Gurugram-based enterprise and know-how faculty Masters’ Union has launched a Rs 100 crore ($12 million) early-stage funding fund geared toward entrepreneurs below the age of 25.

The fund, MU Ventures, will again early-stage startups with preliminary investments beginning at round Rs 5 lakh, with typical first cheques within the Rs 10-20 lakh vary.

“It’s straightforward to lift $100,000, $1 million and even $10 million. However the first $10,000, that’s the hardest,” Mittal mentioned. “That first cheque provides you the arrogance to depart your job and validates your thought.”

The fund will function throughout 4 tracks, together with a “Dropout Fund” for college and school leavers, a “Bharat Capital Fund” targeted on smaller cities, and a “Content material Creator Fund” for digital-first companies. A separate Founders’ Union observe might be backed by established entrepreneurs.

Saksham Kotiya, managing associate at MU Ventures, mentioned the initiative goals to create a mannequin similar to Y Combinator, however tailor-made to India. The fund is anticipated to make between 10 and 20 investments yearly.

The fund’s advisory council contains Shishir Maheshwari, together with trade leaders comparable to Manoj Kohli, Pankaj Bansal, Vivek Gambhir and Nidhi Ghuman, in keeping with Masters’ Union’s web site.

Functions might be accepted on a rolling foundation and the fund is sector-agnostic. Along with capital, chosen startups will obtain mentorship, know-how credit, CXO networks and investor-readiness help by partnerships with corporations together with Amazon, Google, Razorpay, Webflow and Airtable.

Founders may also be flown to San Francisco for a demo day to pitch to world buyers.

Masters’ Union mentioned startups rising from its ecosystem embrace ventures comparable to Sanyark Area, Cryptique, Flourish Meals, Bambaii, Guardex, Bana Roma and Mother’s Mixes.