KANWALJIT Singh is one of the managing directors at Helion Ventures Partners, a $ 140 million, India-focused venture fund, investing in technology-powered businesses in sectors like outsourcing, Internet, mobile and technology products. Its portfolio companies include travel portal Makemytrip.com.

Before co-founding Helion Ventures, Singh was a director and the co-head of top-tier VC fund the Carlyle Group's India operations for four years. At Carlyle, he helped define the strategy for Carlyle India, invested in over half-a-dozen companies and worked closely with the portfolio companies to help them accelerate their business.

Prior to Carlyle, Singh worked for 13 years in the marketing and business development functions of Intel Corporation and Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL). As the Head of Marketing for South Asia at Intel, he was instrumental in building the Intel brand in India. He spent over 10 years at HLL in various jobs including sales, brand management and product innovation.

Singh has a Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering from Panjab University and an MBA in Marketing and Finance from the Faculty of Management Studies, New Delhi.

MBAUniverse.com caught up with him in the Capital recently to get a ringside view into the world of VC funding and his advice to budding entrepreneurs. Excerpts from the interview:

Q: How do you find the overall venture investment climate in India?

Good times to be in! The Indian economy is booming, and so it the entrepreneurial spirit in India. There are about 450 VCs operating here. At Helion, we are getting a lot of business plans, which is proof of the entrepreneurial drive. Last year, for instance, we got 600 business plans for our consideration. We funded 10 such plans.

Q: What parameters do you look at when you analyse a funding proposal?

We look at multiple parameters for evaluating a proposal. First and foremost is the quality of the founding team. This is the most important parameter for us. Then is the business domain or space where the idea is rooted. The domain should ideally be big enough to allow for scaling up. We then look at the core proposition or the idea itself -- how does it work, is it better than existing products or services etc. Ability to execute the plan is key too.

If the proposal passes all these tests, we then look at financials - the requirement of funds, possible structure of the deal etc.

Entrepreneurs should ask these questions to themselves, introspect and be prepared.

Photograph: Vipurva Parikh

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