Why Invest with Katha?
⚡ Early Stage | Emerging Markets | Fintech
“Katha” or కథ means “story.” Every founder is the hero of their own daring journey
through their startup and Katha is a key character that helps them along the way.
This passion for working with founders is why I take a high conviction,
disciplined, and repeatable investing approach in early stage fintech across select
emerging markets. These countries have deeply undervalued startup ecosystems and have significantly improved their markets, regulation, logistics, and infrastructure in recent years. And, they are in tremendous need of diversified financial products that can improve the quality of life of their people and the strength of their businesses.
There’s a small window of opportunity to in the next 7-10 years to invest in these
high growth markets before they become saturated.
The Next Iteration of Katha
The Katha syndicate has had engineers, influencers, founders, investment bankers, hedge funders, pro athletes, small business owners, lawyers and doctors all back the deals I invest in. It’s because of those folks that I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to do what I have expertise in and enjoy, investing in and supporting innovative founders.
Taking that next big step in Katha journey, I’m proud to announce that I’m building towards a $10m venture capital fund which will invest $100-600k in 25 to 30 early stage emerging markets fintechs
Now, your capital is hard-earned and I’d like to earn your trust and build a long-term working partnership. There are 6 core reasons why, if you’re an accredited investor, you should consider investing with Katha:
You portfolio has a blindspot
Expertise
Aligned Incentives
Risk Management
Outsized Return Potential
Trust and Performance Reporting
Your Portfolio has a Blindspot
Think about your portfolio. You are likely spread across US stocks and bonds, some international equities, a hedge fund or two for commodities and fx exposure, residential real estate, some collectibles (high value baseball cards, artwork, watches) and likely 30% private equity investments (including venture capital). Now, let’s say venture capital makes up 15% of your portfolio. Until now, you’ve probably concentrated exclusively in US-focused venture capital. Put aside, if you think like me and believe the US startup ecosystem is saturated and nearly all startups only disrupt each other. Just like the rest of your portfolio, it makes sense to make non-correlated investments in venture capital.
Expertise
My expertise in the fintech space plays a role here as well. My ability to identify opportunities that others do not see comes from my experience with products and services across quantitative hedge funds, investment banks, and fintechs. On the surface, my story is one of winning. I have a law degree and a masters from Cambridge, built a great career across 6 countries, ran a team as a VP at JPMorgan, and I’m 2x funded fintech founder.
But I’ve faced setback, failure, failure, and failure. With the backing of my network, these experiences engrained in me a relentlessness and resilience in doing the work that it takes to win!
21 investments, 4 exits, ~3x MOIC
Aligned Incentives
My personally managed investments (as opposed to passive ones I’ve made) are by far the best performing part of my portfolio. Born out of the requests of some friends to help them manage their money, I’ve honed my skills over decades.
Having a fiduciary duty means you’re treating others’ hard earned capital with respect. I’m not Sequoia or Softbank. Trust and Reputation is all I have. Invest with someone who knows that.
I have invested over $50k of my own capital in the past 18 months. That’s a meaningful sum for me. For the venture capital fund, my GP commit will be 5% of the capital i.e. 5% of $10m. I’m all in on this.
Risk Management
Since Katha is a US-based venture capital firm, and its funds and fund administrators are also US and UAE based, so you can invest with confidence with us while also securing emerging markets exposure.
where the VCs earn management fees regardless of whether they make money for their LPs. So there’s an incentive to merely raise a lot of money — and performance sometimes takes a back seat. This is why I take a limited access and boutique approach. It’s a well researched fact that emerging managers on average deliver significantly better returns than legacy VCs. I’m not in the business of raising a ton of capital. I’m here to make high conviction investments with yours and my capital in a way that raises the probability that we will win!
Moreover, we require startups to have US, UAE, UK, or Singapore legal entities and bank accounts. This enhances KYC and reporting requirements and supports our risk management.
Outsized Return Potential
Whether you agree with me or not that the US startup ecosystems and venture capital firms are oversaturated is not the main reason to invest with Katha. Instead just look at the facts that select emerging markets have the greatest potential globally to deliver outsized returns to investors. In part because of low valuations and in part because of blue ocean of untapped talent. Additionally, fintech in emerging markets is a transformative force in people's lives. Fintech enables hundreds of millions of people and businesses to save, borrow, invest, and transact digitally, fostering social mobility and economic growth. This not only empowers individuals and small businesses but also catalyzes innovation, infrastructure, investment, and GDP growth in the places we invest in.
I target a 10% equity position on portfolio company cap tables.
Trust and Performance Reporting
One integral way I aim to earn your trust is by publicly tracking and reporting on our performance. I am confident in my experience and ability and will transparently report portfolio level performance publicly. I think this standard of transparent reporting should be the norm.
To our prospective investors: Through our actions and performance, I aim to highlight our potential as a reliable partner in your portfolio. I am dedicated to earning your trust and demonstrating our value as a worthy addition to your future investment portfolio. Our relentless focus on maximizing returns for our limited partners reflects our deep commitment to excellence and accountability. This commitment to openness is a cornerstone of our business philosophy, as we diligently monitor and transparently report our performance.
To those who have already entrusted us with your investments: Your trust inspires me to consistently raise the bar and exceed expectations. I sincerely thank you for your continued confidence and support. It is my genuine hope that we have proven ourselves worthy of the privilege to manage a portion of your valuable assets.
Let’s win together,
Sahith Aula
General Partner, Katha
Disclaimer
At Katha, we're committed to providing transparent and helpful information to support the investment journey of accredited investors. While we strive to share insights and knowledge, we recommend consulting with professional advisors to tailor financial strategies to your unique goals and circumstances. Our updates are designed to inform and inspire, recognizing that every investment opportunity carries its own potential and that professional guidance is key to making confident, well-informed decisions.
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⚡ If you’re a fintech founder, let’s connect through OpenVC or here.
📈 If you’re an accredited investor, learn more about Katha here.