Suneel Gokhale Partner of VentureSouq speaks about ICOs
By Tamara Pupic / Entrepreneur Middle East - Image Credit : VentureSouq
SOURCE : Entrepreneur Middle East - What You Need To Know About ICOs: Suneel Gokhale Partner, VentureSouq
Suneel Gokhale Partner of VentureSouq spoke, to Entrepreneur Middle East, about his thoughts on the brave new world of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs).
How are traditional VCs, both globally and regionally, reacting to ICOs disrupting the world of investments?
“Crypto and ICOs are potentially highly disruptive to the VC industry and different VCs have taken different approaches. Some have stayed away, almost digging their heels in and continuing to take the position that ‘this is a bubble’. Others have gone all in and in some cases completely shifted away from traditional venture funding and moved almost 100% in crypto. For VentureSouq, we are somewhere in the middle– we have not gone headfirst into ICOs but rather have looked at investing in companies that are built around blockchain with clear use cases that address some of the existing friction points with respect to crypto. I think that we, along with all other investors in the VC space, are likely to have the same thoughts– how we raise money and invest in early-stage technology companies is likely going to look different in the next 2-5 years. That could mean only raising money through ICOs in the future, which would be the most aggressive form of disruption, or something milder like using smart contracts to close investments and agree terms with our investors and then using blockchain to keep registers or KYC information.
"For now, there has been significant demand from our investors to see investment opportunities in crypto and blockchain, so much so that we have even had dedicated events and programming with respect to cryptocurrencies. At least a couple of times a week, we get a call from an investor asking us about the latest ICO or development in crypto. It’s been great as we love the high level of engagement from our investor base, and we don’t see this as a threat but rather an opportunity for our investors.
Source: entrepreneur.com