Founded by Rajesh Sawhney, GSF is an accelerator that has funded 33 startups in 3 batches so far since its inception in 2012. GSF has been active with updates over the years and has recently launched the M-Accelerator, a Mobile Accelerator that will train and fund 10 “Mobile-First” startups in 2015.
Mobile technology has sparked the growth of entirely new industries and revolutionized both business practices and societal improvements worldwide. The resulting boom has created economic opportunities for billions of people and this is where M-Accelerator would breed new companies. "On the back of massive adoption of Smartphones and upcoming 4G rollouts, India will experience a gigantic evolution in the consumer behavior on mcommerce and mobile marketplaces. 'Mobile First' experience led models will disrupt the incumbents in many markets. GSF has created a specialized program for innovative start-ups focused on mobile," says Rajeh. M-Accelerator will focus on supporting startups with innovative & new business models and will provide them support in mobile growth hacking and mobile monetization. We got in touch with Rajesh for a quick Q&A to know the specifics:
YS: Is this is a separate fund and a separate batch?
Rajesh: Yes, its a separate batch. In fact, a whole new program with a specialized focus.
YS: What stage companies are you looking at?
Rajesh: Early stage companies with a prototype, may or may not have consumer traction.
YS: How much would be invested in these mobile starups?
Rajesh: We invest in two stages, all startups selected for M-Accelerator will receive between 40-50K USD funding. Additionally we will invest in the seed/seriesA rounds of a few post accelerator.
Here are some of the mobile companies in GSF portfolio:
Little Eye Labs: Mobile Analytics. First Facebook Acquisition in India
Pokkt: Alternate Mobile Wallet, enabling micro-payments.Silverpush: Mobile Advertising Platform for a connected world
Zapr: A disruption mobile app that enhances TV viewing and analytics
Timesaverz: A mobile platform for uberisation of services
Daily Rounds: A mobile app for doctors to learn and share
Customize: A mobile platform for field service agents, enhancing consumer experience
Airstream: A mobile app for streaming, sharing and accessing media across platforms
This new announcement gives a push to the focus on mobile and the 2015 batch will begin in February 2015. More information can be found here.
And yes, don't miss out on YourStory's Mobile Sparks on December 19th!
