Kuberan’s House onboards Mr. Sanjay Mehta, Ms. Ankita Vashistha, and Dr. Apoorva Ranjan Sharma as Kuberas (Investors) for its entrepreneurship themed reality show

The one of its kind show dedicated to start-ups and budding entrepreneurs finalizes its next set of investors inclusive of the first female investor (Kubera)

by Suman Gupta

New Delhi: When the world came to a standstill due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sanjeev K Kumar (Co-founder and CEO), Ram Gowda (Co-founder and MD)and Ranjith Royal (Co-founder) got together to create an entity that could help the country turn its ‘Make in India’ mantra a reality and, thus launched Kuberan’s House.

Kuberan’s House, a first and one of its kind firm dedicated to source and showcase innovative start-up ideas across India and help them connect to India’s most proactive investors; has announced roping in Mr. Sanjay Mehta, Dr. Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, and Ms. Ankita Vashistha as their next  Kuberas for their start-up themed reality show. This is a first and one-of-its-kind show in the reality television genre.

Mr. Sanjay Mehta, is one of the prominent names in the angel investors category. He is the founding member of Mehta Ventures and 100X.VC. So far he has invested in over 130 start-ups across sectors including key ventures like Oyo rooms, Box8, FabAlley, Zippr just to name a few. He also has set his footprints abroad and is a globally recognized personality in the start-up and venture capitalist space.

This entrepreneur turned investor is a figurine of the failures to success journey. He is now one of the most sought-after angel investors in the start-up zone. He is an active member of the Indian Angel Network, Mumbai Angels, B2B 1K Ventures, CIO Angel Network, and Venture Nursery. He was also awarded Angel investor of the year 2017 by Let’s Venture. He prefers working closely with entrepreneurs and innovative pitches attract him and push him to help the deserving founders and their concepts.

Owing to his diverse career portfolio and vast industry experience, roping him as the fourth investor was indeed a strategic move by Kuberan’s House.

The brand also announced the appointment of the fifth investor who is the first female Kubera, Ms. Ankita Vashistha. She is the Founder and CEO of the first venture capital fund for Women Entrepreneurship, Saha Fund. She is counted as one of the leading women entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.

She has spread her footprints at the global level and has mentored over 1000 startups. She was one of the first investors in key ventures including Luxola (Sephora), InstaHealth (Practo), MySpaces out of the lot. Carrying forward her aim to mentor and support aspiring entrepreneurs, she launched a global foundation, MyStepUp Entrepreneurship, and Innovation Foundation, to support innovation and entrepreneurship in diversity.

She has 14 years’ experience at the global level and across sectors including healthcare, FinTech, consumer just to name a few. She works with an aim to help the deserving concepts and pushes to upscale them via her assistance and guidance. An active advisor and mentor, she is also a part of the global angel network including Indian Angel Network along with other incubator and accelerator groups.  Meanwhile, she also contributes to social causes and promotes gender equality and women empowerment.

She was also awarded as the Leading women fund manager and Top 10 Asian in Finance at the global level.  She is one of the most powerful women entrepreneurs and venture capitalists in the global start-up space. Due to her consistent and persistent efforts, she is now a well-recognized name in the industry, especially in the female category.

With her varied career trajectory, key achievements, academic qualification, and vast industry experience, her roping in as the fifth investor and the first female Kubera was the appropriate decision by the brand.

Dr. Apoorva Ranjan Sharma is the Co-founder & President of Venture Catalysts, India’s largest incubator, and early-stage investor. So far, he has established over 12 incubators, invested in approximately 30 start-ups, and has extended his mentorship to over 100 ventures. He has invested in around 30 start-ups including Oyo, Beardo, BharatPe, Innov8. He is also a Board Member of TiE Mumbai.

He is counted amongst the top 10 angel investors in India. Due to his concerted efforts, Venture Catalysts is the third significant player in the start-up industry. He has successfully created a network of 4500 plus angel investors across over 40 cities. With a vision to drive the growth of the start-up industry at his end, he pioneered the launch of the first accelerator fund, Unicorns to continue his search for potential venture concepts and provide them the requisite assistance.

A graduate in electrical engineering, Dr. Sharma is the first-ever student to acquire a Ph.D. in Incubation and is recognized at the global level. Additionally, he also holds a diploma in Mentoring Studies. It is because of his high-end academic qualification, successful entrepreneurship run, expertise in the sector, pioneer of incubation launch and the various milestones achieved that his onboarding as the sixth investor on Kuberan’s House’s show seems to be the appropriate decision.

Expressing his excitement over the same, Mr. Sanjay Mehta, Founder and Partner, 100X.VC said, ‘’ I believe that angel investing is not just putting in money, it’s about smart money. The investment you are putting in should add value to your firm, the funding venture, and the entrepreneurship ecosystem at large. I prefer choosing founders over markets and hence I am always on the lookout for worthy ideas. Kuberan’s House is doing magnificent work by dedicating itself to the start-up industry. Their entrepreneurship theme-based show is indeed one of its kind and a great initiative to upscale the industry. This is what prompted me to be a part of such a unique idea. It perfectly aligns with my objective of supporting the deserving aspiring entrepreneurs that are relevant for the start-up industry and will add value to the ecosystem. I am elated that I am a part of this show. I hope that I will be able to guide and mentor the participants to my maximum capacity. I am excited for my stint as a Kubera and I know it is going to be a magnificent journey.’’

