Trivago Founder Rolf Schromgens prefers to invest in startups over established companies

At the fifth edition of Seeding Kerala 2020, organized by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), Rolf Schromgens, co-Founder & ex-CEO of travel aggregator company Trivago said, "Investing in future innovations offered by startups is better and more sustainable rather than in the bigger established companies.  I would personally prefer investing in startups as the scope of growth is much more compared to established companies.”

Investments to the tune of Rs 70 crore into startups from various sectors were announced at this fifth edition of the two-day ‘Seeding Kerala’ investment summit, being organized by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM). The startups that lapped up the funds include Sporthood, Astro-Vision Futuretech Pvt. Ltd., Bumberry, ilove9months, Entri and ZappyHire. The investments announcement was made on the concluding day of the summit in the presence of M Sivasankar, Principal Secretary (Electronics and IT), Govt. of Kerala, and Dr Saji Gopinath, CEO, KSUM.

KSUM is the nodal agency of the Kerala Government for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state. Seeding Kerala, under KSUM's directive, witnessed investors speaking about the scope, challenges, and expectations in the startup ecosystem.

At the session titled ‘Beyond the Money: Creating value through support services,’ speakers pointed out the importance of having sustainability of startups through various mentorship programs and guidance. From an investment point of view, investors spoke about investing in healthcare and space sectors and their potential.

Vinit Bansali, Vice President, Orion Ventures Partner, said, “We have a mentorship program called ‘Misfit’ helping the startups to understand the areas to evolve. The idea is to provide them a platform beyond funding. Understand their product and help them achieve their vision!”

Echoing similar sentiments, Trivago's Rolf said, “It is not just the money that flows into the company but also the mindset of the investor. The founders and investors need to have an aligned vision or else it will be difficult to sustain the business.”

Vikas Kuthiala, an angel investor and founder of Terumo Penpol who has invested in healthcare startups, said, “Instant returns are not possible in sectors like healthcare. The gestation period is longer compared to software but the sector has great potential and needs to be explored.”

At a panel discussion on ‘Investing in the Final Frontier – Exploring opportunities in space technology’, the experts agreed that niche sectors have huge market potentials. Mahesh Murthy, Founder & Director of Exseed Space, pointed out that 35 percent of the world satellite is from India, yet investment in the space sector is just about three percent.

Ravikanth Reddy, of Mumbai Angels, argued that space tech has the multitude of being a business enabler and can be aligned with various segments.

Bengaluru-based Sporthood, a startup for sports enthusiasts, has got investment from SEA Fund, which made its fourth investment in Kerala out of its seven investment ventures. Founded by Rahul Antony Thomas, Arun V. Nair, Nikhilesh M R, and Vikram Devare, Sporthood has a community of 30,000 kids and adults subscribed to the platform. It has 21 established sports clubs across Bengaluru and Kochi.

Astro-Vision Futuretech Pvt. Ltd. received an investment from Matrimony.com, one of the largest matrimonial companies in India. It’s the first investment by the Chennai-based firm. Astro Vision has been providing Vedic-based astrology solutions to its consumers in more than 10 Indian languages, for over three decades. Within the short span, Astro Vision has generated more than 110 million horoscopes.

Bumberry, a startup that manufactures eco-friendly and re-usable cloth diapers, has raised funds from Kerala Angel Network (KAN), led by a group of investors. It is KAN’s maiden investment in a startup. Bumberry was founded by Kutty Krishnan, an educator by profession. Bumberry diapers come as natural bamboo cotton pad and pocket diapers.

US-based Equifin VC will be investing in Maternia Care Technologies Pvt Ltd., which owns the brand ilove9months, a women-led maternity-focused startup. It is also the maiden investment venture in India by the US firm.

Another startup Entri, a learning app in local languages that has over 1.6 million users, is funded by Good Capital. Founded by Mohammed Hisamuddin, Entri first started by providing a database of questions for government recruitment examinations in Malayalam.

Smart Sparks Angel Network will invest in ZappyHire, which gives companies the flexibility on what tools they would like to use, based on their hiring requirements such as assessment and candidate profiling.

On the occasion, officials of Pavizham Oil and Rice handed over its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) fund of Rs 9,40,000 to startup Red Button as part of Red Button public safety program. The project, which will be implemented in Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur initially, is about installing a robotic system in public areas to ensure public safety, especially for women, and also bridge the gap between the police and public. Kochi-based startup Watasalere paid the seed fund of Rs 6 lakh to the Kerala government as a goodwill gesture.