Nurturing Business through Financial Management, Mantras for Successful VC Investment: Suresh Jain, Sun Capital

With an aim to empower the entrepreneurs with financial expertise for successful and smooth business operations, in 2006 by Mr. Suresh Jain incepted Sun Capital Advisory Services Pvt. Ltd. As an investment-banking firm offering debt syndication and restructuring services through public and private sector banks, NBFCs and independent financial institutions, Sun Capital created a robust financial advisory group in Mumbai which further grew its global footprint through qualified associates.

In a candid interview with Faiz Askari of SMEStreet, Mr. Suresh Jain, Founder of Sun Capital Advisory Services shared some key mantras for entrepreneurs who strive for success in their businesses and also unleashed some important trends that are driving today's entrepreneurship.

Here are the edited excerpts:

Faiz Askari | Can you share a brief background on how was Sun Capital Advisory was started? And what are the significant milestones this organization has achieved so far?

Suresh Jain | My entrepreneurial journey started soon after I completed my Chartered Accountancy (CA) education. I started my CA practice in Mumbai in 1986. In 1994, around when National Stock Exchange was launched, I started a stockbroking company and moved out of the stockbroking business in 2008. And, in 2008 I realized the potential of managing finance for small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs). So we started financial advisory services - Sun Capital Advisory through a qualified team of experts. Gradually we expanded our operations across the Middle East from Dubai and Europe from London. Recently, we now are consolidating our business streams.

Faiz Askari | What kind of funding you actually raise for clients?

Suresh Jain | As far as milestones are concerned, since inception, Sun Capital has raised 2500 Crores of debt for their clients. For startup equity raising, their sweet spot i.e preferred amount they have the potential of raising is from 1 Crore to 20 Crores and for privately held companies equity raising has been between 20 Crores to 1000 Crores.

Faiz Askari | What is the thumb rule or a success mantra you suggest to your clients in today’s competitive world? 

Suresh Jain | Today’s business has changed. Yes, there is competition in almost every field of business. But, along with competition, there lie some lucrative opportunities. One such opportunity is to become a global player. So, that’s normally I advise my clients or anyone who wants to take some advice from my side which says that global vision for the business is very important. If the business is having a strong global appeal, it will be a success. Similarly, the second element comes as a mantra is to ensure a balance between pricing and service delivery. Rest will all follow in place.

Faiz Askari | As a financial guide or mentor, what do you seek in your client?

Suresh Jain | Ideally there are few common elements that are 'must to have' in any business. But in addition to such essential elements, there are a few important aspects which are quite contemporary. For example, we prefer to know if the project has any innovation. In some business, the role of technology is also very crucial so, how technology is getting utilized is also a matter of interest to investors. Even in the conventional business space, it is very critical to take advantage of contemporary technologies. As an example, e-commerce and digital capabilities are very useful for most of the consumer-oriented product-based businesses.