Interview
Interview: Vikram Gupta
Vikram Gupta is the Founder and Managing Partner of IvyCap Ventures, a Venture Capital Fund that invests through the Alumni ecosystems. He has over 25 years of experience in private equity, business consulting, M&A, strategy and operations in various fields. He has held leadership positions across various well-known companies in India and abroad. He conceptualized and led IBM’s Healthcare and Life Sciences practice for Clinical Genomics.
IvyCap Ventures was founded in 2011 with a vision to leverage the global alumni ecosystems to foster Entrepreneurship in India and maximize returns for its Investors.
He has been felicitated with the Distinguished Alumni Service Awards, 2020.
In an interview to Dr Vanita Srivastava of the Communication Cell, he talks about how he started IvyCap and his days at IIT Delhi.
Edited excerpts:
If there was one takeaway from my stay at IIT Delhi, it was the outstanding power of our Alumni eco-system. IIT Delhi gave me the ability to think beyond the normal. The campus had a very special feeling, an amazing connect and the interactions were beyond just academics. I was the music Secretary in my third year. The experience of organising music nights, Rendezvous and inter hostel events gave me a lot of confidence in connecting with people beyond my hostel, department or batch. Today, I am indebted to IIT Delhi for where I am in my career.
How and when did you get the idea for Ivycap? What were the major challenges and how could you overcome them?
The idea of IvyCap came to my mind when I was setting up India's first Healthcare and Life Sciences Private Equity Fund at Piramal Group. That Fund was set up in 2008 when the global markets were struggling. I realised that a Venture Capital Fund that builds on an Alumni network concept will be able to create substantial value for its stakeholders. We incorporated the concept of Endowment when we were setting up the first Fund at IvyCap. This led to the idea of setting up an Endowment Fund at IIT Delhi. Setting up a Venture Capital Fund from scratch was not easy. But the concept of harnessing the Alumni ecosystem and investing through that ecosystem worked very well.
What does this award mean to you?
I feel honoured and humbled to have received such a prestigious award.
What would you like to convey to the young students of IIT Delhi?
I would encourage our young students to start thinking of ways to stay connected with the campus and find meaningful ways to give back to IIT Delhi. Our institution stands out in the global market with the way our Alumni have been contributing to the society. We need to strengthen our institution, improve the infrastructure, quality of innovation and research and competitiveness in the global markets.
What was the most important takeway from your stay at IIT Delhi?
How did the institute help in shaping your personality and career?