Bet early and exit often: How IIMA Ventures creates a healthy investment cycle

The startup incubator, part of the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A), is barred from raising funds from institutional investors due to regulations governing educational institutions’ involvement in commercial, for-profit activities. As a result, IIMA Ventures doesn’t operate a fund, and instead invests through its balance sheet. The firm, which invests in pre-seed and seed-stage companies, has since last year doubled cheque sizes to up to $500,000, from $200,000 earlier.