Even as the thrill of a strategic tie-up with World Innovation Labs (WiL) continues, Gurgaon-based Green House Ventures (GHV) Accelerator is having more to celebrate. Mr. Makoto Takano, ex-President of PIMCO Japan Ltd., the world’s biggest asset management firm, joins GHV as a Board Member.
With his addition to the GHV family, the stronghold that they had in Japan is cemented permanently. Their strategic alliance with WiL in 2014 opened up the Japanese business ecosystem for GHV and now with Mr.Takano on board, it will only be strengthened. The trio has announced the launch of a INR 350 Crore fund for Indian startups.
Mr. Makoto Takano is the Founder of MT Partners K.K, whose core area of focus is extensive exposure in investing and management operation of ventures with future success potential. Presently, MT Partners assists 14 Companies including atomixmedia, inc., where Makoto Takano serves as CEO. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of Forbes JAPAN. Previously, he had headed the strategy team at Daiwa Institute of Research and the marketing team of Goldman Sachs Asset Management. He also serves as the Director of Nippon Finance Association, amongst others. Mr. Takano has an in-depth understanding of the startup world and is the Managing Director of Genuine Startups Ltd, which manages a VC fund (called the Genuine Fund). Mr. Takano is also the ex-President of PIMCO (Pacific Investment Management Company LLC), an American multinational investment management firm with over $1.52 trillion in assets under management, as on the 30th of June 2015.
Along with his counterparts, he brings with him a vast and exclusive network of potential collaborations and partnerships between the Indo-Japan startup ecosystems. Being an industry veteran, Mr.Takano is heavily equipped to accelerate the pace of India’s growth story. His mentoring, support and global expertise will prove to be critically beneficial to all the startups of GHV, especially when they look to raising funds.
With this alliance, Mr.Takano can look forward to relevant access and exposure to one of the fastest growing startup ecosystems in the world – India. He said, “India is a bullish economy and I am excited to be a part of many success stories from India, that we intend to create over time.”
Vikram Upadhyaya, is a Venture Capitalist and started his early investments as Angel Investor and has been investing in Indian Startups since 2007, some of the promising portfolios are Druva, Stayzilla, Loginext, CollegeSearch. He is a Chief Mentor & Evangelist at GHV Accelerator. He said, “This partnership is just a pleasant validation of our efforts & commitment. Mr. Takano and WiL have provided us with a solid foundation and the confidence to forge ahead….”
World Innovation Labs (WiL) will continue to handhold and support the growth and expansion of GHV startups in global markets, targeting Japan and the US, to help them scale and go global. WiL is a VC fund based out of Japan & Silicon Valley with US$400 mn, typically invests $5-30 million in early as well as growth-stage technology and internet startups through multiple rounds of investments and will continue to follow the same investment pattern for GHV startups. WiL has promising portfolios like DoctorOnDemand, HMV, Mercari, Gumi, Raksul, GiGSky and many more.
"India today looks like what China was 10 years back and growth here will be much stronger in the next few years. We would like to fund a couple of companies from GHV if there is a strong connection to Silicon Valley or Japan. If we see benefits of cross-border mentorship and regular dialogue, the next step will be to set up a fund or facility which we can jointly run to continue our relationship," said Gen Isayama, Co-founder and CEO, WiL.
Recently, two portfolio companies of GHV – Applop and MyTaxiIndia bagged additional rounds of funding. One of their startups in the laundry space was in the news for operational breakeven.
