eChai Wall of Love

160 Founders, 2 VCs, and 1 Unfiltered Fundraising Night at eChai x Draper in Bengaluru

Nivin Joseph - Head of Community and Partnership Draper Startup House
Nivin Joseph
Head of Community and Partnership Draper Startup House
160 Founders, 2 VCs, and 1 Unfiltered Fundraising Night at eChai x Draper in Bengaluru

We pushed the limits of our terrace space by hosting over 160+ #entrepreneurs last Saturday! 🧠🔥🌆

The Bengaluru Startup Meetup on Fundraising for Startups, co-hosted with eChai Ventures, turned out to be one of our most high-energy events yet at Draper Startup House, Bangalore. 🚀🎤✨

We had the privilege of hosting two incredible speakers:

- Harnidh K., Head of Fund, WTFund – She broke down their complete vetting process, what they truly look for in founders and why WTFund has become such a magnet for young entrepreneurs 💼💡. It was mind-blowing 🤯 to learn that they receive 2500+ applications per cohort and every single one is read and vetted personally by the team – with zero AI or automation 🤓📄.

She also spent over an hour before and after the event chatting with founders 1:1 – total legend 🧃🫶.

- Neha Lakhwara, CEO, Agility Ventures – Neha didn’t just talk about Agility's investment thesis 💰 and the sectors they’re bullish on 📊🛠️ — she also shared why she will always bet on a founder who shows clarity & grit. 🧠💪. She opened up about her favourite deal and what made it stand out 💎🚀, plus gave a masterclass on the do’s and don’ts of a pitch deck – founders took notes like crazy 📝📉📈.

Huge shoutout to the 160+ attendees who brought the vibe, fired sharp questions 🔥🧨 (some controversial ones too 👀) and stayed till the very end 💬🌙.

We pulled this off thanks to the kindest speakers who gave us their time and wisdom, expecting nothing in return 🕊️💙.

Can’t wait to host Harnidh and Neha again at Draper Startup House soon 🏠🔁
Startup Stream
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The eChai Effect - In Their Words

"eChai has played a truly pivotal role in HummingBird’s journey — even before Day Zero. From ideation to establishment and into growth, it’s been a constant source of support. It connected me with incredible people who’ve become more than just friends. One of the biggest reasons I chose to stay in Ahmedabad is because of the eChai community. It has shaped my growth — both personally and professionally — in ways that are hard to articulate. Honestly, words fall short when I try to express what eChai means to me. I’m deeply thankful and forever grateful to eChai for being such an integral part of my journey."
Harsha Bhurani - Founder, HummingBird Consulting Group
Harsha Bhurani
Founder, HummingBird Consulting Group
“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 @ Polynxt (EightQor Capital, Upsquare, House of Starts) • Architect & Capital Allocator
Utpal Vaishnav
Founder @ Polynxt (EightQor Capital, Upsquare, House of Starts) • Architect & Capital Allocator
"We found eChai to be a force multiplier throughout our startup journey. Through it, we connected with folks from DevX, Allevents, Plutomen, and more - many of whom became friends of IndiaBizForSale.com and even part of our clientele."
Bhavin S Bhagat - Co-founder of Indiabizforsale and IBGrid, TiE Ahmedabad President
Bhavin S Bhagat
Co-founder of Indiabizforsale and IBGrid, TiE Ahmedabad President

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.

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