Kick-Start

Founder and Managing Director of Kalaari Capital, one of India's biggest early-stage VC firms, Vani Kola believes in backing young, first-time entrepreneurs. She has led more than 30 investments at Kalaari in e-commerce, gaming and digital content, among other sectors, and some of her successful portfolio companies include Dream11, Myntra, Cure.fit and Snapdeal.

She believes that a dialogue between a VC and an entrepreneur should be honest and transparent. She says such communication has always proven to be an effective way to defuse situations that could cause friction. In a blog post, Kola says today's world of business and technology is seeing an unprecedented upsurge in participation from women. She points out that in India itself, about eight million women have either started or are running businesses, and that women-owned entities account for about 10 per cent of formal enterprises.

Citing the example of one of her investee companies, Truweight, where about 90 per cent of the workforce is women, Kola says, "The millennial women exude confidence like never before, are ready to break through the old boys' network and make a mark of their own."