Global Corporate Venturing Rising Stars Awards 2016: Karthik Prabhakar

In an Indian venture market better noted for investments than large numbers of strong exits, Karthik Prabhakar, vice-president and head of fundraising at IDG Ventures India (IDGVI), a regional corporate venturing unit of US-based publisher International Data Group, has had high-profile successes in both kinds of transaction.

He joined IDGVI in 2011 and serves as a member on the boards at PlaySimple Games, a mobile casual gaming studio, and Nestaway Technologies, a home rentals marketplace on the mobile and internet. He a board observer at FieldEZ Technologies, an on-demand mobile field force management software; LetsVenture Online, an online crowdfunding platform for startups; Newgen Software, an enterprise content management product suite; Living Consumer Products and ULink BioEnergy, a mobile commerce platform for agricultural inputs.

He was previously a board observer of Manthan Systems for two years from December 2012. He said he had played “a key role in completing the exit for IDG Ventures India from its investment in Manthan, which generated a multi-fold return to the fund”.

In addition to his responsibility on the investment advisory side, Prabhakar said he had “quickly taken on the added responsibility of heading fundraising and marketing at the unit and successfully set up the processes and systems”.

IDGVI is part of IDG Ventures, a global network of technology venture funds with more than $4bn under management, over 200 investee companies and 10 offices across Asia and North America. Although the India fund’s lead investor and sponsor is the International Data Group, it does have outside investors.

Before joining IDGVI in 2011, Prabhakar worked in product engineering and technical marketing roles, first at chipmaker Intel as a software engineer to speed up data transmission around the internet. During this time, in his spare time, he worked on a project that led to filing of a patent in the area of wireless sensor networks.

He then quit Intel’s new business initiatives to join IIM Bangalore, the top business institute in India, and did a summer internship at IDGVI and accepted an offer to join the firm after completing India’s equivalent of the MBA.

Of his corporate venturing role, he said: “With ample opportunities coming up every day in a rapidly evolving market such as India, the biggest challenge is to be able to grasp new technologies and make decisions very quickly.

“There is always the risk of losing a good opportunity or investing in a company that may lose capital – but it is critical to build a thesis quickly to make decisions. One has to be entrepreneurial, even while playing the role of an investor.

“One needs to have a very strong handle on consumer behaviour to invest in consumer businesses. It is very easy to be lost in the details and miss the big picture. One needs to constantly play to the strengths and delegate to bring in the right set of talent to support and nurture investments at the right times instead of trying to be the single person who knows all aspects of the investment and divestment cycle.”

In this, he said: “Independence in decision-making and ownership are key to a successful CVC. CVCs should encourage more of that to make it a stronger industry.”