E105: Kanika Mayar (Partner, Vertex Ventures - SEA&I)

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Kanika Mayar is a Partner at Vertex Ventures SEA & India (VVSEAI), a fund part of the global Vertex Ventures network of funds, with portfolio companies such as Licious, FirstCry, Nium, Binance, Grab, Yatra, and Happy Fresh. In addition to Southeast Asia and India, the Vertex Global Network is comprised of affiliates in Silicon Valley, China and Israel.

Kanika joined Vertex Ventures in 2020 and focuses on opportunities in India in agritech, B2B, consumer, and health tech. Kanika has worked in private equity, asset management, and investment banking for over 9 years.

Prior to joining Vertex, Kanika was an Investment Officer with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) where she focused on investing in early-stage technology, telecom, renewable energy and infrastructure companies across India and South Asia. Before IFC, Kanika was with Goldman Sachs’s Investment Banking team covering transactions in natural resources in Europe.

Kanika holds a Bachelor in Economics from the Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Episode Notes:

1. Intro (1:30)

2. Kanika's professional trajectory (2:42)

3. A general overview of the VC industry in recent years (7:00)

4. India's macro trends (14:22)

5. Kanika's India thesis (21:23)

6. Portfolio startup learnings (31:51)

7. Establishing long-term relationships with founders (41:20)

8. Advice to anyone entering venture capital (51:30)