This will be accomplished globally. There is a high correlation between air quality and illness, especially respiratory health. According to the data, a 10% increase in air pollution causes roughly a 20% increase in the incidence of cancer. Just imagine the applications of this technology. If you’re buying a home, for instance, don’t you want to know the level of air quality?Ī: Uvik Technologies has developed an app-based point-of-sale (POS) solution requiring no new hardware terminal. Ambee, for instance, is harnessing data and analytics to map, at a very localized level, air quality. Q: Tell me about one of the six business-to-business companies comprising the portfolio.Ī: There is a unifying theme connecting all of our portfolio companies. Each brings a high degree of applied mathematics to the product or service innovation. Q: How many companies are currently in the fund’s portfolio?Ī: Currently, there are six, but the fund will eventually include between 20 and 25 startups, with an average investment of $1 million to $3 million each, and on the high end we will be making investments of $5 million to $6 million. We believe we can geometrically amplify the valuation of these portfolio companies, with an occasional $500 million success story, but more typically we’re seeking to achieve a $100 million to $150 million valuation. GOOG. We believe we can industrialize any start-up’s business by bringing to the equation a global distribution network capable of assisting companies to forge new business relationships. Q: How do start-up companies in India gain access to global business customers?Ī: We expanded Season Two’s arsenal with McLaren Strategic Ventures, a built-in advisory firm to help our portfolio companies scale through targeted introductions to global enterprises. McLaren also helps to multiply the inherent value of these companies by employing top management consulting talent with backgrounds at leading firms such as PwC and McKinsey, and technology companies like Microsoft Q: What experiences from your UST Global days are you drawing upon to help the portfolio companies in Season Two Ventures?Ī: I grew up in the state of Kerala, the southern-most part of India. It’s similar to Hawaii only the vegetation is even more lush. Upon completing my education in computer science, I left India to join MCI Telecommunications, and later returned to India and founded UST Global, providing global companies with digital technology solutions to improve operating efficiencies. But the idea of UST Global started in a garage, literally! Later, we moved to California. The business lessons and experiences I have brought to the start-up companies in which Season Two invests include a decided belief in constantly innovating your product set, maintaining a low-cost operating structure, targeting global companies where you can sell more product to fewer customers and providing top-class customer service. Those are the building blocks of business success. Q: Are there specific niches within the business-to-business sector where the fund is focused?Ī: Season Two Ventures is laser-focused on three primary verticals where we see new technology solutions providing large and international companies with business operating efficiencies. These sectors are banking and financial services, healthcare and health tech and supply chain management for the retail industry.īefore launching the VC fund, I had planned to have my family office act as the funding platform for the investment in Indian B-to-B startups. But I soon realized entrepreneurs didn’t understand the family-office model. They are more familiar with venture capital firms. But my family office has provided about 20% of the total funds raised, so our interests are completely aligned with the fund’s limited partners. As for the name, we are seeking companies on the leading edge of technology innovation with a differentiated solution. Season Two seemed like an apt metaphor to express this idea.