Founded in 2016, Marquee Equity is a team of over 100 people who are dedicated to making capital raising easier for its clients. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Marquee Equity co-founder and CEO Ash Narain to learn more.
Ash Narain’s Background
Narain is a banker first, and his first startup was a deal origination platform for financial institutions called BankerBay Technologies. He exited that company due to the lack of personal connections and additional quality investors.
Along with co-founder Raj Kabir, Narain founded Marquee Equity in 2016 to bridge the gap between startups and global investors at a price point that works for early-stage companies.
Evolution Of Marquee Equity’s Thesis
How has Marquee Equity’s thesis evolved over time? Narain said:
“We started with a small team in 2016, and in the pandemic, we grew, and now we have a team of 150+ employees. We began with a 3-6 month service timeline for clients. Along the way, we realized that companies and funds raising capital often tweak their rounds, raises, and strategies as they raise. Therefore, we have evolved our service timeline to an infinite basis and we keep working with clients through multiple iterations and changes and don’t have a cut-off timeline for our engagements. This has led to a more holistic and practical service offering for clients and higher success and client satisfaction rates.”
Challenges Faced
What challenges has Narain faced in building the firm, and has the current macroeconomic climate affected your firm? Narain acknowledged:
“Our team has grown to 200 people, and we continue to grow. Managing quality and client satisfaction is our priority and can often be challenging with constant new entrants to the team. The current macroeconomic environment has led to slower decision-making at investor’s ends and has resulted in longer engagement timelines with our clients.”
Favorite Memory
What has been Narain’s favorite memory working for your firm so far? Narain reflected:
“We witnessed a Boston-based client receive a 25 million term sheet within two weeks of working with us. That was a memory to remember! Our team works mutually and seamlessly to provide the best possible outcome for every client. Our matchmaking algorithm helps the campaigns to point at the right set of investors; thus, we close deals faster and more effectively.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of Marquee’s most significant milestones? Narain cited:
“Though we have been working for a few years in the SaaS category, we have experienced some exciting moments as a team, where we have excelled in our expectations, as well as the clients.
Some recent milestones:
– A 95% client satisfaction rate in a difficult industry has been our constant milestone
– Witnessing our team grow from 2 people to 200+ in just a few years has been another
– 1,000 live client campaigns on our Marquee platform was another great milestone!”
Investment Success Stories
After asking Narain about investment success stories, he replied:
“Recently, we helped a content creation firm eZdia raise $1 million from a group of investors. Marquee curated the campaign to their requirements and helped them secure investments from top-notch investors in the domain. We have believed in the company from the get-go, and witnessing such a tremendous response just makes us more confident in the product and services we are offering.”
AUM And Other Metrics
Upon asking Narain about assets under management and/or other notable metrics, he revealed:
– We set up 8,000+ client/investor meetings each month through our seamless ai-backed platform.
– There are $4 billion of fundraises live on our platform at any given time
Industry Focus
What are some of the industries that Marquee is focused on? Narain pointed out:
“There is no demarcation as such, as we have a global clientele and a diverse one. We have clients from various streams such as AI, Fintech, Consumer-tech, FMCG, Fashion, Adtech, Food-tech, etc.”
Differentiation From Other Firms
What differentiates Marquee from other firms? Narain affirmed:
“Our tech-backed platform makes our services one-of-a-kind, and the team we have helps you from step 1, that is, creating your pitch deck to reaching out to investors and getting you in a room to raise your required funds.”
Future Goals
What are some of Marquee’s future goals? Narain concluded:
“We initially have been a complete remote set-up, but with our expansion, now we have established offices in India and are setting up offices and an on-ground presence in the US beginning next quarter. This will mark a new phase of growth and expansion for us. This will lead to a more holistic support system we will be able to provide to our US clients.”
