For years, institutional venture capital, with its large teams, multi-partner consensus, and standardised processes, has defined how early-stage capital gets deployed in India. Alongside this landscape there is a complementary model that is emerging through Solo General Partners (Solo GPs): independent investment professionals managing capital in increasingly sophisticated ways. Globally, Solo GPs have emerged as a major force in private equity and venture capital. Now, India, with its rapidly expanding entrepreneurial ecosystem, is catching up. This isn’t merely about smaller check sizes or leaner operations. It represents the rise of a new cultural logic in Indian venture capital. Solo GPs are not just downsized institutional funds, they are personal capital brands, shaped by lived experience, defined by domain fluency, and differentiated through tighter alignment with founders who crave speed, trust, and clarity. Over the last decade, venture data from developed markets points to a simple truth: outsized outcomes don’t always require outsized funds. Top-decile VC performers have a median fund size of just $38 Mn, with the broader top quartile at $65 Mn. Many of these funds are led by solo GPs, and nearly three-quarters are Fund I or Fund II vehicles, underscoring the edge that comes from early conviction,… Read MoreInc42 Media
