VCs at Draper Startup House 🐢🐇🚀

Last week at Draper Startup House Bangalore, we had some seriously awesome VCs drop by:
- Shantanu Sharma from Pivot VC
- Pranav Sanghvi from Merak Ventures
- Ashna Agarwal from Jungle Ventures
- Vaishvi Bansal from Marwari Catalysts
- Aditi Sinha from IndiaQuotient

Our resident entrepreneurs got to pitch their hearts out, and the feedback they received was pure gold. The energy was unreal!

But it wasn’t just about funding. What made this week extra special were the amazing backstories these VCs shared—from an Airforce veteran turned VC, to a DJ turned VC, to a super young college grad already making waves in the venture world. These stories were pure inspiration, especially for anyone thinking about starting their journey in VC.

We also hosted two panel events with these incredible VCs, attracting nearly 200+ attendees! It was a blast and a huge success for our community.

Special thanks to Jatin Chaudhary and Radhika Mohta for making this happen—you both are rockstars! 🌟

If you’re a VC and passing through Bangalore, DM us—we’d love to host you at Draper Startup House, Bangalore!

Karan Bahadur Vikram Bharati Mansi Baheti Tanya Mary Deepika Palreddy Sai Chaitanya Kokku Vignesh S eChai Ventures



The eChai Effect - In Their Words

"I have evolved from role of Community Builder to Startup Consultant to Startup Ecosystem Enabler to Angel Investor and now launching a Venture Studio and eChai has been a catalyst in my overall journey as Startup Evangelist since 13 years."
Mehul Shah - Co-Founder at Counselvise & Ivy Growth
Mehul Shah
Co-Founder at Counselvise & Ivy Growth
"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
“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

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.