On August 29, 2017, StartUp Grind Fremont featured yet another influential speaker — Ankur Jain. Ankur is an entrepreneur, inventor, co-founder, and investor, and has worked across a range of sectors including healthcare, financial services, and technology. He is currently the managing partner at Emergent Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm.

Ankur shared solid strategies he learned on his journey through the startup world, such as how to prepare startups for early-stage funding, as well as guidance on how entrepreneurs can use “inner management” as a foundation for kicking off their startup journey.

Ankur left the attendees with valuable insights fromboth the venture capitalist and startup perspectives, such as, “shared vision and shared passion” are of the utmost importance in ensuring the long-term success of a startup partnership. He encouraged startups to “understand your bias,” or in other words, see your company through the eyes of others. He also explained the importance of reaching out to the right investor. Some angels are interested in you; others are interested in your idea.

Ankur cited the top four qualities he looks for when deciding to fund startups: skills/the ability to perform, a unique viewpoint, leadership experience (especially the ability to inspire others), and a clear understanding of the company’s strengths and flaws. While Ankur meets many smart people in his line of work, he is always looking for “openness.”

Startup Grind Fremont is the Silicon Valley East chapter of the international business startup community that has hosted more than 2,000 fireside chats across 200 cities and 85 countries. This initiative brings together local entrepreneurs to network, learn from an experienced speaker, find mentorship, pursue funding, and gain new customers. The next event will be held at EFI in Fremont on Thursday, September 28, featuring Jitendra Gupta, who will share “How to Scale a Business.” For more information or to register for this event, go to https://www.startupgrind.com/fremont/. See you there!