Author: Heramb Hajarnavis

  • Creating a strong culture

    Creating a strong culture

    Building a culture that attracts, develops and retains strong talent is a holy grail for many organizations. But what does that kind of culture look like and how does one build it? Instilling a strong culture means having a core set of values that the organization believes in and lives by on a daily basis.…

  • Sowing the Right Seeds in a Portfolio Company

    Sowing the Right Seeds in a Portfolio Company

    A reprioritization of strategic initiatives at a company can become a tussle between entrepreneurs and investors. In general, investors will look for a focus on a narrow, well-defined and tested set of opportunities; whereas entrepreneurs, while pursuing those initiatives, will also seek new avenues for additional growth. Part of the reason for this dichotomy is…

  • Ensuring Sustainable Advantages

    Ensuring Sustainable Advantages

    How do you ensure sustainable competitive advantages? It’s a discussion that happens several times. We meet several passionate and energetic management teams seeking growth capital to take their businesses to the next level. As we learn more about their business and their long-term vision for it, we ask them to define their sustainable competitive advantage.…

  • Importance of Internal Communications

    Importance of Internal Communications

    The importance of internal communication “I suppose we should have spent more time discussing this within the organization and building the internal conviction for the product.” We were speaking with the senior management of a company recently when they mentioned that a recent change to their product line hadn’t worked as they had envisioned. Rather…

  • Building Organizational Agility

    Building Organizational Agility

    The geopolitical turbulence and global economic volatility over the past few years have bolstered the view that uncertainty is the new normal and is here to stay (or rather, to continuously change) for the foreseeable future. To be competitive in an ever-changing dynamic – fluctuating commodity prices, exchange rate movements, changing regulatory and political climate,…

  • Making Working Capital work for you

    Making Working Capital work for you

    “Cash is king.” This is a popular phrase in the financial world. The premise of the saying was founded in the rationale that in times of uncertainty, the liquidity of an entity is the best gauge of its sustainability. This saying is even truer for small and mid-size businesses in India. Unlike in certain other…

  • 10 Resolutions for Businesses for 2016

    10 Resolutions for Businesses for 2016

    10 Resolutions for Businesses for 2016 The beginning of a New Year is a good time to pause and reflect on the year that has gone by and take stock of the hits and misses – what worked well for your business and what could have been done better. It’s also a time of hopes…

  • Key Factors that influence investments

    Key Factors that influence investments

    WILL YOU PUNCH YOUR CARD ON THIS INVESTMENT? Private Equity professionals are often asked what makes or breaks an investment decision. In other words, when evaluating prospective portfolio companies, what are they looking for which will convince them to either invest in the company or walk away? A guiding principle for many investors is Warren…

  • An Open Letter to Promoters of mid-size companies

    An Open Letter to Promoters of mid-size companies

    Dear Promoter of growth stage company You’ve pulled it off. Despite the many obstacles in your way, you have succeeded in taking your venture from a fledgling start up to a growth stage company.  You identified a market need, developed a prototype, refined it into a product / service, created the distribution networks and secured…

  • The right time for Mid market companies in India

    The right time for Mid market companies in India

    The Right Time for Mid Market Companies in India There is no shortage of entrepreneurial ambition and potential in India. Small and mid sized businesses flourish in several parts of the country addressing consumer needs and demands. There are close to 12,000 mid market companies (between INR 150 – 750 crores of revenue) in India,…