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Being the Change
Nupur Garg
Private equity investor & Founder, WinPE
INTERVIEW • 7 min read
Nupur Garg’s years of experience as a leader in the investing industry lend themselves seamlessly as she tackles the larger picture to solve for gender diversity. Pragmatic, approachable and with irrepressible optimism, Nupur is leading by example in creating a sky sans ceilings. This interview is a testament to her commitment to bringing about positive change.
Q1. It has been almost 8 months you have been driving and leading WinPE. How has the experience been?
A: It has really been a very fulfilling experience. When I first thought of WinPE, it was just a thought that I wanted to do something about gender diversity in investing. I didn’t think it would take me more than six months to get it going.
But as I spent time talking to people, the fund managers that I knew, the women from investing that I knew, it seemed as if there was a latent demand for something like this. One thing that I heard consistently from everyone was how much something like WinPE is needed.
From then to now, I am extremely proud of what we have achieved since we launched in Feb 2020. We have rolled out a number of initiatives and had meaningful engagements with more than a thousand women, which is a lot if you look at the small strength of women that we have in the ecosystem. And when we receive messages from women saying thank you for doing this, it’s very humbling. It’s still early and every day I experience a new emotion, but it has been a very rich experience.
The engagement and work we do with our member firms has been another wonderful revelation of the level of commitment that these firms have towards building gender diversity. I think there it is quite binary, either firms believe in the cause or they don't. And for the firms that believe in the cause and hear about WinPE, the decision to come on board is a fairly quick one. So for me, if you believe in it, there is no reason for you not to be a member of WinPE.
As an LP, I have a strong belief that investors, whether LPs or fund managers, have an ability to influence their investees, commonly called the Multiplier Effect. It is exciting to work with WinPE member firms in leveraging this influence towards bringing in gender balance within the investing ecosystem.
Q2. What are some of the key issues that come across to you at WinPE, especially related to women in the investing space?
A. By and far it all comes down to not having enough women in the workplace. It’s a vicious cycle - if you don’t have enough women, you don’t have the workplace environment with policies that support women or practices that encourage hiring women, and the social infrastructure is not geared to support their aspirations. There are fewer role models, and women don’t develop enough networks that can help career growth. So it all boils down to this one basic thing - we just don’t have enough women in the workplace. That’s a very simple way of saying it but it is a very complex problem. I don’t think it is possible to break it down into four points and say let’s address these four things and then we are sorted.These conversations have been on for hundreds of years, and the World Economic Forum recently said it is going to take up to 200 years before women achieve pay parity, so there is a really long way to go! The good news is that there is increasing awareness and willingness to take action on the parts of organizations and individuals, both men and women.
Q3. From your perspective as an LP, how has the PEVC industry evolved over the last 10-15 years?
A. I have been an LP for a decade now- and in that period, I have literally seen things come back full circle, thanks to COVID19. Soon after I started as an LP, Indian PE got badly affected by the aftermath of the GFC and the currency depreciation; and there was a lot of concern in the LP community about Indian PE not delivering returns and liquidity. And then from there, I saw the industry build up. Many fund managers didn’t survive, but many did, strategies evolved, and some really strong teams and good performances started to show.
Till last year, I was pretty confident that the 2014-2015 vintages would do well and turn how Indian private equity is perceived globally. And now we have COVID! But I think that the industry today is better geared with more experience, and a deeper understanding of investing and of the market. Having gone through shocks like the GFC, currency depreciation, and then GST, demonetisation etc, fund managers have experience in dealing with adverse macro scenarios, working with portfolio companies in building resilience and creating growth. That said, nobody has seen a challenge like this where everything globally and locally is impacted, right at the roots. So it’s a tough time again, and I have my fingers crossed.
It’s not just India. I am seeing stress in funds in Africa, Europe, other parts of Asia, everybody is going through it. Maybe the scale is different, maybe different sectors are feeling the pressure more acutely in different countries. In India, for example, as an LP, the thesis has hinged for a long time on the strong domestic engine and its ability to generate a huge demand and trade domestically; whether it was financial services or any sector that is consumer driven. Now that engine is severely affected and there are ripple effects.
On the flipside, like in any other crisis, there are opportunities. Till last year, whenever I spoke to fund managers, I would ask “What are you thinking for the next ten years? What are the key themes that excite you?” I don’t think it was very clear as to what is really going to drive investment values and returns in this market. With COVID, there is (an opportunity for) disruption, a change in how the economy will work going forward and therefore, an opportunity to find new niches and sectors that are now going to see growth. It is a testing, yet, an interesting period for the industry. And of course everybody says it's the time to buy cheap - but I don’t think valuations for good assets in India will ever be truly cheap.
Now when it comes to gender diversity, unfortunately there hasn’t been a lot of progress on that front. We have only a handful of women partners/ fund managers in the industry, and have added only a couple in the last decade. Seeing that as an LP and realizing that a lot more can be done was a key part of the motivation behind WinPE.
Q4. As an LP, when you are onboarding GPs to manage your funds, what are some of the important aspects you think about or prefer to have in a potential GP?
A. On the face of it, the principles are pretty simple. But when people say it’s more of an art than a science, I truly believe that.
