The Top 37 Most Active Angel Investors Of India For Startups

Driven by the desire to change things the way they work, entrepreneurs strive to realise the true potential of their business ideas. But, lack of deep pockets and competition from bigger market players is something that kicks the startups out of their road to success. It is these initial times and hardships that startups need a backing. And, this is exactly where Angel Investors come into play.

Angel investors are usually experienced entrepreneurs who themselves have been through the same phase and the ones who understand what it takes to create a billion dollar company out of an Idea. With handsome amounts of money in their pockets and a will to trust others with their finances, these ‘Angels’ step in and provide the initial support and sometimes mentorship that helps startups successfully take over these crucial and challenging times.

As a part of our In Focus: Starting Up In India series, this time we bring to you comprehensive list of active angel investors in India.

SUNIL KALRA

Sunil Kalra started his career in exports and later set up a leather apparel manufacturing unit which succeeded and gave him an opportunity to work with global designers. He is now a member on Indian Angel Network as an independent angel investor who has made quite significant investments in microfinance and analytics enterprise but has a bias towards internet startups. He invested in more than 12 startups in 2014 alone.

Educational Qualification: Graduated from University Of Texas at Austin in Marketing and International Trade(1984-1986)

Startups Invested In: TargetingMantra, Instamojo, CultureAlley, Aurality, AdPushup,Frrole, Mobilewalla, Druva, Jigsee, Innoveda, Airwoot, HashCube, Sapience, Wishberry, Crayon Data

Industries: Sector Agnostic

SHARAD SHARMA

Sharad was the CEO of Yahoo! India R&D before founding BrandSigma and was responsible for emerging markets engineering and several key global products. Sharad is an evangelist for developing technology product businesses in India and leads in efforts to nurture the ecosystem. He was the chair of the NASSCOM Product Forum and is the co-founder of the iSpirt think-tank. He actively mentors startups, and speaks frequently on industry issues.

Educational Qualification: Graduated from Delhi College Of Engineering in Electronic Engineering (1982-1986)

Startups Invested In: Frrole, Mobilewalla, HashCube, Druva Software, Kwench Library Solution, Vayavya Labs, Unbxd, Consure Medical, Aurus Network Infotech Pvt. Ltd

Industries: Consumer Internet, Mobile and SaaS

RAJAN ANANDAN

Rajan Anandan has invested in a large number of startups. The Google India MD’s previous experiences include being a Managing Director at Microsoft India for 2 years and working for Dell India from 2006 to 2008. In 2014, he invested in more than 14 startups.

Educational Qualification: MSc. in Manufacturing Systems Engineering From Stanford University(1991-1992) and BSc. from Massachusetts Institute Of Technology(1987-1991)

Startups Invested In: StepOut, Capillary Technologies, Sourceeasy, 24/7 Techies,TargetingMantra, Instamojo, CultureAlley, Social Cops,MissMalini.com, Socialblood.org, Mobilewalla, POPxo.com

Industries: Internet, Mobile and Saas based startups

KRISHNAN GANESH

Krishnan Ganesh is a business executive who is the Chief Executive Officer of TutorVista, an online tutoring company. He and his wife Meena Ganesh invest in around five startups a year and put in $25-250K in each of the startups.

Educational Qualifications: Graduated from Delhi College of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering(1977-1982) and did Post graduation from IIM-Calcutta in Management(1983-1985)

Startups Invested In: Must See India, SilverPush, HackerEarth, Oximity, Overcart, Browntape, delyver.com, Onlineprasad.com.

Industries: Consumer Internet, Healthcare, Education and Tech Companies

MEENA GANESH

Meena Ganesh is an entrepreneur and CEO of Portea Medical which is a provider of home healthcare services in India. The husband-wife duo has a midas touch which is evident in the four startups where they invested and then successfully exited as well as their angel investments which went on to raise subsequent VC rounds.

Educational Qualifications: Graduated from Women’s Christian College in Physics Hons.(1980-1983) and Post Graduated from IIM-Calcutta (1983-1985)

Startups Invested In: Must See India, SilverPush, HackerEarth, Oximity, Overcart, Browntape, delyver.com, onlineprasad.com.

Industries: Consumer Internet, Healthcare and SaaS

RITESH MALIK

Ritesh Malik is a doctor by profession but an investor, an Entrepreneur, an Angel Capitalist, a photographer…. you name it. He is driven by his zeal which made him venture into different sectors of business world. After working for 10 months at Ganga Ram hospital, he has not stopped till date. He founded Woodapple Hospitality and ThinkPot, and co-founded AdStuck Consulting and Harvin Academy. In 2014, he invested in about 8 startups.

Educational Qualifications: Did his MBBS from M.G.R. Medical University(2007-2012)

Startups Invested In: RHlvision, Mashinga, Asimov Robotics, SectorQube Technolabs,Bisko Labs, Inc42

Industries: Technology, Hardware

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