Startup Stream
eChai SF is Gaining Momentum
Fremont’s startup energy is picking up — and it’s only getting better.
Last week, Khyati Brahmbhatt hosted the first eChai Startup Mixer in Fremont — and it felt different in the best way. Founders came with ideas, shared what they were building, and got into conversations that weren’t surface-level.
People showed up — curious, honest, and open to learning from each other.
From someone sharing their early MVP to a group jamming on what growth looks like — it was a reminder of what real community feels like when it’s driven by builders themselves.
Now Khyati is taking it forward with more meetups:
April 15, Tuesday – Where Builders Meet Over Brews
An evening for founders and operators to connect, swap stories, and hang out in a relaxed setting.
at Sama Coffee Shop, San Mateo, California.
RSVP here
An evening for founders and operators to connect, swap stories, and hang out in a relaxed setting.
at Sama Coffee Shop, San Mateo, California.
RSVP here
April 24, Thursday – AI Founders Circle
Live product demos, real conversations, and a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to build in AI today.
at PlayGround Studio, 2727 Walsh Ave, Suite 101, Santa Clara, CA.
RSVP here
Live product demos, real conversations, and a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to build in AI today.
at PlayGround Studio, 2727 Walsh Ave, Suite 101, Santa Clara, CA.
RSVP here
If you're in the Bay Area and building something — these are the rooms you'll want to be in.
Hosted by Khyati Brahmbhatt with eChai Ventures.
Myntra, Cure.fit, and Now AI — The Quiet Compounding of Mukesh Bansal
A few years ago, I had the chance to interview Mukesh Bansal at IIMA’s Red Brick Summit. Back then, he was building Cure.fit and had already put Myntra on the map. That session stayed with me — not because of buzzwords or unicorn talk, but because of how calmly he spoke about playing the long game.
I recently revisited that interview — watch it here — and it still hits differently. Mukesh talks about starting Myntra with personalized merch in 2007, figuring out reverse logistics before e-commerce was even a thing in India, and building trust one order at a time. No shortcuts, no playbook — just deliberate execution.
Post Myntra and Cure.fit, Mukesh went on to lead digital at Tata and is now building something new in the enterprise AI space with Nurix.ai. But the core remains the same — solving real problems, building long-term, and being okay with slow compounding.
It’s a must-watch if you're in the early days of building. Especially if you’re in that phase where it feels like nothing’s working. Because sometimes, the boring parts of the journey are where all the real stuff gets built.
One Week. Multiple Cities. Dozens of Founders. Real Startup Conversations Across India.
This week at eChai feels like one big cross-city founder jam — where startup folks come together to talk fundraising, AI, product, growth, and what it actually takes to build.
Here’s what’s happening:
Surat Startup Summit ’25 | April 11–13
eChai is Co-hosting couple of panels with SGCCI, as part of their 3-day startup festival.
Surat Startup Summit ’25 | April 11–13
eChai is Co-hosting couple of panels with SGCCI, as part of their 3-day startup festival.
🔥 Shark Tank Stars sharing real fundraising stories:
– Radhika Sundarka (Zebra Learn)
– Chetan Kanani (Alpino)
– Yash Tarwadi (Solnce Energy)
– Priya Gadhiya (Raja-Rani Coaching)
– Rakesh Somani (Decode Age)
– Radhika Sundarka (Zebra Learn)
– Chetan Kanani (Alpino)
– Yash Tarwadi (Solnce Energy)
– Priya Gadhiya (Raja-Rani Coaching)
– Rakesh Somani (Decode Age)
🤖 AI Panel – Putting Artificial Intelligence to Work
– Arjun Kava (VideoSDK)
– Prerna Mehta (Narola AI Studio)
– Chintan Papaiya (KissanAI)
– Manoj Adwani (Narad.io)
...
Women Founders Initiative – Mumbai Edition
– Arjun Kava (VideoSDK)
– Prerna Mehta (Narola AI Studio)
– Chintan Papaiya (KissanAI)
– Manoj Adwani (Narad.io)
...
Women Founders Initiative – Mumbai Edition
📅 April 12 | Saturday | 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
📍 Invite-only | Venue will be shared with confirmed guests
📍 Invite-only | Venue will be shared with confirmed guests
🎙️ For women founders and operators across Mumbai
This is a safe and open space for women entrepreneurs to connect, share their journeys, and support one another. Each participant gets a chance to introduce themselves, share what they’re building, and explore ways to collaborate.
Expect real talk, shared experiences, and strong community vibes — from one founder to another.
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Bengaluru Startup Meetup – Fundraising for Startups
📅 April 12, Saturday | 6pm onwards | Draper Startup House, Koramangala
🎙️ Featuring:
– Neha Lakhwara (CEO, Agility Ventures)
– Harnidh Kaur (Head of Fund, WTFund)
– Moderated by Nivin Joseph (Draper Startup House)
– Neha Lakhwara (CEO, Agility Ventures)
– Harnidh Kaur (Head of Fund, WTFund)
– Moderated by Nivin Joseph (Draper Startup House)
Expect honest takes on early-stage investing, what founders miss while pitching, and how investors really evaluate deals.
AI and Marketing – The New Growth Formula
AI and Marketing – The New Growth Formula
📅 April 12 | Saturday | 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
📍 UrbanVault, HSR Layout, Bengaluru
📍 UrbanVault, HSR Layout, Bengaluru
🎙️ Featuring founders & marketers building at the intersection of AI and growth
Expect real-world strategies on how startups are using AI to personalize engagement, run leaner campaigns, automate workflows, and scale faster.
