The event drew a diverse audience of over 45 attendees from 20 different countries, featuring a dynamic conversation between investors and founders, providing invaluable insights into the intricacies of fundraising.
Closing the event with a networking session, the audience engaged in meaningful conversations with a diverse array of startups and founders.
Events such as this play a crucial role in fostering connections, knowledge exchange and collaborative growth across international boundaries, empowering entrepreneurs to drive their ventures forward.
This event wouldn't have been possible without the support of Karan Bahadur and Jatin Chaudhary. Special thanks to Waleed Arshad and Mohammad Mustafa Hassan for their encouragement and support throughout the event.
Here's to many more successful collaborations and impactful events!
Just wrapped up an incredible 2-day trip to Bengaluru, where I had the pleasure of connecting with some of the most talented engineers, product builders, entrepreneurs, investors, and tech enthusiasts. The energy here is as vibrant and innovative as it is in Silicon Valley!
I had a fantastic session with the engineering team at Nium, where we explored the challenges and opportunities of integrating GenAI features into the FinTech world. The enthusiasm and insightful questions from the audience were truly inspiring. We also delved into how AI is reshaping the software engineering process and how both engineering and product teams can adapt to this ongoing disruption. Thanks to Ramana Satyavarapu, Mahathi Mahabhashyam, Sujoy Das, and the entire Nium team for the opportunity!
Later, I visited Draper Startup House, where we discussed the journey of productionizing GenAI applications and the pitfalls to avoid. A huge thanks to eChai Ventures and Draper Startup House for hosting me. The startup culture in Bengaluru is electric, and it's clear we will be witnessing some amazing AI products emerging from Bengaluru soon! Thanks to Nivin Joseph, Jatin ChaudharyMansi Baheti for organizing this event.
🦄 Thank you for joining us in the eChai Ventures FinTech Day meetup at Urban Vault 477, HSR, Bengaluru! 🚀
Sharing glimpses from our gathering -
Mohankumar Swaminathan has seen the pivots and the growth at Scripbox in his 8+ years of being with the organisation where he is a product leader in his current role. With only 1,000 certified financial planners in India, their offering is a productised version that makes wealth management easier. So if you are not a Do It Yourself person and would like to let them Do It For You with all the years of domain expertise, then check them out now!
Nishant Prasad from Wint Wealth comes from a legal side and built his understanding of everything that goes into the business by leading with curiosity. That puts him in a position to not just interpret circulars by the regulatory bodies but also speak the language of his colleagues to decode how this affects everything else. Fintech picked up massively during Covid. People had time and money to think about investing! Investor protection Vs Progression is always a conversation to have.
Ravi K. Goyal believes there is no substitute to hard work. He is a seasoned professional in the Fintech space and started his entrepreneurial journey around 3 months ago. He is building rural-focused NBFC in secured lending. When asked about what's a major challenge in his industry, he says it has to be Recovery, among everything else.
Saloni Mehta believes that money is very personal. Everyone wants different things from their money. At Jupiter, she is working towards helping people see everything in one place and manage their money wisely. A framework she loves is - Track, Analyse, Decide, Act' in that order. If you are looking to sharpen your knowledge on finance, she highly recommends the book 'Let's Talk Money: You've Worked Hard for It, Now Make It Work for You' by Monika Halan.
It's a wrap! Do share resources - books, podcasts, newsletters, courses, platforms and communities that are helping you with your journey in becoming a smart investor ✨
I take this opportunity to pay my heartfelt tributes to Alji Bhai Marediya, the esteemed owner of Hotel Aaram in Paldi. Had it not been for him, Hearty Mart wouldn’t have existed.
In my business, there isn’t any co-founder, but Alji Bhai can be considered as one, for he was instrumental in convincing the initial partners of our Juhapura store. It was because of him that we were able to create our first store. From the store infrastructure creation to its launch, he played an active part, as I was still working with an advertising agency and couldn’t devote much time initially.
Alji Bhai had always been an entrepreneur, starting from a diamond cleaning outfit to running a hotel in Ahmedabad. His business insights and acumen during the initial stages of my entrepreneurial journey were a great help.
I knew Alji Bhai since my early teens and often visited his hotel in Paldi, which was in my neighborhood. We developed a bond and mutual respect, and that is how we came together.
Today, though he is no longer with us, we remember him for his unmatched contribution to my venture. His legacy lives on in the success of Hearty Mart, and his memory continues to inspire us everyday.
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.
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.
