Some investors write cheques, while others transform ecosystems. Shailendra Singh belongs firmly in the second category.

Caravan ’25 wasn’t just another event – it was a living, breathing experience built with founders for founders. Every week, our volunteer calls felt like startup stand-ups. Except our product was an experience – one that had to spark learning, touch hearts, and build lifelong connections.

The first edition of Vertical Velocity kicked off with an action-packed US immersion on September 29, and the coming months promise more excitement.

I first met Anirudh Gopinath at a social event in Chennai back in 2022. Chennai’s Socials at the time were unique. They were not the most glamorous events, but what they lacked in pizzazz, they made up for in raw, authentic energy.

Every single founder I grabbed coffee with would drop the same name: Karthik Reddy of Blume Ventures. Every amazing SaaS or consumer startup seemed to orbit around Blume’s star. I knew at the time, I needed to meet Karthik.

“You know what, you should speak to Suren?” she said. I hadn’t yet met Surendran Balchandran (or Suren, as everyone knows him). But when Prukalpa vouches for someone, you don’t question it. Almost the same day, I pinged her asking for an introduction. What followed was one of the most surprising experiences of my life. He was quiet in early meetings—attending, taking notes, nodding along. But then came event day, and it was like watching a submarine surface. Suren was on top of everything, executing flawlessly, spotting failure points, and quietly putting processes in place to avoid them.

“I am in,” said Shashank Kumar, co-founder of Razorpay, leaning back on his chair. I hadn’t completed my pitch, but Shashank’s mind was made up. There wasn’t much to say, so I pocketed my iPhone, stood up, thanked him, and left. He had just agreed to sign a not-insignificant cheque for our efforts. 

Penned by Z47 & SaaSBoomi. In this edition, Arvind Parthiban, co-founder & CEO of SuperOps, takes us inside their playbook for shaking up a decades-old, slow-moving Managed Service Provider (MSP) category and why building a bold brand and an active community was as critical as the product itself.

BoomiAI’s AI Radar is an open directory of 200+ Indian AI-first startups, connecting founders, investors, and partners. More than a list, it’s discovery infrastructure to fuel India’s AI movement.