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Nin Desai: An Avid Leader, Investor and Tech Geek

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CIO Look
Nin Desai: An Avid Leader, Investor and Tech Geek

Investment is often an art rather than just a business facet. The market is filled with lots of opportunities thus, many budding companies with exceptional potential striving in the industry. Realizing this potential requires a keen understanding and a strong tactical sense of doubling the investments. Such qualities can be seen in Nin.  

Meet Ms. Nin Desai, President, and CEO of NIN Ventures, an experienced fund manager and a technology geek. She specializes in investing in disruptive technologies. She seeks some exceptional disruptive technologies that change an existing industry and also helps create a new market and value network, displacing an earlier technology or a way of doing business. Her company, NIN Ventures (or NIN.VC), a venture capital firm offers financing to early-stage emerging companies with high growth potential in exchange for equity / an ownership stake.  

The risks VCs take investing in disruptive technologies or business models yield higher returns than their limited partners (or investors) require. Since the beginning of the 20th century, venture capital has been the domain of wealthy individuals and families. A typical LP base in a venture fund would be institutions, pension funds, endowments, family offices, etc.  

CIO Look admires such an organization and appreciates Nin’s contribution in its special edition.  

Below are the highlights on Nin’s journey, in their own words:  

The 2008 Financial Meltdown led to liquidity crises for entrepreneurs, companies, LPs, & VCs. Fewer IPOs in the market mean no exits for VCs, no returns for LPs, and as a result venture funds were on a decline. No new funds mean less startup funding, low employment, and slow economic growth. Thus on April 5, 2012, The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (the JOBS Act) was introduced, which enables crowdfunding for all Americans and that’s how NIN.VC came into existence.  

NIN.VC is a unique and first of its kind crowdfunded technology venture capital fund for accredited investors who can invest in the NIN Ventures Technology (QP) Fund with a minimum amount of $100,000 using multiple investment options like selfdirected IRAs, Defined benefit plan, or a regular checking/savings account. NIN Ventures invests in early / growth stage 3D printing, the 4th industrial revolution, cloud computing, virtual reality, financial services, education software, and other disruptive technology companies.  

Ms. Nin Desai is the President and CEO at NIN Ventures. As of 2017, only 6% of the venture capitalists were women, and 2.7% of women-owned businesses received venture capital funding. Ms. Desai is among the handful of VCs we have around here. Her experience spans all facets of mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance including public offerings and private placements from private equity to investment banking and investment management.  

Until now Venture Capital was the domain of the super-wealthy and institutions, like pension funds, endowments. NIN.VC is a unique and first of its kind crowdfunded technology venture capital fund for accredited investors. While there are restrictions on who can invest in NIN Ventures Technology (QP) Fund, it is never too late to start investing in venture capital. One must be an accredited investor and verify themselves as an accredited investor to invest in the NIN Ventures Technology (QP) Fund. However, note that Venture capital is a long term investment and the life of the fund ranges from ten to sometimes twelve years with returns coming in as and when exits occur in the form of an IPO or M&A, which could be five or seven years into the life of the fund.  

The top three criteria any investor should look for in a venture fund is team, experience, and honesty/transparency. As far as returns are concerned, Technology focused funds generally tend to outperform USVC (United States Venture Capital) Index. Historically, USVC Index tends to outperform both USPE (United States Private Equity) Index and the S&P 500. Also, unlike popular belief, first-time funds tend to outperform Non-First-Time funds and All Venture Capital funds.  

Most people are familiar and have a three-dimensional portfolio (i.e., stocks, bonds, and mutual funds), but if you look at Harvard and Yale’s portfolios, they take a long-term approach and invest in alternatives like venture capital. E.g. Yale is currently the best performing endowment fund in the United States and its venture investment returns exceed all other asset classes. From 2008 to 2019, Yale has increased its asset allocation in Private Equity / Venture Capital from 20.2% to 37%, out of which 21.1% is venture capital, compared to 13.7% in 2014 and just 10% in 2013. Yale’s target venture capital allocation for 2020 was 21.5%, w. Yale’s venture capital portfolio is expected to generate real returns of 12.3% with risk of 37.8%. Over the past twenty years, its venture capital program has earned an outstanding 241.3% per annum. NIN.VC is your gateway to this asset class – Venture Capital. As a female CEO in the venture world, Ms. Desai hopes to set an example for businesswomen worldwide by educating people about venture capital and explore the potential of women in the investment world.  

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