SeedToScale | Curated by Accel

INSIGHTS #49 - The state of the VC ecosystem amidst COVID-19 crisis: Prashanth Prakash & Subrata Mitra

Episode Summary

In this episode, we hear from Subrata Mitra and Prashanth Prakash, founding partners of Accel who were entrepreneurs before and have seen other downturns in the past, on their take on the COVID situation and how it impacts the VC ecosystem Spotify link - https://open.spotify.com/episode/3wjVYeWvKxSu4OXqRUH5oE?si=uf_n6B5-TO2kfOWjf_A6CA Apple link - https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/insights-49-state-vc-ecosystem-amidst-covid-19-crisis/id1364412685?i=1000471763298 To learn more about what you can do as a founder to steer your business to survival through these challenging times, tune in to the latest episode of the Insights Podcast by Accel

Episode Notes

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Subrata and Prashanth share an on the ground view of the state of the VC ecosystem in India amidst the COVID situation and what to expect for the road ahead. They share advice for founders as they plan for the tough times ahead along with learnings and observations from previous economic downturns including some of the positive outcomes.

The podcast clears the air around what founders can expect the fundraising situation to look like in the next near future.

01:27 – Comparing COVID-19 times with dot-com bubble burst and 2008 recession

06:23 – Efforts going on in the startup- VC ecosystem around helping fight COVID

09:50 – Current state of Indian VC ecosystem amidst COVID

13:00 – Assessing risk at a portfolio level

16:08 – Actionable advice to startup founders

20:20 – Planning for cash runway- time frame and approach

21:55 – Advice for founders looking to startup or in pre-PMF stage

24:30 – Fast forward: view of 24 months ahead

28:43 – Reinventing yourself in crisis times (INSIGHTS #13: 1999 to 2018 — Ashish Hemranjani recaps the BookMyShow journey)

30:25 – Fundamental transformation of some sectors

31:13 – Dealing with anxiety

33:25 – Rapid Fire Round