Lead Angels inks first of its kind MoU with IIT Delhi Alumni Association

by Shrutee K/DNS

Mumbai: Lead Angels, one of India’s leading angel networks announced inking of a MoU with IIT Delhi Alumni Association (IITDAA) to catalyze structured, early stage investing among its famed and vast alumni. The partnership has since conducted 5 webinars to facilitate Entrepreneurship development and Investor training. Early January, a startup pitch session was also organized where 3 very interesting startups carefully curated by Lead Angels, showcased themselves to present alumni. There are more initiatives (both on and off campus) in the offing under the partnership.

Commenting on the collaboration, Atul Bal, President  IITDAA, said,” Most of our alumni have gone on to do well in various spheres and are keen on giving back to the society. Entrepreneurship is a powerful avenue and platform since these ventures transform and impact society in myriad ways. While many of our alumni are already engaged actively in the Indian start-up ecosystem, we believe the partnership will lead to more of them getting involved. We were impressed by Lead Angels’ rigorous process of filtering and the superior success ratio of their portfolio companies.”

In his comments, Sushanto Mitra, Founder & CEO, Lead Angels, said “The MoU is a landmark for the Indian start-up ecosystem in that it brings a vast and powerful network of high quality, successful professionals into early stage investing. Would like to profusely thank the team at IITDAA for their foresight and conviction in going for the partnership, which is a win-win for all parties involved. We look forward to playing a role in nurturing & guiding thousands of alumni into early stage investing in Indian start-ups.”

Added, Vipin C. Shukla, Secretary, IITDAA, “The Indian start up Eco system has been flourishing due to the ever growing domestic talent pool. Also, evolving business models & related consumer behaviour offer a great deal of learning. IITDAA has always been in the forefront when it comes to learning/development & collaboration has been central to all our initiatives. We welcome the expertise Lead Angels brings to the table.”

About Lead Angels: Lead Angels was started by a team of three IIT-Bombay alumni to provide end-to-end financial services to start-ups. Lead Angels Network with over 130+ members and chapters in Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore & Hyderabad, invests in promising companies after comprehensive and rigorous filtering and shortlisting under the oversight of its investors. Post investment, Lead Advisory assists these companies in fundraising while LA Management & Professional Services supports compliance and governance requirements of these companies. As a consequence, Lead Angels’ portfolio of over 25 companies have shown remarkable resilience and success in raising external funding in a turbulent period and boasts of a survival rate significantly above the industry average - SuprDaily, Planet Superheroes, TinMen, Shopkirana to name a few.

About IITDAA: IITD Alumni Association is dedicated to bringing together IIT-Delhi alumni on a common platform and build a channel of personal & professional support to members. Focused on 'self-help' within community, IITDAA today has 41,000 graduates from IIT Delhi as its members, growing at about 1,700 members a year. Among the most active alumni associations, it operates through a network of national and international chapters. Its’ alumni are spread world over and figure amongst who’s who worldwide. Apart from serving as a base for information about the alumni, it initiates programs and organizes events important to alumni, their alma mater, and in national interest.