Dhruv Dhanraj Bahl, previously serving as the chief operating officer at the financial technology giant BharatPe, has ventured into the investment arena with the establishment of his own venture capital firm, Eternal Capital. The firm is kicking off with an ambitious maiden fund aimed at amassing Rs 120 crore, complemented by an option to secure an additional equal sum through a greenshoe option.
Regulatory nods for the newly-minted fund were secured in November 2023, and since then, Eternal Capital has garnered soft commitments approximately amounting to Rs 102 crore from a slew of entrepreneurs, as shared by Bahl. Among this investor cohort are influential figures such as Suhail Sameer, the former CEO of BharatPe, Deep Kalra of MakeMyTrip fame, Tarun Mathur from PolicyBazaar, Vikas Gupta who helms VLCC, and Nalin Negi, the CEO of Bharat.
It’s fund by an operator, for operators, and from operators,
Bahl remarked, elucidating the concept behind the fund’s inception. The aim is to facilitate streamlined access to institutional deals through a managed fund while also leveraging the investors’ collective social and intellectual prowess.
Over the past six years, Bahl has been an active angel investor, placing bets on over 50 startups through personal investments. His portfolio includes diverse startups such as Stupa Sports Analytics, Basic Home Loans, ApniBus, Volt Money, DrinkPrime, AdmitKard, GenWise, and Vama.
In the last six years, my idea was that I invest in startups where I connect with the operator and the problem they are solving and help them beyond (providing) capital, where I could actually add value,
Bahl explained. His investment philosophy centers around supporting dynamic entrepreneurs tackling real-world challenges.
Eternal Capital is poised to leverage its limited partners’ expansive network to provide startups with guidance, mentorship, and essential connections, extending beyond mere capital infusion. With a focus on curating high-potential deals for its partners, the fund plans to allocate 75% of its resources to seed and pre-Series A funding stages, earmarking the remaining 25% for follow-on investment rounds up to Series A.
While the fund’s investment strategy remains largely sector-agnostic, it anticipates channeling approximately $250,000 to $300,000 into each startup, eyeing a total of 30-35 investments over a three-year horizon. Furthermore, Eternal Capital may consider utilizing the greenshoe option contingent upon the initial capital’s deployment.
Areas that particularly pique Bahl’s interest include fintech, software-as-a-service (SaaS), consumer sectors, clean energy, and the burgeoning fields of sports and gaming. In a departure from the traditional VC and private equity fund fee structure of 2/20, Eternal Capital is pioneering a new model that offers tiered carried interest and hurdle rates, incentivizing its limited partners based on their investment outlay and returns. The fund has also instituted a cap on its management fee for a five-year term, among other innovative structural adjustments.
