“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. 

Her Twitter persona was fierce, fearless, and formidable. She pulled no punches. I had found a line to connect with her. But I wasn’t convinced. I wanted to know more. So, I reached further into the ecosystem.

I’ve been bumping into Vivek since 2016 at conferences and social gatherings. Our conversations were trivial and superficial. Until it all changed in 2018, Vivek, ever the gentleman, would smile politely most of the time, but he seemed visibly upset. 

Before I move on, I want to introduce you to Mayank, founder of EPYC and one of the brightest minds I’ve met. Deeply rooted in the open-source and no-code world, Mayank brings a rare mix of hustle, heart, and humility.

It’s not often that I stumble across someone who is a natural giver. During these sessions, he would never hold back — that honesty and transparency hooked founders, who would speak about moments from the session for days. At that moment, I saw a genius in Kalyan… He reminds me of the famous Hindi proverb, ‘A tree laden with fruit bends low.’ Despite being a successful founder, Kalyan’s humility and empathy are visible

One summer morning in 2011, I was called into my senior’s office. “Rajan wants to meet you,” he said. An industry stalwart had explicitly asked for me, so I had to see him. At that meeting, my relationship with Rajan truly began.

“There is nothing he believes in more than India and her founders.” Raj Sheth’s journey has been one of relentless optimism, quiet generosity, and unwavering belief in India’s startup community, always giving, always returning, always paying it forward.

I heard him before I saw him. That’s the best way I can describe the first time I met Prasanna Krishnamoorthy. This story starts about a dozen years ago, when Prasanna was associated with Microsoft Accelerator. At the time, he was known to the startup community as a founder who had pivoted to nurturing startups […]

“What is your motivation?” That was one of the first questions Mohit Garg asked me in a brightly lit cafe in Pune. Mohit had a few hours before he had to board a flight that would take him to the US permanently.