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LEADERSHIP

THE PEOPLE BEHIND
THE INDUS FOUNDRY

Operators who've built, scaled, and exited.
Now backing the next generation.

Mentor coaching

Why Join the Foundry?

Operators, Not Just Investors

We've been in the trenches. We've built, scaled, and sold companies ourselves. We know the grind.

Process-First Execution

We don't rely on luck. We build scalable SOPs and systems that turn chaos into a predictable machine.

Cash Aware Building

Profitability isn't an afterthought. We build cashflow-positive engines from day one.

Zero Drama

Clean handoffs, honest feedback, and transparent relationships. No politics, just building.

KL

Krishna Lakamsani

Founder & Partner, The Seed Fund (TheSeedFund.VC)
"I build companies the way I live: Hands On, Cash Aware, People First, Right Speed and Zero Drama."
EY Entrepreneur of the Year (2010)
NJBIZ 40 Under 40
Harvard Business School

The Journey

Early
Roots
Farming family → Hyderabad → Mumbai → Australia → US
Age 23
First Venture
Telecom & E-commerce. Sold to NY telecom company.
2005
Infovision
Founded IT services firm. 15× growth in 4 years. Inc. 500 list.
2012
Exits
Infovision & Infovista (DBA/IMS) both acquired.
2012
DukanLine
Built an FMCG e-distribution platform connecting 18,000+ retailers with 895+ brands, serving 6M+ customers. Scaled fast and learned the hard truth: growth without strong unit economics doesn't last.
2024
Exit NBFC
Finvesco Capital is an RBI-registered NBFC (est. 1978) that we acquired in 2016 and took through RBI-approved change in control. Built 10X growth in the loan book with stronger governance and risk discipline, then fully exited in March 2024.
Now
Lakamsani Group
TopMindz, Advent, eWorkk. Investor in 30+ startups. Lakamsani Group is a multi-sector holding company spanning tech, staffing, retail, finance, real estate, and hospitality.

Philosophy

People before profits, relationships outlast transactions, so I show up human: no judgment, no games.

Business is my favorite game. I love building until hands off. Then repeat.

America brings opportunity. India brings unstoppable talent. Together, they build outsized value.

Don't like slide-decks. Love building operating engines.

Execution beats excitement, every single day.

Trust is everything to me, and I repay it by teaching, mentoring, and helping more people become entrepreneurs.

TheSeedFund.vc Portfolio

Strategic investments across emerging technologies and high-growth sectors

30+ Investments • Early to Growth Stage • India Focus
CashOs
Now Floats
Qubecell
Jo Nature
Vanity Cube
Zuci Energy
Frsh
explara
Dukanline
PrettySecrets
Frontier
Pick Me
Violet Street
Squeakee
Fortune Pay
Bounty
Order
Pharmarack
INC 42
Finvesco
Open
SmartCoin
Sequretek
Inntot
SectorQube
Perfit
NeuroEquilibrium
Grabon Rent
Genrobotic
Clootrack
Boxx.ai

Seasoned Investors focused on building value and long-term relationships

KG

Kishore Ganji

Founder & Partner, Astir Ventures
"Passionate about fostering a more technologically advanced India through strategic investments."
NJBIZ "Forty Under 40" (2008)
EY Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist (2010)
B.S. Electrical Engineering (Osmania University)
MBA Sales & Marketing (UGA Terry School)

The Journey

Early
Corporate Foundation
BI Practice leadership at HP, Liz Claiborne, Pfizer, IBM Business Consulting
2005
ASTIR IT Solutions
Founded and scaled successful IT services company as CEO
2010
Astir Ventures
Founded angel investing firm - 100+ investments across 10+ sectors
2015
zip.in
Founded consumer tech logistics platform, served as CEO
2018
AIRIS PHARMA
Founded pharmaceutical company, serving as Chairman
Present
Portfolio Leadership
Board Member: Apex Pharmaceuticals, Leegality, Innovapptive | President: SMEC

Philosophy

Technology is the great equalizer - it can transform businesses of any size.

Invest in people first, ideas second. The team makes all the difference.

Operators make the best investors - we understand the trenches.

India's startup ecosystem has unlimited potential waiting to be unlocked.

Build companies that solve real problems, not just chase trends.

Boring businesses with an edge create unfair advantage, lower adoption costs, and a faster path to profitability.

