Operator-Angel; Product Leader; US-India corridor; Believer in Power Laws; Love building & learning
Hey – this is Soum. Welcome to An Operator’s Blog.
Quick background – am an SF-based early-stage investor & product leader. In my past lives, have been a VC-backed founder and institutional investor with deep experience across US & Asia.
I actively invest in tech startups as an “operator-angel”. Have a “Founder-first” investing thesis, & look to back gritty founders that are solving hard problems in large markets & focused on building venture-scale businesses.
My investing focus is on tech/ tech-enabled plays. Key areas include:
- Software – AI, SaaS, Enterprise
- Consumer Internet – fintech, edutech, commerce, marketplaces
- Web3/ Crypto
- IP-driven tech plays – healthtech, spacetech, agritech, foodtech etc.
*SELECT PORTFOLIO*
- OpenSea (via acq. of Dharma Labs; Unicorn) – World’s largest NFT marketplace
- Phenom (via acq. of MyAlly, Unicorn) – AI-powered talent experience platform
- Varda (co-investors: Founders Fund, Lux Capital etc.) – building the world’s first space factory
- Yulu (follow-on: Bajaj Group, Magna, rocketship.vc) – EV-based micro-mobility for urban India
- LetsVenture (follow-on: Accel, Chiratae) – Leading angel investing platform in India
- Tydy (follow-on: Arka Ventures) – employee onboarding & engagement platform
- Playto Labs (co-investors: Inflection Point Ventures) – robotics-based STEM Edutech
- BuyStars (co-investors: Lumikai, Chiratae, Leo) – digital asset-based Real Money Gaming for Cricket
- Prysm (co-investors: Multicoin, Polychain etc.) – Web3 native platform for collective ownership
- Omnify – Shopify for the recreation economy
- 91Springboard (profitable) – leading co-working space in India
- BIS Research (profitable) – deep-tech knowledge services
- Cleargraph (EXITED, acq. by Coinbase) – decentralized identity management
- Hate2wait (EXITED via dividends) – queue management software