Sagar Chopra
The innovation and advancement in the tech industry are helping people’s lives in numerous ways. There are few entrepreneurs & investors who are taking the risks to bring breakthrough technology. Many brilliant startups with a strategic plan & proven results are not getting the required funding to execute their vision. The world would have been getting revolutionary results in different fields if extraordinary and small companies could secure the necessary funding.
Enter Sagar Chopra, General Partner at Simsan Ventures, Venture Capitalist, investor and a ACA Chartered Accountant. He believes that talented founders should get the finance even if the size of the business is small or located in a remote area. With Simsan Ventures, Sagar is on a mission to find and invest in the best diverse founders & support them to build a thriving business. According to Yahoo Finance & Insider; Simsan Ventures is rewriting the rules of VC Funding & creating unique investment offers.
Silicon Valley Times reached out to Sagar to know about the business, the initial hurdles, and how they are different from others.
Hello Sagar, we’re thrilled to have you on our media. Please tell us what your business is all about?
Simsan Ventures is a technology-based venture capital fund with a focus within Fintech and Deeptech. We look to invest in diverse founders and teams within the Pre-Seed to Series A across the UK, EU, and now South Korea. Our first fund is for a minimum of £30m and we are planning a further two funds outside of the UK within the upcoming years. We are currently within the fundraising stage and are looking to deploy capital from April 2022 onwards.
What were the biggest initial hurdles and how did you overcome them?
The biggest hurdle for me personally, was to take the risk of leaving my steady, secure office job as an accountant to pursue an industry in which I would have been overlooked, had I applied for a position. There is a perception that the path to venture capital or private equity is only available for investment bankers. My brother and I are not from the banking sector, yet we have managed to launch our own fund. The UK doesn’t have a great system for young, aspiring entrepreneurs. We are conditioned to go through school, university, and then the 9-5 grind slowly working our way to the top in a safe and secure profession, then get married, get a mortgage and pay our bills until we retire. This is where we fall behind the US, which really is the land of opportunity and has rewarded young entrepreneurs with unicorn status companies! The biggest hurdle for me was to take the plunge away from the ‘safe option’ and pursue something that I was actually passionate about, something that actually drives me. I was gaining little to no utility at my office job and now having the opportunity to help and potentially fund entrepreneurs with a similar mindset, drive and vision is what inspires me every day.
How do you differentiate yourself from others in your field?
We want to be the face of emerging venture capital, not just in the UK, but one day worldwide. I can’t name another UK-based venture capital fund from two British Indian brothers in their early 30’s. We are here to shake up the game and become disruptive investors. Our USP is within our deal flow access and strategy. We have already identified many deals we want to invest in next year and beyond.
It was great interviewing Sagar and getting to know more about his journey. If you are an aspiring entrepreneur or business owner and searching for financial support, feel free to reach out to Simsan Ventures. https://simsan.vc/
