“Treat funds as someone else’s money”: Urban Company

Urban Company co-founder Raghav Chandra strongly believes that raising venture funding is very similar to taking a loan and startup founders must “treat it as someone else’s money.” Speaking to Fortune India, Chandra added, “It is important to keep your head right and know what the money's for; and who is the money from. If that’s sorted, then fundraising is fun, healthy, and investors are fun and helpful.” In June this year, the home services marketplace raised its Series F round of funding of $255 million. The Series F round was led by Prosus Ventures, Dragoneer and Wellington Management, with participation from Vy Capital, Tiger Global and Steadview. Post the investment, Urban Company was valued at $2.1 billion.

“Our mantra from the beginning has been to build a good business and the best investors will come, [and] they will also support you,” said Varun Khaitan, co-founder, Urban Company. And the best way for investors to support founders, he added, “is to say we trust you guys to do the right thing. So no questions!”