NEW DELHI, April 16 -- Varun Sheth tells the story matter-of-factly but it's the stuff movies are made of.
In 2012, soon after he founded his crowdfunding company Ketto, Sheth was making daily rounds of investors, knocking desperately on every door to raise capital to give a much needed boost to his (till then) bootstrapped business. For months, he went on pitching doggedly, running from pillar to post, but had no luck. Rejections began to pile up.
Like a self-fulfilling prophecy, venture capitalists with deep coffers were unwilling to put money on Sheth's idea. "No one was ready to believe Indians would be willing to donate, that too to causes on the internet, but we informally give all the time-be it to our house help, driver, neighbour...