Astir Ventures Portfolio

Strategic investments across emerging technologies and high-growth sectors

100+ Portfolio Companies • 10+ Sectors • 5+ Countries • 15+ Exits

▸AI/ML

Hypersonix
Skit.ai
Spyne
ZineOne
NimbleBox
Crayon Data
SigTuple
Mad Street Den
Haptik
Uniphore

▸Blockchain/Crypto

Ripple
Kraken
Circle
BitPay
BlockFi
Dapper Labs
Chainalysis
Paxos
Anchorage
Figure

▸Deep Tech

Agnikul Cosmos
Dhruva Space
Built Robotics
Amprius
Turion Space
Skyroot Aerospace
Pixxel
Bellatrix Aerospace
Ethereal Machines
Sastra Robotics

▸Consumer

Yulu
Third Wave Coffee
Sleepy Owl
DrinkPrime
Wakefit
Country Delight
Licious
FreshToHome
Epigamia
Paper Boat

▸Enterprise SaaS

Leegality
Innovapptive
Darwinbox
WebEngage
CleverTap
Zenoti
Capillary
MoEngage
Exotel
Freshworks

▸Fintech

Razorpay
BharatPe
CRED
Jupiter
Slice
EarlySalary
MoneyTap
Instamojo
Kredivo
Capital Float

▸HealthTech

Pristyn Care
PharmEasy
1mg
Practo
Docquity
mfine
DocsApp
Portea Medical
Phable
HealthifyMe

▸EdTech

Unacademy
upGrad
Vedantu
Eruditus
Toppr
Cuemath
WhiteHat Jr
BYJU'S
Simplilearn
Great Learning

▸Logistics & Mobility

Delhivery
BlackBuck
Porter
Shadowfax
Fareye
LetsTransport
ElasticRun
Dunzo
Loadshare
Blowhorn

▸CleanTech & Sustainability

ZunRoof
Fourth Partner Energy
ReNew Power
Clime
Turno
Recykal
BatterySmart
SustLabs
Chakr Innovation
Log9 Materials

Portfolio spans seed to late-stage investments across US, India, and global markets

Advisory Board

Beyond the co-founding team, people who guide you, challenge you, and help you think clearer.

Beyond co-founders, you'll be surrounded by entrepreneurs, operators, and creators who once had nothing but a starting point, just like you. They've been through the pressure, the setbacks, and the uncertainty. Now they bring hard-earned wisdom to help you build faster and smarter.

Recruiting

Seat Open

GTM for Services (Founder-Led Sales)

Ex-agency / services founder who sold $10k–$100k/month retainers (not "PLG SaaS").
Experience:Positioning, offers, discovery calls, proposals, objection handling, pricing.
Experience in delivering:Consistent pipeline + close rate + time-to-first-revenue.
Seat Open

Seat Open

Pricing & Packaging (Unit of Charge)

Services pricing expert / ex-consulting partner / RevOps leader who has redesigned pricing models.
Experience:Outcome-based pricing, tiering, "unit of charge" clarity, scope boundaries, change orders.
Experience in delivering:Gross margin stability + fewer scope leaks + higher ARPA.
Announcing Soon

Seat Open

Delivery Ops & SOP Factory

Ex-COO / delivery head who built repeatable pods with SLAs.
Experience:SOPs, playbooks, QA, onboarding, workflow design, metrics, escalation paths.
Experience in delivering:On-time delivery + low rework + high NPS.
Seat Open

Seat Open

Customer Success & Account Expansion

Services CS leader who grew accounts 2–5x via renewals/upsell.
Experience:QBR cadence, retention levers, expansion motion, stakeholder mapping, risk signals.
Experience in delivering:Retention + expansion revenue.
Recruiting

Seat Open

Finance / Cashflow / Unit Economics

CFO or FP&A leader from a services company (not venture CFO).
Experience:Cash conversion cycle, advance billing, collections, margin math, "never run out of cash" rules.
Experience in delivering:Cash runway discipline + clean unit economics + predictable profitability.
Seat Open

Seat Open

Talent & Delivery Hiring Engine

Talent operator who has built teams fast with quality (India delivery + US client-facing).
Experience:Hiring scorecards, training, performance management, bench strategy, attrition control.
Experience in delivering:Time-to-fill + productivity per seat + attrition.
Announcing Soon

Seat Open

Vertical Domain Expert

Operator in the exact buyer world you're serving (e.g., CPA firms, logistics, healthcare admin, property management).
Experience:Buyer pain, compliance realities, seasonal cycles, what they'll actually pay for.
Experience in delivering:Credibility + faster deal cycles + better solution fit.
Seat Open

Seat Open

Compliance / Contracts / Risk

Attorney / compliance leader who lives in MSA/SOW, data privacy, SOC2-lite expectations, IP, liability.
Experience:Service agreements, scope language, redlines, risk clauses, vendor onboarding.
Experience in delivering:Fewer deal delays + reduced legal exposure.
Seat Open

Seat Open

Scale Playbook Operator (0→1→10)

Someone who scaled a services business from early revenue to multi-team delivery (not just "advice").
Experience:Org design, manager layer, delegation, dashboards, keeping quality while scaling.
Experience in delivering:Scalable growth without delivery collapse.

BUILDING SOMETHING REAL?

If you care about process, cash, and clean handoffs, not hype, let's talk. We like people who share the messy middle, not just the wins.

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