Aayush Sachdeva, Founder and CEO of PitchKrafts, is a young and determined magnate who has potently assisted many investment bankers, consultants, founders, as well as business owners in preparing collaterals that are critical to the fundraising process.
With all the insightful knowledge gathered through the years, he continues to help startups and other fresh business models to receive multiple rounds of funding and find more potential investors. Aayush’s ability to plan and position the first communication tool between the entrepreneurs and investors has always established great chances for the pre-mature startups to have a financial projection and maneuver a successful business.
He founded PitchKrafts in 2020 to embark a journey of helping startups around the world get funded by creating powerful and professional Investment Collaterals for them such as Pitch Decks, Financial models, Valuation Reports, and Business Plans.
In an exclusive interaction with Motiverge, Aayush Sachdeva, Founder and CEO of PitchKrafts shares more insights about his venture, journey so far, motivation and future plans.
Below are the excerpts from the interview:
Tell us more about PitchKrafts. What is your business model?
PitchKrafts was conceived in 2020 to embark on a journey of helping startups around the world get funded by powerful and professional Investment Collateral for them such as Pitch Decks, Financial Models, Valuation Reports, and Business Plans. We are functioning from 2020 with 20+ people in the team. The platform aids startups and investment bankers, consultants, startup founders, and business owners of SMEs in developing Pitch Deck and Investment Collateral that is critical in the fundraising process, alternatively, PitchKrafts has also created Accelerate X that connects startups to more than 1000+ investors. In short, PitchKrafts has created a one-stop solution – an ecosystem for startups and investors to co-exist and get their funding jitters out of the way.
The business model is B2B and B2C focussed where PitchKrafts can serve business to business or even direct to its end-customers.
What factors influenced or motivated you to create a platform for startups to excel in their investor pitch and raise their desired funding?
From the beginning, I was in contact with a number of Startup founders and CEOs. I was also interested in pitching, financial modeling, and startup investments as part of the fundraising dynamics. So some of my founder friends approached me to assist them in creating their pitch deck; I created the deck, and they received a positive response; then, one after another, through word of mouth and networking, I received more requests; this was the point at which I realized there is a need in the ecosystem and a niche could be developed. As a result, I decided to start with a company that can assist other entrepreneurs in obtaining the greatest Pitch Decks and documents to impress investors. And with time, I added Financial forecasts, Valuation Reports, and Business Plans to our main offerings at PitchKrafts.
What were the first few steps during and after the launch of PitchKrafts?
The first few steps during and after the launch of PitchKrafts were struggling for me to find the right team with adequate knowledge of the work. And after the hiring process, the other obstacle was to onboard the clients. However, as time moved and we established our platform in the industry the past feels quite seamless and overwhelming at times.
Have you raised funds so far?
When it comes to financing, PitchKrafts hasn’t raised funds i.e we are bootstrapped, and presently we don’t need investors, and being self-funded has given us numerous advantages, such as not diluting your ownership, tremendous focus, and simple pivoting, executive and complete power on the projects.
Tell us about your motivation. What keeps you going?
I believe, motivation is the process by which goal-oriented behaviors are initiated, guided, and maintained. So, for me to keep this process aligned enough to wake up and start with a new day, I understand and write my future goals every day. Second, I feel I am competing for myself, and to be a better version of myself every coming day; I have to strive and work harder than yesterday.
How has your journey been so far?
My journey has been very overwhelming and full of achievements. PitchKrafts was incepted in 2020, in the times when the pandemic was going on. Even then in less than one year, we completed 500+ projects, many got investments and positive feedback from investors around the globe, which I think is a good achievement. So, I wouldn’t say that the journey wasn’t tough but I think the hard work has paid off well to date.
How big is your team? How did you manage your team & business during the COVID-19 outbreak?
We currently have 20+ in our team, during the lockdown, we all were working digitally and shared the required information using drives. Working from home didn’t feel like a task because everybody in the team was able to coordinate and adjust, understanding the importance of work and the pandemic situation. We onboarded most of our clients in the pandemic itself and completed over 500 projects. Hence, the numbers are quite self-explanatory of how well the team could coordinate.
What is the USP of PitchKrafts that differentiates the company from its competitors?
PitchKrafts’ team works on projects from conventional to new-age sectors, with expertise in all fields and a comprehensive grasp of the business world on a worldwide scale. PitchKrafts has worked with promising businesses in gaming, enterprise-tech, e-commerce, manufacturing, logistics, augmented reality/virtual reality, agri-tech, health-tech, bio-tech, event, cryptocurrency, blockchain, fin-tech, food-tech, AI, and SaaS industries. We have not only worked with hundreds of startups but have also made a significant impact in the investment field with our professional team and tailor-made impeccably prepared collateral that delivers on all fronts, every time. And, have helped clients to raise funding beginning from the pre-seed to series B and even beyond.
And recently, PitchKrafts has created “Accelerate X” to help start-ups seek financing support, build relationships with investors, and to make the process of funding easier for entrepreneurs and founders. Aside from pitch development, business planning, and financial projections, PitchKrafts’ new aim is to give new-age founders and investors an advantage to bridge the gap with ease and make lucrative deals. Moreover, PitchKrafts is helping investors get a direct and neutral connection with Startups and assisting new investors in starting their startup investment journey.
Being a startup, what do you think is the biggest challenge in India? Please share your views on how the Indian Government is doing on supporting startups?
One of the most serious issues in the Indian startup environment is a lack of competent guidance and mentorship. Up next, Gross incompetence, poor leadership, failure to differentiate a product or service from others currently available, disregarding client demands, and failing to learn from setbacks are also some common startup challenges. Hence, most companies have amazing ideas and/or products, but lack industry, business, and market experience to bring them to the market. Next comes, lack of risk-taking, financing, and marketing strategies.
For helping startups the Government established the ‘Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) with a corpus of INR 10,000 crore under the Startup India program to provide funding support for Startups across the XIV and XV Finance Commission cycles. And there are many initiatives like- Samriddhi Scheme, Startup India Fund, ASPIRE, The Venture Capital Assistance Scheme (VCA), etc. to help startups expand themselves in the coming years.
Where do you see yourself in the upcoming 3 to 5 years?
In the next five years, I would continue to work in the same capacity and develop to a higher level. I want to be the go-to company for any startup that needs assistance with pitching and fundraising collateral. Furthermore, we hope to expand the team to 100 people during the next year. In addition, we are excited to expand globally. This will be a significant sector in the next 3-5 years, and we will be the pioneers with a pan-India and global presence.
What are your messages or leadership lessons for budding entrepreneurs and startup enthusiasts?
One thing I’ve learned is that execution is everything. As company owners, we are bombarded with new ideas and plans on a daily basis; nevertheless, the key is determining the best next step, verifying it, and then carrying it through. Founders with strong execution skills have a better likelihood of success. Most importantly, entrepreneurial leaders work on developing those around them and instilling a sense of urgency within the organization as well as a mission worth pursuing. The design goals extend people’s talents, foster teamwork, and boost confidence.
Anything else you would like to share?
PitchKrafts is also launching Accelerate X – it bridges the gap between investors and startups, by connecting them at a single access point.
Hope this interview will motivate all the aspiring entrepreneurs. It is a part of our startup profiling feature story/interview series. We are on a mission to bring forward the inspirational journey of successful entrepreneurs in order to spread some motivation during these tough times.
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