If you met a venture capitalist, what questions would you ask? Here is a rapid-fire round with Suvir Sujan, partner, Nexus India Capital.

What are the prime areas of IT that you think technopreneurs should target now and why?

Technopreneurs should focus on businesses in sectors they are most comfortable with. They need to focus on addressing a pain point in a market that is large. The market need not necessarily be in India only. Technopreneurs need to look at the world as their market and then pick the markets they can be most competitive in. There is an opportunity for entrepreneurs across sectors in technology—semiconductors, software, systems, KPO, Internet, mobile, etc.

In these, can you share any examples of specific problems or user needs that you think start-ups should focus their products/services on to be profitable?

One example of a user need is for better website security software. There are so many websites being hacked in India and globally, on a weekly basis.

Another example of what users would like is free mobile phone service via Voice over IP.

From which segment of IT are the many tech-projects that come to you?

We get technology plans from across software, communication, KPO, etc. There are good opportunities across sectors in technology.

At what stage should a technopreneur come to you for support? To what level should the project have been shaped before it comes to you?

The technology should have some initial customer validation before the team approaches us.

What basic information should a project proposal contain?

The team, market and product roadmap are essential. Check out our website www.nexusindiacap.com/submitplan.asp for more information.

What are the key aspects you evaluate while deciding whether or not to go with a project?

The team, market size and the competitive differentiation of the product or service are important.