PITCH PROBLEMS: 'We got talked out of taking funding'

Asking for money is never easy. In this column, entrepreneurs tell TOI Startups how VCs stumped them with hard questions during a pitch
Former bankers Seema Harsha and Shivam Sinha started Indiassetz three years ago to help people manage real estate. As bankers, both knew how the venture capital world worked. So they got in touch with a few investors started pitching their business.Soon after the meeting with their first investor, when they heard some of the terms and questions, they decided against equity dilution, says Harsha, and explains why.
“When he heard our idea, the investor was impressed. He was sitting on a lot of real estate and said he was able to see the benefits of a property management business for someone like him. Later in the conversation, he told us we didn’t need investor money and discouraged us from diluting our equity. We were surprised at first, but he talked us out of taking funding. He became our first customer and referred his clients to us. That meeting changed our lives as we realised we actually didn’t need investor money. We haven’t raised any money since and handle assets worth Rs 2,000 crore.”