Iconic industrialist and India Inc’s guiding light Ratan Tata, who breathed his last late Wednesday night at Mumbai’s Breach Candy hospital, was among the most successful and sought-after angel investors for emerging startups in the Indian startup ecosystem. Salt-to-software Tata Group’s patriarch had also started his personal investment vehicle RNT Associates after his retirement as Chairman in 2012 to manage his angel investments in startups and new ventures.
RNT Associates primarily focused on funding early-stage and growth-stage startups. It had invested in a wide range of sectors, including fintech, health tech, education, consumer goods, and more. Ola, Paytm, Snapdeal, CarDekho, Urban Ladder, Zivame, and BlueStone were among the initial investments.
However, did you know that investing in startups was not entirely a thought-out move by Ratan Tata?
During an interaction with venture capital firm Chiratae Ventures Chairman Sudhir Sethi back in October 2019 at an event, Ratan Tata recalled that it was an accident for him to become a startup investor.
“I entered the startup investor partly by accident. During the years that I was with the Tata Group, I always looked at the startups as a sector that is exciting but somewhat untouchable because somewhere or other there will be conflict of interest with Tata Group,” PTI had quoted Tata as saying.
However, when he retired, Tata said he started making small token investments from his own pocket in what he considered to be exciting companies. “So, what I did was to take some more risks than I might have taken under different circumstances,” he said.
Highlighted the areas he looked at before backing a startup, Tata said the promoters’ fire in the belly, ideas and the solutions they offer were the drivers of his investment decision.
“In my case it was selection from intuition, in fact I would say talking with the founders, drawing conclusions from their attitude, maturity and their seriousness meant more to me than any other thing or factor,” the then 81-year-old had said.
Commenting on the high cash-burn model of startups, Tata had said that he is not worried. “Look at other countries, startups have been there for much longer. It goes without saying that this sector will grow and it already has proven to be the case.”
According to data from Tracxn, Tata went on to invest in 46 Indian startups in his lifetime, of which nine have been unicorns (Lenskart, Urban Company, Ola, Moglix, CarDekho, Snapdeal, CureFit, Upstox, and Paytm Mall), five have been listed (FirstCry, Xiaomi, Ola Electric, Crayon, Tracxn), while three have been acquired (NestAway, Lybrate, and Ampere Vehicles).
As Ratan Tata’s legacy would continue to have an indelible positive impact on entrepreneurs and founders, here are some of his notable quotes that reflect his views on entrepreneurship and startups:
“I don’t believe in taking right decisions. I take decisions and then make them right.”
“Risk is part of the process of success. Failure teaches us what works and what doesn’t, and it gives us resilience to pursue success with more vigor.”
“I admire people who are very innovative, people who break rules and create something new and different.”
“I think that when you’re doing something new, you’ve got to have the passion and commitment to follow it through.”
“Ups and downs in life are very important to keep us going, because a straight line, even in an ECG, means we are not alive.”
“None can destroy iron, but its own rust can! Likewise, none can destroy a person, but his own mindset can.”
“The early Rockefellers made their wealth by hiring people smarter than themselves. Be unafraid to hire people who are smarter than you.”
“If you want to walk fast, walk alone. But if you want to walk far, walk together.”
“I’ve always been a strong believer that the people who go through those difficult times, when they come out of it, become much stronger and much more resilient.”
“A founder who is not passionate about what he or she is doing is not going to succeed in the long run.”
