Mr. Dhaval Kaku is an Entrepreneur-turned-Startup Ecosystem enabler.
He began his entrepreneurial journey by starting a music-tech venture, GrungeTech, in 2015. The hardware venture won multiple Business plan competitions including one at CIIE, IIM Ahmedabad.
Later in 2018, he took Program Management roles, and joined GTU Innovation Council and Startup Centre for 2 years assisting the SSIP(Student Startup Innovation Policy Program). SSIP, was a seed grant (supported by the Education Dept., Government of Gujarat), that supported more than 300 early-stage innovations and startups for developing their first PoC/ Prototype. The program supported with a financial incentive (of more than 3 Crore in total), provided holistic support including Mentorship, Network Access, IPR, connecting them with government agencies to help them deploy their products/services in the market. He also devised a unique flagship program that sensitised and trained startups towards being funding ready titled, “Pitch It Right”.
Further in 2020, he assisted the AISEA - a Social Entrepreneurship Accelerator program setup by iTIC Foundation, IIT Hyderabad and Action For India supported by the Dept. of Science and Technology. Through the 2 cohorts at the accelerator program, funding of more than 25 Crore was raised by the startups, along with 3x revenues and 1.6x team size in the latter cohort.
He has been a strong supporter of multiple emerging tech startups as well as being a guest lecturer and mentor to institute incubation centres. He has also been an advisor to a national think tank, Centre for Cyber and Information Security along with being Operations Head at The Hackers Meetup, a community with around 20 chapters across India and beyond.
Currently, he is working as an acceleration program coordinator with Innovation Mission Punjab, which is a state supported organization to facilitate the entrepreneurial ecosystem at large. Through various interventions aligned towards awareness, capacity building and accelerating their businesses, more than 1500 initiatives have been catalyzed.
In his free time he can be found finding mind boggling use cases on GPT platforms.
eChai Ventures partners with select brands as their growth partner, helping them expand market reach, drive revenue growth, amplify brand visibility, and strengthen hiring efforts.
About eChai Ventures
eChai Ventures is a global startup network connecting entrepreneurs through local meetups in 20+ cities worldwide, enabling cross-border collaborations via startup panels, demo days, cricket, and pickleball leagues.
Make the most of eChai Ventures network:
- Complete Your eChai Profile It's key for others to discover you.
- Join eChai's Startup Meetups: Register for relevant eChai events happening across cities. Each event will have specific instructions on how to join.
- Discover Startup Folks: Explore and connect with other participants.
- Stay Updated: Follow the eChai feed for the latest updates from our community.
- Explore eChai Partner Brands: Check out our partner brands and how they can support you.
- Showcase Your Startup: Get opportunities to present your startup.
- Get Involved: Engage more and get a chance to volunteer or host meetups.
- Attend Global Events: Participate in events across different cities and countries.
- Find Collaborators: Discover co-founders, collaborators, talent, and business opportunities.
- Build Friendships: Make meaningful connections with fellow startup enthusiasts.
Join the meetups that interest you and start making the most of the community.
If you have any questions or need assistance, feel free to reach out at [email protected].