Mayank Porwal

Venture

“In the world of entrepreneurship, finding product market fit is the hardest thing. If you find PMF everything else, including capital, people and success, eventually finds you.”

Backstory

I grew up in a small township in the state of Rajasthan. I watched my extended family members build successful businesses from humble beginnings and this is where my passion for entrepreneurship started.

The thing that ties all the parts of my life is deep curiosity and an innate love for the zero to one journey – from running a robotics lab in college, to being a part of a ‘start-up team’ inside a large corporate, to being an early employee of a start-up, and now as a VC. What excites me the most is to be in front of game-changing ideas while they are being germinated. I am a huge fan of Nassim Taleb, and I believe that the role of luck is as important as hard work, direction or any other skill in the pursuit of success. My existence at Sequoia India is probably the best example of ‘right time, right place’ phenomenon playing in my favor.

On the lookout for

I look for founders who are obsessed with the ‘why now’ of every opportunity. Every successful venture has a very compelling reason to inflect today – not a decade earlier or later. Founders who chase large markets with a clear ‘why’ now are the ones who excite me the most.

Building a startup is a journey full of ups and downs. I am fortunate enough to have worked with many folks who have been at it for many years (decades in some cases) and that has made me appreciate founders who think of entrepreneurship as a lifestyle. If you keep at it for long enough and chase a problem that you intimately understand, chances are I will partner with you in one inning or the other. I thrive on founder energy and love working with people who think it’s always day one and hold investors accountable.

I spend most of my time across areas like SaaS, Dev Tools, Deep-tech and Consumer Brands. If you are building something new in any of these areas, please hit me up!

Get in touch with Mayank

Personal Side

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Current Companies

Avataar

Avataar is a 3D AI company that helps large enterprise customers create immersive and interactive shopping experiences for their end consumers.

Partnered In
2020
CleverTap

CleverTap empowers digital brands to increase customer retention and lifetime value with the help of data, personalisation, deep tech, and automation.

Partnered In
2015
Darwinbox

Darwinbox is an end-to-end integrated HR system helping enterprises streamline activities across the employee lifecycle and simultaneously drive employee engagement.

Partnered In
2019
Freightify

Freightify was established in 2016 with the vision to enable digital transformation of freight forwarders of any size.

Partnered In
2023
Leap Finance

Leap Finance offers modern financial products and services that help Indian students pursue a global career.

Partnered In
2020
SalesKen

SalesKen uses AI and data science to give companies insights into the last mile of customer-salesperson interactions.

Partnered In
2019
Stanza Living

Stanza Living is a tech-enabled, community living company offering dedicated solutions for students and working professionals across 10+ cities in India.

Partnered In
2018
Wakefit

Wakefit is India's leading direct-to-consumer mattress and sleep solutions company.

Partnered In
2018