Article: Here are the latest investors to join the TechHR Startup Program 2019

HR Technology

Here are the latest investors to join the TechHR Startup Program 2019

Investors like Saurav Banerjee, Venture Partner, Kalaari Capital; Manish Advani, Investment Team, SAIF Partners, and Ayush Chamaria, Investment Team, Matrix Partners India, will mentor the HR Tech startups which are part of the People Matters TechHR Startup Program 2019.
Here are the latest investors to join the TechHR Startup Program 2019

As the investor interest in the HR tech sector grows steadily globally and the $400 Bn marketplace grows further, People Matters takes it upon itself to bring together the emerging HR Tech startups and interested investors through the TechHR Startup Program 2019. 

People Matters TechHR Startup Program 2019 is an opportunity for the early-stage startups in the HR technology space to interact with investors and mentors and learn from them. This year the program includes a great panel of leaders and investors from some of the leading VC firms. In the previous article, you have read about some of these mentors of the program. As we come closer to the day of the main event, People Matters TechHR India, where all these startups and investors will meet, there are a few more investors who have joined the panel of mentors. 

The new investors to come on board include Saurav Banerjee, Venture Partner, Kalaari Capital; Manish Advani, Investment Team, SAIF Partners, and Ayush Chamaria, Investment Team, Matrix Partners India, among others. 

Here’s a brief about the six new investors on the panel of mentors for People Matters TechHR Startup Program 2019:

Nayrhit Bhattacharya is part of the investment team at Chiratae Ventures (Formerly IDG Ventures India), a VC firm that has invested in startups which are now brands like Lenskart, Yatra, Myntra, Flipkart, and Cure.Fit, among others. Chiratae Ventures’ portfolio also includes HR tech startups like Aasaanjobs and Hiree. 

Bhattacharya joined the investment team Chiratae Ventures last year in August. Before that he had been working with American Express as Business Analyst. Currently, he is a Board Observer for companies like Tripoto, POPxo, PolicyBazaar.com, and Bounce

Former Co-CEO of NDTV, Saurav Banerjee joined Kalaari Capital in January this year as Venture Partner. With over 20 years of experience in Media and Entertainment and Financial Consultancy, Banerjee now wishes to give back to the startup ecosystem. 

At the time of his appointment at Kalaari, Banerjee said, “I deeply enjoy identifying the right investment opportunities, fundraising, managing growth and mentoring future leaders.”

At NDTV, he has been a part of the initial team that worked on NDTV’s diversification of business into entertainment, digital and ecommerce ventures, which involved raising funds and working closely with all stakeholders, the promoters, shareholders and investors. He has experience in creating and nurturing new initiatives. In his entire career, Banerjee has worked on multiple critical projects, including, but not limited to, business transformation, raising capital and spearheading M&A deals.

At Kalaari Capital, Banerjee’s portfolio includes companies like AffordPlan, Industry Buying, YourStory, and MilkBasket. 

Kalaari Capital has also invested in HR Tech startup Mettl and Simplilearn. Some of the other companies in the VC firm’s portfolio are Snapdeal, Scoopwhoop, Holachef and InstaMojo, among others. 

Aniket Lila is an early stage investor at Nexus Venture Partners and is passionate about using technology to make the process more efficient and convenient for consumers. He joined the investment team at Nexus in March. Prior to that he had been working with Albertsons Companies as Corporate Development Analyst. 

At Albertsons he assisted in the $24 Bn merger with Rite-Aid, integration of meal-kit startup Plated and partnership with Instacart. In the past Lila has also founded a social event-based app, worked with a wine startup and did pro-bono consulting for startups. 

Nexus Venture Partners has invested in brands like TalentSprint, Unacademy, Shopclues, and Zomato, among others. 

Former Analyst at Goldman Sachs, Manish Advani joined the Investment Team of SAIF Partners in May this year. 

SAIF Partners is a venture and growth capital fund invested in helping Asia's exceptional companies grow from concept to IPO. The VC firm has invested in companies like Bookmyshow, Chaayos, Goodera, MakeMyTrip, and Swiggy, among others. The firm’s portfolio also includes public companies like Mindtree, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, Havells, and Blue Star

Advani joined SAIF Partners as Senior Associate as he completed his MBA from IIM Ahmedabad. Before he went on to pursue his post graduation, Advani worked with Goldman Sachs for two years, where he worked as Alternative Investments and Manager Selection Strategist and was responsible for hedge fund and public equity portfolio construction and analytics. 

Ayush Chamaria, an Investment Professional at Matrix Partners India believes that the startup economy will not just disrupt the status quo but instead create entirely novel ways of conducting businesses.

He joined Matrix Partners in April this year as he completed his MBA from IIM Ahmedabad. Before that Chamaria has worked with Deutsche Bank as an Investment Banking Analyst for over 3 years. As a part of the Financial Institutions Group Team at Deutsche Bank, he got an opportunity to work in cross-cultural teams and advise leading banking and insurance companies across Europe.

Now at Matrix Partners India Chamaria is excited about working with passionate founders to positively impact the lives of billions of people and unlocking tremendous value in the process.

Matrix Partners India has invested in companies like Belong.co, Chumbak, Ola, Practo, and Treebo Hotels

Hidekazu Ito, Managing Director, Mynavi Solutions India Pvt. Ltd. has invested in startups like Crownit and T9L. While the former provides market research service using unique technology, the latter provides start-up studio service to early stage startups.

Ito is always on a lookout for startups that are leveraging cutting edge technologies to solve the current challenges in the business ecosystem. 

He said, “While there are some strong players in the HR Tech sector, there hasn’t been any great breakthrough yet.”

He considers Natural language processing as an important technology that HR Tech entrepreneurs can leverage for challenges in hiring and L&D. 

As an investor, Ito focuses on which technology is most effective and smarter for the particular problem the startup is trying to solve.

The early stage startups that are looking for building mentorship relationships can take part in the People Matters TechHR Startup Program and make the most of this opportunity. Click here to know more. 

Illustration by Rohit Lochab, Senior Graphic Designer at People Matters

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Topics: HR Technology, #TechHRIN

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