India has maintained its position as the third-largest global tech startup ecosystem by the end of 2023; . Moreover, $23 billion was raised by these startups within the last 2-3 years.
1stCheque by Favcy — backed by India’s largest venture studio — is here to highlight some of the top angel investors who are constantly contributing to the growth of this startup ecosystem.
These founders-turned-investors are constantly looking out for innovative startups and helping them turn them into successful companies. No matter which startup stage you belong to, these entrepreneurs are worth considering for the next funding round.
Kunal Shah
Kunal Shah is considered one of the most active angel investors with an estimated net worth of $1.8 billion.
He founded CRED and FreeCharge, and has invested in 213 companies including Unacademy, Razorpay, Slice, Mensa and even Spinny.
In total, Kunal has invested in over 254 rounds and the most recent investment was in Segwise on Feb 14, 2024.
Some of the major investments include Shiprocket & Zetwerk, and notable exits are Bigbasket, ANS Commerce, Pocket Aces and Carnot. Shiprocket & Razorpay. Some of these investments turned out to be unicorns!
Earlier in his career, he was a part-time partner at YCombinator and an advisor at Sequoia Capital. Academically, Kunal holds a BA in Philosophy from Wilson College, Mumbai, and enrolled for an MBA at Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies in Mumbai but dropped out.
Kunal once said, “If you fully accept the worst that can happen in your journey, fear won’t ever be an obstacle in starting-up!” A man with such a mindset is surely an inspiration to the next-gen angels as well as the seasoned angels.
Ramakant Sharma
Ramakant Sharma is an ex-VP of Engineering from Myntra who founded Livspace – an interior designing company in 2014. He is an active angel investor with investments in over 76 startups including PharmEasy, BYJU'S, Trell, Fynd and Toothsi. These investment and successful startups has made his estimated net worth to be more than $550 million as of 2023.
Ramakant has 2 unicorns in the portfolio – PharmEasy & BYJU’S, and a bunch of notable exits - Toppr, Shop101, Fynd and SwifLearn.
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With investments in 113 rounds, the most recent investment was in General Autonomy on Nov 13, 2023. Some of the notable investments in the portfolio are Stable Money, Wootz.work, EquityList and General Autonomy.
On the academic front, he has graduated from IIT Kanpur, and is an MBA from the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.
Anupam Mittal
Anupam Mittal — the shiny, vibrant and cool-headed Shark from Shark Tank India, is an active angel investor who’s mostly recognized as the founder of Shaadi.com – a matrimonial website.
Anupam has investments in over 75 startups including Ola Cabs, Druva, Sapience Analytics, Pretty Secrets, Cafe Zoe, Peel Works, TaxSpanner, Fab Hotels, Ketto, Prop Tiger, BigBasket, FarEye and Lets Venture.
Anupam’s estimated net worth is more than $22 million and a few investments have turned out to become a unicorn which includes Ola and MobiKwik.
Some of the notable and significant exits are Bigbasket, MediBuddy, myHQ and Truebil. Anupam has invested in over 226 rounds and the most recent investment was in ReFit Global on Feb 21, 2024.
Anupam graduated from Boston College, Boston MA and has an MBA in Operations and Strategic Management.
“The only difference between a successful and unsuccessful person is perseverance. One should have perseverance and a specific goal that he can achieve with hard work and passion.”
Well, Anupam’s mindset, passion and perseverance surely took him places! And it can be helpful for newbie angels as well.
Our team believe that these individuals are shaping the Indian startup-investment ecosystem and encouraging other potential startup founders as well as angels to emerge as the greatest. Moreover, they have adopted a practical approach to understanding and conquering the Indian startup market and topped the list, undoubtedly.
Apart from these 3, who do you think is one of the most successful angel investors in India?
