Midas Touch: ET Startup Awards 2024: Nominees for Midas Touch

The award will recognise the most lucrative exit in the year. The decision will be made based on the volume of deals as well as the size of the exit.

Investor Name: Suvir Sujan

Role: Managing Director

Investment Firm: Nexus Venture Partners

Based in: Mumbai

Key Investments: Zepto, Delhivery, Rapido, Biz2credit, Pubmatic

Investment Strategy: Sujan is known to play a hands-on role with founders of his portfolio companies. He was involved with Zepto’s early pivot from a hyperlocal grocery delivery startup Kiranakart. He has been one of the earliest backers of online commerce in India with bets like Snapdeal and Delhivery made over his almost two-decade-long investing career.

Investor Name: Ishaan Mittal

Role: Managing Director

Investment Firm: Peak XV Partners

Based in: Bengaluru

Key Investments: Razorpay, Mamaearth, Awfis, Finova, CarDekho, Aptus Housing Finance, OneCard, Go Digit

Investment Strategy: Consultant-turned-investor Ishaan Mittal oversees growth-stage investments at Peak XV Partners, formerly Sequoia Capital India. He is focused on consumer, fintech and the online payments sectors. Over the last two years, several of his portfolio companies, including Mamaearth, Aptus Housing Finance and Awfis, have tapped the public markets.

Investor Name: Kunal Bahl, Rohit Bansal

Role: Cofounders

Investment Firm: Titan Capital

Based in: Gurgaon

Key Investments: Ola, Urban Company, Shadowfax, OfBusiness, Credgenics, Mamaearth

Investment Strategy: Snapdeal founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal began angel investing a decade ago, but the size and scale of their investments have grown over the last few years. They have clocked significant exits from startups such as Mamaearth, Urban Company and Credgenics over the last few years.

Investor Name: Vikram Vaidyanathan

Role: Managing Director

Investment Firm: Z47 (earlier Matrix Partners India)

Based in: Mumbai

Key Investments: Razorpay, Five Star Business Finance, OfBusiness, Dailyhunt

Investment Strategy: A former McKinsey consultant, Vaidyanathan leads the Bengaluru office for Z47 and invests in early startups with a focus on fintech and financial services. He clocked a significant exit from Five Star Business Finance when it went public last year.

Investor Name: Rahul Chowdhri

Role: Partner

Investment Firm: Stellaris Venture Partners

Based in: Bengaluru

Key Investments: Mamaearth, BigBasket, ID Fresh, Simplilearn, Livspace, Toppr

Investment Strategy: Chowdhri first donned the investor’s hat in 2007 when he joined Helion Venture Partners, one of India’s oldest homegrown venture capital firms. At Stellaris, Chowdhri is focused on investments in consumer brands and ecommerce. One of Stellaris’ prominent investments was in Mamaearth, where the firm still holds a stake.

Investor Name: Mukul Arora

Role: Co-Managing Partner

Investment Firm: Elevation Capital

Based in: Gurgaon

Key Investments: Swiggy, FirstCry, Xpressbees, Unacademy, Meesho, Spinny

Investment Strategy: Arora has been a core part of Elevation Capital since it launched its India-dedicated funds. He has cut cheques for some of the most valuable consumer internet startups in India, including IPO-bound Swiggy and edtech firm Unacademy, having secured partial exits in both these Bengaluru-based unicorns.