Dr. Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, Founder & President of Venture Catalysts, shared his thoughts and joy on this announcement and said, ‘’Kuberan’s House’s initiative of coming up with an entrepreneurship-based show is an extraordinary concept that will help boost the start-up industry. Their goals resonated with mine and I immediately agreed as I knew this would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Not only would the platform be the ideal place to share my failure and success stories but it will also help the participants when they will be connected with the investors possessing real-world industry experience. I wish to extend the best possible experience and guidance to the participants and receive insights about the recent happenings and trends of the ever-evolving start-up ecosystem. I am looking forward to my rollercoaster ride as an investor on a reality show. ”

Sharing her thoughts, Ms. Ankita Vashistha, Founder & CEO, Saha Fund, says, ‘’I was ecstatic when I first got to know about a reality show dedicated to entrepreneurship and start-ups. I am glad that there are proactive efforts taken to accelerate the start-up ecosystem in India. I look forward to meeting and interacting with budding entrepreneurs and extending my support. I desire to do all that I can for worthy ideas to my maximum capacity. I am thrilled to be an investor on the show and am waiting to receive some out-of-the-box ideas from the participants. Additionally, being the first women investor is indeed a moment of pride for me and I am all set for this exciting ride.’’

Speaking on the announcement, Mr. Sanjeev K Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO, Kuberan’s House said, ‘’ It is with immense joy we share that we have roped in the fourth, fifth, and sixth Kuberas for our show. We are all the more ecstatic now that we have our first female Kubera as well. We are sure Mr. Sanjay Mehta, Ms. Ankita Vashistha, and Dr. Apoorva Ranjan Sharma will extend the best of the mentorship and guidance to the participants. We hope the contestants imbibe the maximum they can and gain insights and relevant exposure from their varied experiences. They will add the flavor of age-old expertise and fresh challenging stories with their diverse career portfolio, grass-root level stories, and real-world experience. Roping them in was indeed the apt decision. While the preparations for the show are in full swing, we are eagerly waiting to launch the show.’’

Expressing his excitement on the same, Govind Balakrishna Raju, Chief Strategy Officer, “Startups is all about hustling and execution, super delighted and honored to have Mr. Sanjay Mehta, Ms. Ankita Vashistha, and Dr. Apoorva Ranjan Sharma on-board, their continuous contribution and support to the startup ecosystem have been invaluable. Their role and participation in Kuberan’s house will help the most promising startups fulfill their funding support, growth journey and turn their dreams into reality”.

Segregated into multiple stages along with a thorough filtering process by inhouse screening team called 9XV, the show has various perks like aws credits of $1000 for top 500 participants, Kuberan’s House fellowship, a comprehensive 3-day workshop, and a golden opportunity to perform at the global monthly event, ‘Open Innovation Week’ for top 100 and much more.

About Kuberan’s House-Kuberan’s House, a first-of-its-kind platform to source, streamline, and showcase innovative start-up ideas from across India will help entrepreneurs especially from tier 2 & tier 3 towns connect to the best venture capitalists/ investors from across the country, converting most of them into successful business ventures.

It’s a unique initiative that creates opportunity, provides great exposure & visibility, profound mentorship, financial assistance for start-up ideators and companies, and makes their dreams into reality by encompassing the extension of the ‘Make in India’ vision.

About Mr. Sanjay Mehta;Mr. Sanjay Mehta is the founding member of Mehta Ventures and 100X.VC. He has invested in over 130 start-ups across sectors including key ventures like Oyo rooms, Box8, FabAlley, Zippr just to name a few. He also has set his firm’s footprints abroad and is a globally recognized personality in the start-up and venture capitalist space. He is an active member of the Indian Angel Network, Mumbai Angels, B2B 1K Ventures, CIO Angel Network, and Venture Nursery. He prefers working closely with entrepreneurs and innovative pitches attract him and push him to help the deserving founders and their concepts.

About Apoorva Ranjan Sharma:Dr. Apoorva Ranjan Sharma is the co-founder & president of Venture Catalysts, India’s largest incubator, and early-stage investor. So far, he has established over 12 incubators, invested in approximately 30 start-ups, and has extended his mentorship to over 100 ventures. He has invested in around 30 start-ups including Oyo, Beardo, BharatPe, Innov8. He is also a Board Member of TiE Mumbai. He is counted amongst the top 10 angel investors in India. He has successfully created a network of 4500 plus angel investors across over 40 cities. He pioneered the launch of the first accelerator fund, Unicorns to continue his search for potential venture concepts and provide them the requisite assistance. A graduate in electrical engineering, Dr. Sharma is the first-ever student to acquire a Ph.D. in Incubation and is recognized at the global level. Additionally, he also holds a diploma in Mentoring Studies.

About Ms. Ankita :Ms. Ankita Vashistha is the Founder and CEO of the first venture capital fund for Women Entrepreneurship, Saha Fund. She has mentored over 1000 start-ups at the global level. She was one of the first investors in key ventures including Luxola(Sephora), InstaHealth (Practo), MySpaces out of the lot. Carrying forward her aim to mentor and support aspiring entrepreneurs, she launched a global foundation, MyStepUp Entrepreneurship, and Innovation Foundation, to support innovation and entrepreneurship in diversity. She has 14 years’ experience at the global level and across sectors including An active advisor and mentor, she is also a part of the global angel network including Indian Angel Network along with other incubator and accelerator groups.  Meanwhile, she also contributes to social causes and promotes gender equality and women empowerment. She was also awarded as the Leading women fund manager and Top 10 Asian in Finance at the global level. Ankita is also an author and co-authored her book, Innovation-at-Scale.