About

Ujwal S. is a seasoned entrepreneur and investor with over 12 years of experience in the startup ecosystem. He is the Founder and Managing Director of TDV Partners, a micro-VC firm that invests in smart founders with a global outlook from day one. Ujwal believes that India is uniquely positioned to produce the next set of trillion-dollar companies, and he is committed to supporting the growth of such companies through his investments. Prior to founding TDV Partners, Ujwal was an Associate Director at Innoven Capital, where he was responsible for sourcing, evaluating, and executing venture deals in India. He also managed a portfolio of companies across various sectors and stages, including Swiggy, Blackbuck, Eruditus, Licious, and more. Ujwal's experience as a startup founder himself gives him a unique perspective on the challenges faced by early-stage startups, and he actively supports seed and early-stage startups by helping them find the right investors, business partners, mentors, and peers. Before Innoven, Ujwal founded two startups himself, Athletto and FruitOn, in the online marketplace and health tech sectors, respectively. He also worked at Powergrid, where he looked after the financial, commercial, and legal aspects of infrastructural assets across South Asia. Ujwal holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and a Bachelor's in Technology from the National Institute of Technology, Nagpur. He is a fitness enthusiast who enjoys yoga, tennis, and badminton, as well as landscape photography and reading startup blogs. As a micro-VC, TDV Partners plans to invest in 12+ startups in the next year, with a significant bias for repeat founders or founders with domain expertise. The firm also has a higher preference for high-tech, low-ops ventures. Some of TDV Partners' select portfolio companies include TradeX, Aftershoot, Kindlife, Hirequotient, AppX, 10Club, Tingo, Awign, and Insane.ai. Ujwal is also an angel investor in 12+ startups across fintech, SaaS, and marketplaces. His educational background and technical skills include a strong understanding of AI, Java, search, and infra.