Venture Garage

Before you reach out

• Venture Garage is a fundraising partner, not a programme. It does not run a cohort, and it says it picks only a handful of startups from the 2000+ it sees each year.
• Have a clear story on team, traction, product and market. Those are the four things it says it looks at.
• It is sector agnostic and works from seed to Series A/B, so it is not limited to one industry.

How to approach

• Use the Get Funded button or the contact form, or email the startups inbox on the contact page. No introduction is stated as necessary.
• Expect a screening step: most deals are screened out at the first level, then the investment leads assess the rest.

What happens if you are taken on

• Venture Garage sends a short summary to selected investors, then the full information memorandum to those who show interest.
• The process runs through investor discussions, a term sheet, due diligence and the raise itself. Be ready to revise your business model and memorandum on investor feedback.

Check these with the team

• Its pages give different numbers for how many startups it takes each year and how large its investor network is. Ask what applies now.
• The site states no fee or equity terms for its own services in what we read. Ask in writing before you agree to anything.

Venture Garage is an investor network and fundraising partner for Indian startups, based in Delhi NCR. It describes itself as a network of angels, family offices, VCs and PEs who fund the startups it works with at various stages, and it also invests alongside its angel network. It is run by Online Potato Consultancy Pvt. Ltd. and is not an incubator or accelerator: its own startups page says its approach is very different from accelerators and incubation programmes.

What it does for founders

Venture Garage sources 2000+ startups annually and curates a handful of 25-30 every year. It then works with those founders over the next few years to raise capital over multiple rounds. The site says it handholds startups through their early years on four areas: building a fundable story, market access, product and business strategy, and raising capital to scale. It is sector agnostic, covers seed to Series A/B, and also handles strategic investments and M&A. It says it works across multiple geographies.

How the fundraising process works

The startups page lays out a 7 step process. Venture Garage sends a short summary to selected investors, then the full information memorandum to those who show interest. Founders then go through several rounds of discussion with investors, improve the business model and memorandum on the feedback, receive a term sheet, go through due diligence and close the round. The site says it looks for team, traction, product and market.

How it screens startups

On its investors page, Venture Garage says 80% of deals are weak propositions screened out immediately at the first level. Its investment leads then assess the remaining 20% on team, market opportunity and business model. Partners speak one-on-one with founders and with seasoned investors and sector experts, and only the top 2% reach its investors. The site gives different counts for how many startups it takes on each year, and different sizes for its investor network, so treat those numbers loosely.

Investor arms

VG Angels is its angel network of HNIs, CXOs of large enterprises and successful founders. It runs invite-only online pitch days on Saturday afternoons where two selected startups pitch to angels, and the page counts 50+ editions. VG Capital is its network of institutional investors, covering VCs, PEs and family offices. VG Corporate has worked since 2022 with large enterprises and corporates on strategic investments and acquisitions, as an exit route for investors. It also runs a Venture Partner programme for ecosystem enthusiasts.

Track record, as the firm reports it

The portfolio page says 65+ startups have received VC, angel and strategic funding through Venture Garage, and lists exits, listed companies and companies with draft IPO filings. These are the firm's own figures and are not audited.

Who runs it and where

Vivek Kumar is Co-Founder and CEO, and Vineet Sagar is Co-Founder and Managing Partner. The corporate office is in Gurgaon, near Delhi, and the site lists presence in Delhi/NCR, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kolkata, the UAE and the UK. The site does not give a founding year.

How to reach them

Startups can use the Get Funded button or contact form on the site, or write to the startups inbox on the contact page. There is no fixed application window or published eligibility rule beyond the criteria above.