Our Approach.
Early Stage
We prefer to invest in pre-seed to seed stage rounds.
We believe in love at first pitch.
Founder-Market Fit
We back founders who are passionate about what they are building and ready to go above and beyond to meet their goals.
Each investment we make is unique, but this is the general process you can expect.
01. We get your pitch deck
You may be introduced to us directly, or you may share your initial pitch deck with us here - no warm introduction required! In any case, we'll glance over your deck and let you know what we think within a week.
02. An initial chat
Our investment team member who are most excited about what you're doing will contact you to learn more about your idea based on the initial deck you provided. The talk is always pleasant, but you should anticipate to be challenged on a few points, most of which are connected to the qualities we look for in founders.
03. We move forward (or not)
Your startup deck will be discussed with the partners. You'll hear from us quite quickly, whether we're eager to move forward or not.
04. You pitch our partners
You'll pitch our partners, who will have already learned a little about you through the analyst. As a result, our team will come excited, curious, and ready to learn from you!
You can pitch online or in person at our office. Your deck will be presented first, followed by questions from the Team.
05. We make a decision
We'll convene an internal meeting to go through everything and make a final decision.
One of our core values is that founders come first, thus we go to great lengths to ensure that any background checks and references are seamless and helpful. The greatest fundraisers often set up a "data room" so that investors can get answers to critical questions about your company ahead of time.
If we are not going to invest, we want to tell you as soon as possible and provide you with critical reasons for our decision.
06. Channelize our network
If you require it, we can also connect you with like-minded investors who have previously co-invested with us.
07. Welcome to the community!
After the documentation is completed, we begin onboarding you and your team, and the magic begins. You'll meet other entrepreneurs and get advice from us on common startup issues including hiring, GTM, operations, and PR.
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At what stage do you invest?Our goal is to invest right at the early stage, before achieving PMF or revenue, and to earn a courtside seat to the greatest startups by developing strong relationships with them. We have invested as little as $10,000 in a pre-seed round and as much as $300,000 in a seed round in some cases.
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I’m raising a later round. Will you invest?We prefer to invest in a company at the pre-seed or seed stage. We do not invest in follow-up rounds. However, we connect you to the right set of investors within our network of VC funds to assist you with follow-up rounds.
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What industries or areas will you invest in?We take pride in being flexible investors. We invest broadly from software to space, and have made multiple investments in FinTech, SaaS, DeepTech, and Web3.
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Do you invest in companies located outside of India?We invest in founders who have a strong connection to India. Maybe you’re based here? Perhaps you spent some time in India? Maybe one of your co-founders is Indian? Whether you are geographically placed in India is far less important to us. We invest in India because everything we have done at Upsparks has been about building a community of founders here that give us a chance to meet tomorrow’s great founders.
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I am pre-product and pre-revenue. Will you invest?We have invested in pre-product and pre-revenue companies. We look at the founder’s clarity, vison and energy for a conviction.
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What do you look for in a founding team?How convenient - we recently wrote a blog on the qualities we look for in founding teams! Read it here
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What is your process for making investments?We've covered that above, but keep an eye out for a blog on this soon.
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What happens in the investment pitch meeting?You'll pitch most or all of our team, who will have learned a little bit about you beforehand. As a result, our team will arrive excited, curious, and ready to learn from you! You can pitch virtually or come into our office to present. You’ll present your deck first, followed by some questions from the Partners.
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What will I need to provide for due diligence?We'd like to see how your team is approaching the product roadmap, a financial model that supports your strategy, a cap table with any existing investors, as well as evidence from customers, prior investors, and other stakeholders.
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How can I get in touch with Upsparks?For investment? Share your vision here and we’ll let you know what we think within a week. For everything else, you can contact us.