Timon Innovation Centre - India - Israeli JV beckons entrepreneurs and smart VCs

I have great pleasure in announcing with Zohar Gendler, CEO, Technion Entrepreneurial Incubation Centre, Israel www.teic.co.il that we have finalized the business plan for Timon Innovation Centre ( TIC ) to be founded in India. We want Timon to be a breeding ground for fantastic projects mooted by brilliant entrepreneurs in the Medical Devises and IT sectors. Those of you wannabe entrepreneurs, harbouring dreams of making it back to India ( with your experience, wisdom and wealth in tact ) and willing to invest in the TIC may please write in. We put the 1st phase of the project to cost close to US $ 9 million.

VCs have shown interest to invest in the companies operating from TIC but not in TIC itself. They feel it could be a fund of funds model. Our business model has been consciously designed such that investment in Companies in TIC can only be made thro TIC so that startup entrepreneurs are not intimidated by direct presence of VC on their boards. Many of them have opined that they don't mind VCs being present together with us. They fear that VCs would soon begin to breath down their neck stunting creativity midway.

We target at the bottom end, a very reasonable 3 exits out of 15 investments over a period of 7 years. The projects shall be vetted for their viability and constitution by a core team of Advisors drawn from elite Technologists / Academicians from IIT, IISc, IIM and Universities and Institutes overseas. These advisors shall be available for the incubatees to seek timely guidance besides sharing their enormous contacts all over the world.

Besides all else, TIC would provide you with an investment opportunity in well founded startups backed by sound teams and enforcement of complete corporate governance. Investments in public listed equities in India have become almost impossible owing to runaway valuations fuelled by recent bull run.

Just in case you are interested in knowing more about us, please write in for more info. You might as well Google talk / skype me at kmonyb.