Whether you’re running AI-driven experiments or looking to sharpen your GTM with automation, this panel will offer candid insights, honest lessons, and actionable takeaways.
📅 April 13 | Sunday | 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
📍 Draper Startup House, Koramangala
📍 Draper Startup House, Koramangala
🎙️ Open to all founders, builders & early-stage teams
Expect informal, high-trust conversations with fellow founders. Bring what you're building, share ideas, discover collab opportunities, or just hang out with people who get the startup life.
No decks. No pitches. Just good energy and real conversations.
...
Ahmedabad Design Meetup – Building with Design
📅 April 12 | 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM | Aubergine Solutions, Prahladnagar
🎙️ Featuring:
– Bhavesh Patel, Co-Founder, Brands.live
– Bhakti Dudhara, Founder & Chief Designer
– Jhanvi Thaker, Co-Founder, Olleeve Films & Design
– Drupad Mistry, Experience Design Expert
Hosted by: Jatin Chaudhary (eChai Ventures)
– Bhavesh Patel, Co-Founder, Brands.live
– Bhakti Dudhara, Founder & Chief Designer
– Jhanvi Thaker, Co-Founder, Olleeve Films & Design
– Drupad Mistry, Experience Design Expert
Hosted by: Jatin Chaudhary (eChai Ventures)
Expect candid conversations on how design shapes product thinking, lessons from building design-led ventures, and what community-driven design looks like in the real world. Whether you’re a founder or a first-time designer, this is where perspectives meet practice.
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📅 April 12 | 11:00 AM onwards | COEP's Bhau Institute
🎙️ Featuring product builders, engineers & AI hackers
Expect live demos, code-first convos, and behind-the-scenes workflows from developers building at early-stage startups. Great for anyone working on AI tools, dev infra, or experimenting with new frameworks.
Expect live demos, code-first convos, and behind-the-scenes workflows from developers building at early-stage startups. Great for anyone working on AI tools, dev infra, or experimenting with new frameworks.
📅 April 12 | 4:00 PM onwards | Ideas to Impacts (1st Floor)
🎙️ Featuring founders, marketers & growth leads
Expect informal conversations around traction, distribution, customer acquisition, and startup growth stories. No pitches — just real talk and connection over coffee and experiments.
...
Expect informal conversations around traction, distribution, customer acquisition, and startup growth stories. No pitches — just real talk and connection over coffee and experiments.
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🎙️ Featuring early-stage founders, startup operators & enablers
Expect a relaxed, high-trust environment to share what you're building, explore collaborations, and connect with fellow founders driving innovation in Hyderabad. No pitches — just meaningful conversations over chai and startup stories.
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Also, on April 10th, Thursday, we hosted a high-signal session on Fundraising for Startups with the team from Expert Dojo at Draper Startup House, Koramangala.
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Also, on April 10th, Thursday, we hosted a high-signal session on Fundraising for Startups with the team from Expert Dojo at Draper Startup House, Koramangala.
🎙️ Brian Mac Mahon (Founder & Managing Partner) and Ashutosh Kumar-Jha (GP & Head of Portfolio) shared global perspectives on:
– What early-stage investors actually look for
– How Indian founders can stand out internationally
– Why storytelling matters more than ever in 2025
– What early-stage investors actually look for
– How Indian founders can stand out internationally
– Why storytelling matters more than ever in 2025
The session was packed with honest takes, sharp questions from founders, and practical insights you won’t find on Twitter threads.
Big thanks to Nivin Joseph for steering the conversation just right
eChai Ventures turns 16 today
Me and Kunal started eChai with no grand plans - just a strong intent to bring founders together.
What followed has been 16 years of pure community magic.
We’re very grateful to everyone who’s been part of this journey — attending, hosting, building, believing, and showing up for each other.
eChai is all of us.
Let's CoRise.
What followed has been 16 years of pure community magic.
We’re very grateful to everyone who’s been part of this journey — attending, hosting, building, believing, and showing up for each other.
eChai is all of us.
Let's CoRise.
Tobi, CEO of Shopify: “AI isn’t a suggestion anymore. It’s a baseline expectation.
This isn’t just another internal memo.
It’s one of the clearest founder perspectives yet on how deeply AI is shifting the way we work, build, and think.
It’s one of the clearest founder perspectives yet on how deeply AI is shifting the way we work, build, and think.
In this message to the Shopify team, Tobi Lütke lays it out plainly:
AI isn’t optional. It's now expected — in every role, across every craft.
AI isn’t optional. It's now expected — in every role, across every craft.
He talks about:
- Why AI is no longer just a consultation tool, but a workforce multiplier
- Why the prototype phase of every project should start with AI
- Why every team must explore AI before asking for more resources
- And how learning to use AI well is the new core skill
But what hits hardest is the energy behind it.
This isn’t hype. It’s real. It’s founder-led.
Tobi’s not just talking about tools — he’s talking about a mindset shift for builders everywhere.
https://x.com/tobi/status/1909231499448401946
This isn’t hype. It’s real. It’s founder-led.
Tobi’s not just talking about tools — he’s talking about a mindset shift for builders everywhere.
https://x.com/tobi/status/1909231499448401946
The eChai Effect - In Their Words
"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
"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
"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
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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Academia
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