Amit Raizada the Los Angeles Venture Capitalist with a Vision
Listen to this articleNot many industries invoke as much interest as venture capital does. Countless films and television shows are one of the reasons behind the glamor associated with ‘angel investments’. Shark Tank, for example, is one such TV show that has made business investments mainstream by bringing venture capitalists into the living rooms across America.
Venture capital, regardless of how the media portrays it, is a difficult nut to crack. The journey of successful Venture Capitalist Amit Raizada, CEO of Spectrum Business Ventures, would tell you that.
Amit is an enigmatic venture capitalist who started his business journey while still being in high school. His first couple of ventures were computer maintenance and lawn care businesses. During this period, he developed his foresighted thinking and the business acumen needed to make big money in the investment business.
By the time he completed high school, his resume was already loaded with major entrepreneurial credentials. He thereafter went to MSU (Michigan State University) to study economics. MSU helped Amit build a strong understanding of things needed to become a successful entrepreneur and investor.
However, there was one major roadblock. Amit didn’t have the capital required for building his envisioned empire. By bootstrapping, he bought a Michigan-based LetsTalk Wireless franchise during 1998. Amit soon became a name to reckon with in the world of wireless mobile phones. Next Wireless later bought his venture and Amit was made in charge of developing a retail launch nationally.
During the early 2000s, he shifted his attention toward something new from operational management. In 2002, Amit came up with Spectrum Business Ventures (SBV), a venture capital firm based in Kansas City that managed his growing assets and served as his widening investment portfolio’s backbone.
Amit hired an expert team of innovators and advisors to help him expand his reach and bolster his grip on real estate, entertainment, financial technology, retail distribution, logistics, and medical innovation. By 2012, SBV had 50 real estate projects and over 140 portfolio investments to its credit.
When Amit moved in 2013 to Miami, he started to invest in warehouses that were within 10 minutes of several important American airports. Amit invested in these warehouses hoping to make profits from companies such as Amazon that would look for places to stock their goods in key markets. Amit wanted to make sure he was not losing his share of the online order delivery pie.
Amit also focused on healthcare. He invested pretty early in a firm that came up with a new anti-cancer drug and another business that made sinus dilation sleeves that would revolutionize the way otolaryngologists treat sinus-related disorders.
Amit’s commitment toward bleeding edge technology far transcends the medical industry. After having tasted success in different fields, Amit wanted to return the favor to the community that gave him so much. And that led to his decision to spend more of his resources and time on philanthropy.
