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Making Private Market Investing Accessible to India's Professional Class.
Lead Angels Fund (IN/AIF1/21-22/0936) is a SEBI-registered Category I AIF (Angel Fund), registered in October 2021, managed by Lead Invest Services Private Limited — formerly and widely known as Lead Angels Network, now rebranded Lead Invest. The organization was co-founded by Sushanto Mitra (Founder & CEO, IIT Bombay alumni), Dhruv Nath (Director), and a third co-founder, originally as India's first IIT-focused angel network. The AIF was registered after the network's first close in January 2022, raising INR 5 crore from nearly 20 early-stage investors. Target fund size: INR 300 crore. SEBI contact: Sushanto Mitra. Address: A-102, Neelam Centre, S.K. Ahire Marg, Worli, Mumbai 400030. Lead Invest has chapters in Mumbai, New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, and Hyderabad, as well as international members. Beyond the AIF, Lead Invest provides: Lead Advisory (fundraising assistance for startups from 90+ funds), and LA Management & Professional Services (compliance and governance support for portfolio companies). Network stats: 130+ members/investors globally, 50+ portfolio companies over 6 years, 30+ investments over the past 5 years. Notable exits from network portfolio: Supr Daily (acquired by Swiggy, 2018), Planet Superheroes (acquired by NODWIN Gaming, January 2022). First AIF investment: KidEx (holistic education platform for 6–14 year-olds, INR 1.6 crore, Gurugram). Later portfolio: OckyPocky, Moonshine Meadery, Zippee. Sushanto Mitra is also co-author of 'Funding Your Startup and Other Nightmares' (Penguin).
Lead Invest's investment philosophy is to be the first institutional cheque in a startup's journey — sector-agnostic, with a focus on capital-efficient businesses with sustainable growth rather than hyper-growth. The firm looks for strong fundamentals, real revenues, and founders who are disciplined in their approach. Key selection criteria: (1) ability to listen and take advice; (2) resilience through challenges and setbacks; (3) strong ethics and trustworthiness. Beyond financial capital, Lead Invest provides 360° support to investee companies through deal origination, deal structuring, follow-on fundraising assistance, compliance, and governance. The fund structure benefits startups as they get a single name on the cap table rather than multiple angels, making follow-on rounds easier to execute. Lead Invest recommends that investors allocate no more than 10% of overall equity exposure to this asset class, and advocates for diversification across multiple opportunities in building private market exposure over time.
Sushanto Mitra
Founder & CEO; SEBI Contact Person
Sushanto Mitra is Founder & CEO of Lead Invest (formerly Lead Angels). He has over 20 years of experience in India's early-stage investment ecosystem, starting with a career in software before becoming India's first IT sector analyst. He was the first CEO of the Society for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (SINE) at IIT Bombay, one of India's most successful incubators. He is a TiE Charter Member and Member of the Mentor Panel at FITT, IIT Delhi, and a former member of the Granting Committee of Mozilla Open Source Support Program for India. He has assisted market entry strategies, successful IPOs, and exits across diverse sectors. He is a visiting faculty at IITs and IIMs, and co-author of 'Funding Your Startup and Other Nightmares' (Penguin).
Dhruv Nath
Director & Co-Founder
Dhruv Nath is Director and Co-Founder of Lead Invest. He is an IIT Bombay alumnus and contributes strategic and mentoring support to the organization and its portfolio companies.
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