Budget 2001: A Primer

But the recently held `2001 India Summit on Private Equity Investment' inBangalore was a classic case of the much-sought-after big VC boys chasingthe even bigger players, the larger global fund managing corporations,leaving the latter in total distress. All in all, it was rather reminiscentof a scene from a Shakespearean comedy with numerous characters chasingtheir evasive targets. The media, however, was the joker in the pack sincedespite the warm invitation, even published information wasn't shared withit.

According to some entrepreneurs who recently floated their new economystart-ups, their best foot forward to impress VCs fell rather flat since thelatter were too busy trying to impress the big daddies, fully armed with`good' credentials and charming smiles, leaving no stone unturned to attractfunds. And all this while experts at the seminar were trying to draw theattention of the VC industry on how to make sound investments and learn fromprevious mistakes.

Even as the Who's Who of the venture capital industry, including EM WarburgPincus & Co, Silicon Valley Bank, Schroeder Capital Partners, HarbourVestPartners and Salomon Smith Barney, were checking out their investmentopportunities in India, hopeful young job seekers from within the VCindustry were busy scouting for better employment prospects justshort of handing out copies of their CVs.

"I've just bagged three offers (read job offers), can't seem to decide onwhich one to go for," gushed one young executive working for a leadinginternational VC fund. "Wow, three offers in half a day... does that make ithalf a dozen for the entire day?" exclaimed his colleague in awe.

The official sessions were interspersed with informal name-calling sessionswith fund-seekers nicknaming venture capitalists as "vulture capitalists".

VCs in turn were heard describing fund seekers as "hungry leopards ready topounce on our booty".