From Scratch to Scale, Redefined
Investing in founders at early stage, with conviction and meaningful capital — no outdated playbooks.
About Us
Our investment philosophy
Seed investing has been done the same way for too long—small cheques, no deep conviction, and surface level support to founders. We’re here to change that.
Kstart is a seed initiative by Kalaari Capital, built to challenge the outdated norms of seed-stage investing.
At Kstart, our investment philosophy rests on four pillars – quality of the founding team, disruptive potential of the idea, market opportunity and validation – in that order of priority. We believe that entrepreneurs who have demonstrated rigor in terms of their resilience and perseverance have a significantly higher chance of accelerating the success of their ideas.
This is seed investing, redefined.
Seed means small cheque size
We provide meaningful cheques of $500K-$1M, ensuring businesses aren’t undercapitalised even at the earliest stages.
Ghosting is normal in the Venture Capital industry
We know how valuable a founder’s time is. While detailed feedback isn’t always possible, we ensure every founder gets a clear, timely response.
Seed investing is about making a large number of uncertain bets
We invest with high conviction, backing only a select few founders who we believe have unique insights about a market and the vision to build large businesses.
Seed investing is about chasing hype
We don’t chase hype. We back founders with deep market understanding, and the ambition to create long term category-defining companies.
Seed-stage investors are passive investors
The best partners aren’t easy—they’re honest and there for you. We challenge ideas, ask the hard questions, and back founders with conviction when it matters the most.
Founders should have all the answers from day zero
We invest in founders who ask the right questions, not just those with all the answers. Curiosity, adaptability, insights and execution matters the most to us.
You need traction to raise seed capital
We invest in insights, not just metrics. If we believe in the market, the problem, and think that if the founder has unique insights, we don’t wait for traction – even an idea is good for us.
Starting up is stressful — fundraising shouldn’t be.
Transparency isn’t a bold move—it should be the norm. This is our process.
Reach Out To Us
Share your vision and team story in under 3 minutes. If it clicks, we’ll reach out for an introductory chat. If not, you’ll hear from us—no waiting, no guesswork.
First Connection
30min introductory chat to get to know the team and business idea in detail. If we are excited and want to move forward, we will setup followup calls / meetings to dive deeper, if not – we will share candid feedback on what didn’t work for us
Deep Dive
We build deeper conviction with followup meets and move you to Investment Committee meeting. During the deeper dive if we are not able to build strong conviction – we let you know why and timely. Founder’s time is valuable and we respect that.
Investment Committee
Our team becomes your team while we prep you to present to the IC. You’ll present to operators who’ve built and scaled companies themselves.
Final Decision
A unanimous yes from the IC means a term sheet. A not-yet comes with specific feedback. And if it is a no, we’ll tell you exactly what’s missing. We don’t believe in shortcuts in communication.
FAQs
What is Kstart?
Kstart is a seed initiative by Kalaari Capital, designed to challenge conventional seed investing. We do high-conviction investments, providing meaningful capital and support to help founders build from scratch.
What kind of founders do you invest in?
We invest in founders who have deep market insights, strong execution abilities, and the ambition to build transformative businesses. We don’t require traction if we believe in the problem and the founder’s approach.
What are the terms of these investments?
We believe in keeping things simple from the start. We provide a standard term sheet that aligns with the best interests of all parties.
Do you have specific sectors you focus on?
We are sector-agnostic but prioritize areas where technology creates a significant advantage. We are particularly excited about markets with high growth potential and founders with unique insights.
What is your decision-making process?
We respect founders’ time. If there’s strong alignment, we engage deeply, and founders can expect a transparent and timely decision.
We closed our Seed round. Can we still pitch to Kstart?
If you have raised seed funding in the past and are looking for your next round, we advise you reach out to pitch@kalaari.com. We typically look at investments under $1M and provide the necessary support the startup requires at that stage.
Do we need traction or revenue to raise funding from Kstart?
No. We invest in insights, not just metrics. If you have a strong market understanding, a well-defined problem, and a compelling vision, we’re open to backing you—even at the idea stage.
Does Kstart lead rounds? What is the best way to connect with the team?
We typically like to lead rounds. However, we are also open to co-invest and participate. While we get back to every ideas we receive, we also highly value referrals from our peers in the ecosystem – operators, founders, bankers and investors.
