Making Investment Process Simple: In Conversation with Vittal Ramakrishna, CEO & Founder

Bengaluru-based fundraising platform POD aspires to nurture a healthy ecosystem for investing and fundraising. It welcomes any startup with a potential for growth and retail investors can invest in quality startup deals. Mohammed Rayees ur Rahim of Sakshi Post caught up with Vittal Ramakrishna, CEO & Founder, POD to know more about its plans to democratize fundraising in India and more. 
 
1. How does POD work in order to provide investment to the startup?

POD on boards early-stage startups on the platform. Every startup gets to pitch to potential investors through a virtual pitch event the POP series: Pitch on POD. Interested investors then invest in the startup through POD.
 
2. How is POD different from other fundraising platforms available in the market?

POD is completely transparent in its operations. The entire deal flow happens on the platform, and investors get access to a dashboard that gives them a clear picture of the usage of their funds and the startups progress. In addition, POD is all set to become a full stack fundraising platform that’s driven by technology.
 
3. How does POD get start-ups on board and what does the vetting process involve?

When early-stage startup founders connect with POD, the team interacts with them and understands the business model. Additionally, every startup needs to share a deck with the onboarding team. We have a 10-point diligent system which includes parameters such as team, problem, solution, market size etc.
 
POD is open to onboarding startups from all sectors, as long as it shows potential for growth.
 
4. POD claims to make the investment process simple. What does an Angel investor require to get started?
 
Here is all you need to know about startup investing on POD
 
Create Profile: To kick start the investment journey, an angel investor needs to create a profile on POD.

Take Assessment Test: Before becoming an investor on POD, investors have to answer a questionnaire to verify their understanding of investments in startups.

KYC Verification: Once the KYC of the investor is successfully verified, they will be on boarded on POD and get access to vetted startups to invest in.

Invest in Startups: Once the investor finds a startup that's aligned with their vision and interest on the "Invest" page, they can go right ahead and invest with a single click. 
 
5. What are the procedures for fundraising?

The fundraising process on POD is simple. All startups need to first create a profile by following the steps mentioned below:
 
Onboarding: As the first step, a startup founder is asked to share the relevant details about his business and other KYC requirements. These details are collected through a form and sent to the team for vetting and due diligence.

Due diligence: The team verifies all the business details, vets KYC etc. to ensure that the information submitted by the startup is legitimate. Only after this will the startup be launched on POD.

Fundraising Campaign: Once the startup clears the vetting process, a fundraising campaign with a specific goal amount is launched on POD.
  
6. POD is on a mission to democratize fundraising in India and wants to create a healthy ecosystem for investing and fundraising. Could you elaborate on it?

Earlier, only those startup founders who had connections in the VC circle could raise funds. And only HNIs or Accredited Angels could invest in startups. With POD, any startup with a potential for growth and retail investors like you and me can invest in quality startup deals.
 
7. What kind of startups do Angel investors find on your platform?

Investors can find startups across sectors on our platform.