As an entrepreneur choosing the right investor partner is one of the most important decisions you can take. I’ve seen many new entrepreneurs unclear on how they should go about choosing the right startup funding program. In this article I would like to give my thoughts on some of the different types of startup funding programs in India.

Angel Investor NetworksThere are several angel investors in India who are looking to invest in good entrepreneurs and ideas. Before choosing which network to approach, do your research on them. Understand what value they would bring, how their investment process operates and do get feedback from entrepreneurs whom they have invested in.
Seed FundsThere are several seed funds in the market today. Bringing in institutional capital has its own set of conditions and at a seed stage a company needs time to develop their idea into a scalable business model which may require some pivots along the way. So, really think about at what stage would you ideally like to bring in a fund and till when would you realistically be able to bootstrap your venture with your own capital or through friends and family.
Government Funding ProgramsToday we see several state and central government programs aimed at supporting startups. I suggest people to think through the value this investment would bring to your venture and understand the investment process they follow before deciding to take this route.
While investors have much more choice when deciding which entrepreneur to back, I do feel that a good entrepreneur also has a choice on which investor to bring into their venture. Any program you take funding from is an investor in your venture and even if you feel that you may have to take funding from whomever is willing to fund you when things are tough, do be mindful of the value an investor can bring to you apart from capital and choose wisely.