The basic set of questions is pretty standard - who is the fund manager, what is their investment strategy, what is the thesis underlying that strategy, what is the team skill spectrum, track record, networks and ability to get deals. Then questions like incentives and alignment, who are the other LPs etc. start to come in. But within all of these questions, there are numerous nuances and so many points that all need to interlink and crosslink in a coherent and consistent manner. And of course you have to throw in a little bit of common sense. There is no point in backing a buy-out fund that wants to raise $50mn or a pre-series A fund that wants to raise $300mn! And these are examples that have been backed by LPs - you can guess what the outcomes have been.
What you learn over a period of time is that most fund managers present a similar story whether it is the sectors they want to target or their ‘value-creation’ models. Given that there really is nothing that you can put in an excel sheet and create a financial model out of, what becomes valuable is your own experience and ability to triangulate that experience with an understanding of the market and with the fund managers’ pitch. This is where the art of investing in fund managers comes in.
One of the most valuable skills that I have developed as an LP is the ability to read between the lines and connect the dots. You have to focus on listening to what you’re hearing! What are the consistencies and what are the gaps, what makes sense and what doesn’t. When I’m sitting in an IC meeting, what gives me maximum discomfort is the team saying, “the fund manager believes…..” Or “we asked the fund manager and they said……”. As LPs, we need to form our own thesis.
Q5. You are extremely good at maintaining a work-life balance. Investing and PE is an industry that requires long hours, often erratic hours. Just because of the nature of the work- how do you manage it?
A. It is much more difficult when you are younger because when you are younger, that is the time you should really be investing in learning. When you’re young, you can make mistakes, you can ask questions, you can go in and say I need to learn this. There is no substitute for hard work, no substitute to doing it yourself, and it is the only way to really learn. When I was newly married, I did my share of all-nighters. One thing that teaches you is time management.
One of the principles that I have used for a long time is the 3 balls approach:
- Glass balls - if you drop the glass ball, it will fall and break. This is for work that has to be done right now and if you don’t, there will be no other opportunity or the repercussions are too strong.
- Lead balls - it will fall down and stay there. This is work that is okay to let go.
- Rubber balls - will bounce back and you will get the opportunity to catch it again. So work that is not necessarily time sensitive and can be picked up in the future.
As you grow more senior, work doesn’t become easier- you just become better at managing it and finding a balance.
When I had my son, all my principles went for a toss! I was with IFC and it had a very short maternity leave period. So I was travelling with my son and his nanny, which was not very common, paying for it myself and figuring out the feeding between meetings. In all fairness, I found extreme understanding and courtesy across the board from fund managers that I was meeting. But the stress of juggling too many things was getting to me and at one point I was wondering if I was insane in wanting to continue working, when I met an old friend over lunch. I will remember his advice forever - he said, “Never take a long term decision to solve a short term problem”. I share this with every new mother I meet.
Another important piece of advice I like to share came from my husband - we have to learn to welcome our social support system without feeling guilty. My mother literally shifted to Delhi after my son was born, telling me to not worry about anything and to do what I have to do - to accept that without feeling guilty was difficult initially. We are often hard on ourselves but it is important to let our families in and allow them to support us.
At the crux of it, you have to marry smart! If you are a woman who wants to have a career, you have to marry a guy who is okay with that. And deeply okay with that - not temporarily, until you have children. Your husband has to respect your work as a part of you. If you think about it, it is simply a matter of respecting one as an individual. I am very lucky to have a husband who takes great pride in my success and has no qualms about helping out with any part of our life together, be it parenting or housework during COVID and now with WinPE, I keep picking his brains all the time!
The last mantra I have is - getting your priorities right. Nobody on their deathbeds wishes they had spent more time at work! We continuously forget that. My priority list is clear, my son and my family come first. It doesn’t mean being there for everything all the time - it means having the clarity on what to be there for, the ability to make conscious trade-offs in whichever direction, and to be at peace with your choices.
Q6. Some of your favourite holiday destinations?
A. A beach. I have a long bucket list- but I absolutely love Greece and Cyprus, with beautiful blue waters and clean beaches.
Q7. Favourite food destination?
A. I like to keep trying new restaurants, so no particular favourites. I focus on flavour and having a relaxed experience is very important to me. I remember I had gone for this two-day due diligence to Milan, and my colleague and I were recommended a Michelin star vegetarian restaurant- which I absolutely hated!
Q8. What is your life motto?
A. Contentment! I don’t have a particular motto but some philosophies dictate my life. I believe we are here on earth for a reason, my life should be of value to someone other than me. Make a difference, create something, help someone - it doesn’t have to be big. We all have the ability to make a difference in our own spheres of influence. This is why influencing ecosystems is an important concept at WinPE. I believe that if we all started influencing our ecosystems positively in whatever way we hold dear, the world would become so much better.
Q9. What are some of your favourite books?
A. I have enjoyed different books at different phases of my life, depending on my mindspace. One that I would like to mention is How Will You Measure Your Life by Clayton M. Christensen.
Q10. What are some of your favourite hobbies?
A. I am very particular about working out. It could be swimming in the summers, or Zumba in the winters or kickboxing with my personal trainer; but I like to get my scheduled workout regardless.
My niece got me hooked to 1000-1500 piece puzzles that occupy a table in the house and I like to work on them squeezing out a daily half an hour or so. At one point, I was doing Tanjore paintings and glass paintings! It is nice to take out time for yourself.
Interviewed by Chandni Chetani