Santosh Panda - Co-Founder, Foundership

Santosh Panda

Co-Founder, Foundership

More about Santosh Panda

Hello! 👋 I run Foundership - The Web3 Launcher🚀

We help Web3 startups with Coaching, Capital and Community. Taking Top Web3 Founders into the Next Orbit.
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Find more about Foundership. https://foundershiphq.com/

With my new endeavor Foundership, I'm now on a mission to help/enable Web3 Projects /Startup Folks to succeed & scale.

Before Foundership, I started my Startup journey back in 2007, much before startups were "cool." I built Explara for India - an event ticketing and management platform by developing a SaaS solution while living in London and having a day job. 

I relocated to India in 2011-12 and grew Explara by hustling and bootstrapping to VC funding to $11m in gross revenue. Back in the day, I didn't have the ecosystem to support me or correct my mistakes. But, lucky for you, it's all there today! 

With a shoestring budget, I built a successful business & brand Explara, serving thousands of customers worldwide. Explara was my 3rd Startup that went through years of perseverance to withstand numerous failure and shutdown modes to become profitable in 2019. 

I started 2 businesses in London during 2005 & 06, both failed. Before starting up Explara, I was a software product engineer in eBay UK, BBC iPlayer, William Hill Betting platform and TouchNote. Before that, I was part of several startups during the dotcom era of the 2000s in the USA.

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Featured speaker at previous eChai events:
web3 Builders Meetup in Bangalore
web3 Builders Meetup in Bangalore
web3 Builders Meetup in Ahmedabad
Founders and startup folks who joined past eChai startup events

The eChai Effect - In Their Words

"After moving back from the USA, eChai became my go-to space to learn how the Indian startup ecosystem works. It offered direct exposure to startup thinking and a community that openly shares business insights. What stood out was how easy it was to connect, learn, and grow through real conversations. As we built our IT hardware rentals business, eChai helped us find our niche and refine our path. Proud and grateful to be part of this amazing community."
Heet Sheth - Growth and Tech, Sheth Info
Heet Sheth
Growth and Tech, Sheth Info
"eChai has been a game changer in my journey. It connected me with real people, real support and real opportunities. From building HMMBiz to launching Mindalcove, eChai has played a key role at every step. Grateful to be part of a community that truly believes in growing together."
Hardik Manwani - CTO, Mind Alcove
Hardik Manwani
CTO, Mind Alcove
"eChai isn’t just a startup community … it’s a mindset . eChai has been one of the most impactful communities in my entrepreneurial journey. It’s been a turning point . In a world where building something can often feel isolating, eChai gave me a sense of belonging. I’ve found mentors, collaborators, and friends here — people who genuinely want to see you succeed. It’s a space where ideas are challenged, actions are celebrated, and founders grow not just in scale, but in clarity and confidence. From late-night ideas to early-morning pitches, this community has quietly but powerfully shaped the way I build, think, and dream. I’ll always be grateful for the way eChai creates spaces where founders don’t just grow businesses — they grow together."
Koumal Kalantry - Founder, Bignano Ventures
Koumal Kalantry
Founder, Bignano Ventures

eChai Partner Brands

eChai Ventures partners with select brands as their growth partner - working together to explore new ideas, open doors, and build momentum across the startup ecosystem.