One Way Ticket to India

By Anshul Rathi, Sr. Investment Associate, Asha Impact

Learnings from the field. Trying to understand the value add to farmers of a pipeline company.

I don’t identify myself as a writer but I feel particularly inspired at this moment in life. In the midst of twenties when I was thoroughly loving every facet of my life- My work as a Product Lead at Oscar Health, strong personal and professional connections and the ever-changing sky of New York City- I decided to take on a chance that got me to buy a one-way ticket to Mumbai.

My early days of being an entrepreneur landed me a scholarship to pursue my masters at Brown University where I first discovered my passion for tech and innovation. Being a person who feels energized by interacting with new people, I was fortunate and diligent enough to have my first connections as entrepreneurs whose stories of tryst and grit left me in a profound respect for them and successful VCs who were ensuring that these courageous dreams do not bite the dust.

While life looked like the real version of the American dream, something inside me was nudging me back to India. My support system- my family and friends were not the only reason, I felt India was at the inflection point of bigger and bolder bets in the VC industry.

When I heard about an opportunity at FactorE, an early stage US-based fund looking for someone to work with their India partner- Asha Impact, another impact focussed VC fund- there was no looking back. After 8 rounds of grueling interviews with both teams, I came aboard, leaving my previous job on April 12, flying to India on April 18 and starting with both the funds on April 22, like the good workaholic that I am!

Learnings from the field

One of the most rewarding experiences in my first 6 weeks being on field and seeing the impact our potential pipeline companies have on majorly underserved communities like farmers in remote parts of India. Here are the 3 big lessons that I learnt-

1. Convenience is really valuable for farmers- When I went to the field, my heart wanted farmers to be in the north section of the Maslow’s pyramid and I was really happy to see that in reality. I found the convenience of knowing what is going on their farms from the comfort of their home was really valuable to the farmers. The time saved from not going to farm for menial work was used to generate secondary income. This definitely takes the farmers even higher on Maslow’s pyramid.
2. Adoption of technology- I knew about the huge drive by the GoI to connect banks to Aadhar and I was expecting smartphone penetration in the farmer community. However, what blew my mind was farmers analyzing sophisticated graphs and data to make informed decisions resulting in an increase in yield per acre.
3. Agriculture is modernizing- Using smartphones, aggregating and analyzing data, and coming up with effective shortcuts to make tasks more efficient — these are ingrained millennial instincts. The current generation of farmers won’t think twice about leveraging existing or innovating new technology to modernize farming

I’m incredibly excited that I purchased a one-way ticket to Mumbai and to join this stellar team and learn and contribute every single day. Please join me in this exciting mission to invest in incredible founders and companies that will make our world better. If you’re in India/Mumbai and you’re an ambitious founder who wants to change the world, please don’t hesitate to reach out at anshul@ashaimpact.com or anshul@factore.com and let’s grab a coffee. Even on holidays- let’s just find a cafe near the Ocean!