The Investment Proposal
In early January of 2013, Manuel Pena, a venture capitalist, was attending a presentation conducted by two brothers- Dr. Adya Bharat and Dr. Sidhu Bharat- in New York City. Mannuel had been invited to the meeting by Sydney Smithers, a friend of his who knew he’d been actively looking for small businesses in which to invest. Sydney, a fellow Canadian, owned two businesses: one was a nursing home and the other, Durable Medical Equipment (DME), sold medical supplies for elderly people, including such items as walkers, canes, and special toilet seats. Sydney and the Bharat brothers were hoping Manuel would agree to invest $100,000 in their business proposition.
Sydney had gotten to know Adya while they were …show more content…

We were paying an agency a monthly fee to send a nurse around once a week, but we got worried when we’d talk to them. They seemed to be becoming ever more depressed. I went home and discovered that we weren’t getting the medical care we thought we were paying for—the so-called nurse was just doing housekeeping. This is a common problem in India: you don’t get what you think you’re paying for.
“Six months ago I started our business in Pune, and began by serving our parents. I hired a registered nurse who visits our parents once a week—she takes them for walks, talks to them, and provides therapy. She also takes them to see their respective doctors every month.” “I used to dread talking to my parents,” Sidhu added. “They seemed really unhappy. But now when we talk to them we can tell they’re in good spirits, and we know their medical needs are being met.”
“When I saw other people in Pune with circumstances similar to ours,” Adya resumed, “I knew our business had potential. So I went out and hired a manager, who used to work for a not-for-profit organization that helped young girls escape from prostitution. He’s now sold our service to four other families. We’ charging $200 per month for it—and given that Pune’s average per capita income is
$2,400 per month, this isn’t expensive. Plus, we’re in the process of getting government certification, which will guarantee to potential