as one of its customers, and has succeeded in securing series A funding from Sequoia Capital.
“About one-third of my investments are in companies that are in a business planning stage. In some cases, they might have a product in place but revenue’s are yet to kick in. They are very early stage companies and as a result there is a lot of risk. But if you get it right, then there is a huge upside,” he said. His investments range from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 1 crore. Anything beyond this, means working with other investors.
A Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) graduate and a Masters Degree holder from Stanford University, Anandan started his India innings in early stage investment when he came in contact with the Indian Angel Network (IAN). Started in 2005 with 130 members , IAN is one of the biggest organised angel investors network.
Anandan’s first investment was in a Chandigarh-based company called authorGEN Technologies, which developed an online education platform WiZiQ. He exited the investment when Educomp acquired 51 per cent stake in the company for $8.7 million in 2008. Recently, he revived his connection with the co-founders of authorGEN and invested in authorSTREAM — a spin-off from authorGEN Technologies. The company offers an online presentation sharing platform that helps users share PowerPoint presentations across blogs, websites, social networks, YouTube and on devices like iPods and iPads.
Anandan has a dream. “Microsoft was a great company. Right now I am enjoying this phase and investing in companies and spending with family. In future I might become an entrepreneur. Change is good. You can’t run the same business for ever. Right now I am into angel investing and spendtime travelling.” What’s next?
