Ratan Tata expects Indian startups to be funded by domestic investors rather than foreign

Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus Tata Sons, on Tuesday, said he expects Indian startups to be funded by domestic investors rather than foreign ones. Speaking to venture capitalist Sudhir Sethi of Chiratae Ventures, Tata who has invested in several Indian start-ups said he would like to increase his presence in the startup sector.

"In the years that I was in the Tata Group, I always looked at the start-up industry as exciting but untouchable as somewhere or another there would be a conflict of interest with Tata Group in terms of what they did. When I retired, I was free of those fetters and started to make small token investments in what I consider to be exciting companies with my own money,” Tata said at an event where he was felicitated with the Chiratae Ventures Patrick J. Mcgovern Lifetime Achievement Award 2019.

Widely considered one of the most successful investors of all time, Tata said for 2-3 years, it was a learning exercise as it is a sector that is very active.

Tata, an industrialist, philanthropist and a former chairman of Tata Sons, said he selected startups by intuition rather than numbers.

"In fact talking with founders and drawing conclusions from their attitude, their maturity and seriousness meant more to me than any other single factor that enabled me to make a decision - good or bad as the case might be," he added.

When asked about any advice to entrepreneurs, Tata said, “I would say that what probably drives an entrepreneur to start such a business is the fire in his belly that there is a better way to do something than has been done."

According to Tata, there is no defined right time for startups to go global as the founder is in the best position to determine whether going global gives him/her the opportunity to expand the market.