Ashwin Srivastava

Ashwin Srivastava is an Indian venture capitalist who founded Idein Ventures in 2015.^[1][2] He has been an entrepreneur since 2010.^[3]

Early life and education

Ashwin has completed his Bachelor of Technology and Master of Technology from Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.^[4][5] He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering. In college, he dabbled in theatre, took part in robotics competitions, was a member of hostel council, and manager of The Entrepreneurship Cell, IIT Bombay.^[6]

Ashwin spent his formative years in St. Xaviers, Sahebganj and then did his +2 education from Delhi Public School, R. K. Puram. He has an elder brother Aayush, an IIT Kharagpur and IIM Calcutta alumnus, working for Medtronic.^[7]

Entrepreneurship

Ashwin started his first company while in college without putting any personal money.^[8] Incept, a biometric solutions company, was started in August 2010 by Ashwin and Hariom Sharma. In 2010, its head office was set up in Goregaon, Mumbai, and it had 25 clients at the time.^[9] In 2012, Ashwin was listed as one of the top 100 entrepreneurs in 2011 by Small and Medium Entrepreneur Magazine.^[10]

From 2011 to 2013, it partnered with clients and customers such as Indian Institute of Technology Bombay^[11] and Nigeria Identity Management Commission.^[12] In September 2013, Incept merged with Solus, another player in the biometric industry, in an undisclosed shares and cash deal.^[13][14] At Incept, Ashwin also led the Incept Training Academy and was a guest lecturer there.^[15][16]

In 2013, Ashwin became the Managing Director and CEO of Tech Anipr,^[17] and later led FindURClass^[18][19][20] and Plancess,^[21] in consulting capacity. He is also a Director at Core Grocer^[22][23] and Agricole Asia.^[24]

Venture Capital

In India, Idein Ventures, a venture capital firm founded by Ashwin^[25] has invested in virtual reality startup Infurnia,^[26] fitness and co-curricular learning startup Qriyo,^[27] a last mile delivery startup, and few other undisclosed companies.^[28][29] Ashwin is currently the Director of Qriyo^[30][31] and Infurnia.^[32][33]

Outside India, Ashwin has interests in investments in GCC countries and countries in Africa.^[34][35] Ashwin has been involved in investing in Sumant Kumar, a farmer from Bihar known for System of Rice Intensification.^[36] Idein Ventures also seed-funded UAE based ZoEasy Solutions, which uses disruptive technology to connect businesses and consumers with their ideal blue collar workforce. ^[37]

Achievements

In 2012, Ashwin was listed as one of the top 100 entrepreneurs in 2011 by Small and Medium Entrepreneur Magazine.^[38]

Ashwin has been a mentor and speaker at numerous national and international events,^[39] particularly at India-Gulf Business Exchange Meet 2016 ^[40] and various entrepreneurship events at IIT Bombay. He has also been a judge for start-up related competitions in schools like IIT Bombay, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani – Goa Campus^[41] and VJTI.^[42]

Ashwin is also an avid blogger and writes guest articles for leading print and online startup magazines.^[43]

His latest initiative, Idein Ventures, is among 'Top Venture Capital Firms in India' ranked 15th in a survey by Sutra HR.^[44]

Other notable incidents

In May 2013, Ashwin was victim of an accident that made him an amputee.^[45][46][47] He participated in a marathon in Mumbai soon after the accident.^[6] He floated a petition to change the heights of platforms in Mumbai suburban train stations, that ended in victory.

In 2014, Ashwin became a member of political organization Aam Aadmi Party ^[48] and a national convenor of Entrepreneurs for AAP.^[49] Its unclear if he is still a member. He is a mentor for startups and small businesses.^[50][51]

References