Excelestar is a venture firm that helps portfolio companies produce growth and sustainable profits from a long-term perspective. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Excelestar Ventures founding partner Tasneem Dohadwala to learn more.
Tasneem Dohadwala’s Background
Dohadwala’s background is rooted in traditional financial services with a focus on furthering women’s leadership and women in business. And Dohadwala said:
“Throughout my career, I have always considered the female experience. I started out as a young, active member of the Women of Lehman Brothers. Then I went on to lead as President of Wellesley College Alumnae Boston (Wellesley College’s largest alumni organization). From there, I began to serve as Managing Partner of Golden Seeds and contributed an essay, “Women and the Workplace,” to the book Passion & Purpose: Stories from the Best and Brightest Young Business Leaders. These experiences have allowed me to spend a great deal of time passionately and deliberately mentoring and searching for female-led companies. I believe that investing in women is the best way to bring more women into leadership roles.”
Evolution Of Excelestar’s Thesis
How has Excelestar’s thesis evolved over time? Dohadwala shared:
“Excelestar started to fund innovative businesses led by underrepresented founders and create a more inclusive world – something I could have benefitted from when I started my career. Today, Excelestar works tirelessly to invest in medical devices and B2B technology platform companies that are truly disruptive and innovative, all while ensuring that focus on underrepresented founders is kept top of mind.”
“Our team approaches companies that clearly articulate their vision and disruptive value proposition. While it sounds lofty, it’s actually very critical as we often hear from so many founders and entrepreneurs that are passionate and have a team behind them but are unable to articulate their long-term strategy once their success comes.”
Challenges Faced
What challenges has Dohadwala faced in building Excelestar and has the current macroeconomic climate affected the firm? Dohadwala acknowledged:
“As with most companies today, the macroeconomic climate has presented a unique set of challenges. That said, I am a true believer that by working together to overcome challenges, anything is possible. I also feel strongly about preparation. Being well prepared is absolutely essential to ensuring current hardships don’t impact your company long-term. This preparation can come in many forms – from ensuring financial stability that allows for a solid buffer to re-prioritizing what funding is going toward. All of this relates to long-term planning, which is key to surviving these macroeconomic times.”
“When establishing Excelestar Ventures, we encountered several challenges that we worked diligently to overcome. Building a strong brand identity and a well-connected network was exceptionally time-consuming as it required a persistent effort to gain access to valuable deal flow. Our commitment to fostering credibility among serial entrepreneurs was pivotal, as it took time to demonstrate that Excelestar Ventures could be of value to them, particularly when on the board. This process of building trust while proving the impact of our involvement required persistence and initiative. The current macroeconomic climate has not posed any obstacles which can be attributed to Excelestar Ventures’ stock of dry powder. This has enabled us to navigate the unpredictable and allowed us to provide unwavering support to our existing portfolio companies, as well as extend investment opportunities to new ventures.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of Excelestar’s most significant milestones? Dohadwala cited:
“As mentioned, the underrepresented founder and female makeup of our investment portfolio is something we are exceptionally proud of, with 50% of our portfolio being female-led and 61% being minority-led. Considering the industry standard, we’re very satisfied with our efforts toward making real progress in supporting these companies, however, we still have a long way to go.”
“On an individual level, I’ve been humbled to be presented with local recognition for my work in the VC community. In 2022, I was presented as an Equity Champion with the Startup Boston Community Awards and Boston Business Journal’s ‘Movement Makers’ honoree.”
Investment Success Stories
Upon asking Dohadwala about investment success stories, she replied:
“During our tenure, we’ve had a number of funding exits we’re extremely proud of that represent the effectiveness of our process and the amazing growth of our startup and company partners.”
“In 2018, a number of our Medical Technology investments, including Augemenix and nVision were acquired by Boston Scientific, a major milestone for the firm from a growth standpoint. In 2021, the exit of Altiostar to Rakuten Group was a great representation of the industry diversity of our portfolio and showcased our focus on truly cutting-edge technology.”
Industry Focus
What are some of the industries that Excelestar is focused on? Dohadwala noted:
“Excelestar Ventures is an early-stage venture firm that invests in medical devices, B2B technology platform companies, software, hardware, and/or a combination of both, and MedTech. We also invest in underrepresented founders by taking a close look at the teams we’re doing business with and asking ourselves, is this just another team of all white men, or is there an opportunity to support a diverse, female-led team?”
Differentiation From Other Firms
What differentiates Excelestar from other firms? Dohadwala pointed out:
“What really sets Excelestar apart is its focus on underrepresentation and diversity. There are a lot of companies that say they’re hiring women or plan to in the future, but many of them aren’t putting women in decision-making positions. Making a pledge to hire women just isn’t enough, which is why Excelestar focuses not only on giving women a seat at the table but also ensuring they are empowered to make decisions, grow their careers, and play a more considerable role in the company overall.”
“Another thing that sets Excelestar apart from other firms is what our team looks for in companies. We focus on approaching companies that clearly articulate their vision and disruptive value proposition. While this may sound lofty, it is actually incredibly critical. Frequently, we hear from founders and entrepreneurs who are passionate about their goals and have a strong team behind them but cannot properly articulate their long-term strategy once their success comes.”
“When approaching companies, we believe it’s important to size the individual market in terms of where it stands and where it could possibly be bolstered in the coming years. The initial market must be large enough for us to consider pursuing a new investment. If there is a product or service that only provides short-term relief, we then look to see how it could be valued if it were to improve its trials or expand its limited offering while it is still in the early stages. In our experience, we have found that finding companies and founders who hold a practical market solution with the intent to later enter in other markets is a great indicator of success.”
“At Excelestar, we also find it imperative to take a research-oriented approach as we believe it results in both a qualitative and quantitative method of evaluating the companies. This research comes to fruition in many ways, including spending a lot of time doing deep due diligence with primary sources such as customers and overall end users in the medical field. Additionally, hearing from real practitioners on the ground is a reinforced way of understanding the company’s true need in the market. Finally, looking for diverse teams is critical yet can also be challenging and wrought with our own personal biases. As a result, we use this assessment method to build a compelling, evidence-based narrative and properly evaluate companies as a whole.”
Future Goals
What are some of Excelestar’s future goals? Dohadwala concluded:
“Simply put, we want to continue investing in companies that are truly cutting-edge. We’re in the midst of a major technological disruption and many of the companies we’ve invested in are visionaries in the sense that they have a deep understanding of where the market is heading in the next 5+ years. Additionally, we want to keep prioritizing women and those who are underrepresented, who have been through similar challenges in their careers that I have. I believe we are at a turning point where diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) within venture capital is actually being talked about and invested in. We want to continue being at the forefront of that conversation and creating opportunities for those who need it most.”
