Fundraising for Startups: Panel Conversation with Founders & Investors - Hyderabad Edition

Happened on July 27, Sunday, 2025
6:00pm — 08:00pm (GMT+05:30)
Draper Startup House Hyderabad
77 slots booked.
Nivin  Joseph - Head of Community and Partnership Draper Startup House Srinivas - Consultant Santosh  kumar Thota - "JatayuvAi , founder" Yashwanth Bondapalli - Ai developer Pradeep Rao - operations Gopi Chandu - Founder,Token buddy K S Nitin - Hypweb Solutions LLP Sai Srikar Kadiyam - Founder, Metasai Innovations Udugula Ganesh - Founder,AdOnGlow Deshaveni Nithin - Full stack developer Naveen Ellanki - Co-Founder, Smatr Sai Chaitanya - Product manager Sukesh Ghantoji - Cloud Success Manager Capgemini prudvi raj - Kirana kredit Surya Prakash Addanki - Co-Founder, LoHaS Stays Vamsidhar Mannem - Co-founder Jogeeswara Puvvala - Co-Founder of ForteAI Technologies Sudheer Kangala - Founder, nestbookings.com Sai Karthik Adla - Co-Founder ForteAI Technologies gopi chand - Founder of WebbifyTech Sunder Bachuwar - Software Engineer Manasa Darni - Developer Utsav Nagda - SDR Swetha Panda - Founder - Zenblock Labs Romit Shrivastava - Founder at LinkSkill AI Shreyansh - Founder & CEO - Billo Raghu Charan Kancharla - Ecogenx innovation Rishwanth Naguri - NXT WAVE - Student Pavan Kumar Dubasi - Founder, VibeTensor Jakkula Indra Karan Rao - Founder NIKHIL AGARWAL - Founding Lead Engineer, US Stealth Startup Raju Anantula - RISIKEISH BIOSOLUTIONS Neeharika  Sanapala - Customer engagement Naveen - Co-founder of Token buddy abdul mazeed - SRE Ahmed Hussain - IT industry Jalaluddin khan - Founder & CEO - Provizoraq Labs Raghuram Kancharla - Founder - Kvr Impex Pvt Ltd Sai Kiran B L S - PwC Labhansh Satpute - Co-Founder & CTO @ZappDeal Karthik Paladugulla - Student Bharadwaj Singaluri - Data analyst, Accenture NAGESH NAGAM - UI/UX Designer Kumar N - President M Samith - Founder,Trivinity Saidulu Rampe - TCS Hari Charan - Front-End Developer Himayun Khan - Freelancer (MERN) Rajesh K - Co-Founder Mohith Prathipati - Founder, Zion Dasari Venkata Surya Teja - Masters student at EDHEC Business School Revanth Kallepalli - Student Entrepreneur kotamsetty Pradeep - Fashion technology Raviteja G - Senior Associate Hema Harshini - UX Designer at Yudi
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Agenda:

Raising capital is never just about the pitch — it’s about timing, traction, and trust. This panel brings together early-stage founders and active investors to unpack the real dynamics of startup fundraising in today’s market.


We’ll explore what investors look for beyond the deck, how founders navigate rejections and term sheets, and what’s changing in the funding landscape across sectors. 

Whether you're gearing up for your first raise or thinking about your next round, join us for a candid, practical conversation on what it really takes to raise money and build lasting relationships in the startup ecosystem.

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The eChai Effect - In Their Words

“You don’t plan to build a company via eChai. You just keep showing up … and one day, you realize you did.” I’ve known Jatin since 2012, when I was still deciding what kind of second innings I wanted to play as an entrepreneur. Over the years, through events, chai breaks, intros, and seemingly small conversations, eChai helped shape not just Upsquare but also refined the lens through which we see collaboration. At Upsquare, we’ve hired talent, met partners, discovered co-investors, and built lifelong friendships. One of our joint ventures exists today only because a casual eChai memory sparked a deeper trust. Now, as we build House of Starts — our venture builder — eChai continues to fuel our mission: co-creating a shared future. eChai isn’t just a startup network. It’s a trust network. And for business builders like me, that makes all the difference."
Utpal Vaishnav - Founder @ Upsquare & House of Starts • Angel Investor + LP
Utpal Vaishnav
Founder @ Upsquare & House of Starts • Angel Investor + LP
“When we launched LegalWiz.in back in 2016, concept of procuring legal and compliance services through a digital commerce platform wasn't as prominent in India. eChai played a significant role in providing the early adopters, and building significant positioning in the startup fraternity. Overtime, eChai grew to be a massive network of like-minded entrepreneurs and extended that benefit to all the members in a true "co-rise" spirit. I personally love to attend eChai events, learn from subject matter experts who share relatable and actionable insights and experiences. For startup journeys, it is so important to be surrounded by people who can add relevance, perspective, and push you to do better. Most importantly a group of people where you aren't being judged about things going right or wrong, but be a motivational force that keeps you going, yet keeping you in check. eChai is that place for me!”
Shrijay Sheth - Founder at LegalWiz.in and Hire4Higher Consulting
Shrijay Sheth
Founder at LegalWiz.in and Hire4Higher Consulting
"For me, eChai is a second home. I've been associated with it since the early days, when it was already setting a different tone for how startup communities could work. As a traditional business owner entering the new-age D2C space, eChai supported me in every direction. Over the years, it became my window to the startup world — and also gave me lifelong friends who continue to show up, for business and beyond."
Pankaj Bhimani - Founder, 58miles
Pankaj Bhimani
Founder, 58miles