Angel Investors Are in Tax Hell in India
Startup backers have been exasperated by unreasonable demands. The country can’t afford to alienate them.
Crashing data prices are keeping the startup community optimistic.
Photographer: Sanjit Das/BloombergAbout three years ago, Anup Kuruvilla left his corporate banking job in Hong Kong to return to Bangalore and assemble a group of wealthy individuals willing to place small, early-stage bets on fledgling founders.
1Crowd, the platform Kuruvilla and his partners helped set up, has 500 investors. Members co-invest with 1Crowd Fund, sharing the risks in mentoring young ventures: Some are bound to fold. The first successful exit, likely to occur when any of 1Crowd’s current stable of 21 firms goes in for Series B funding, is still some ways off. The name of the game is patience.