Startup Sphere

CA. Abhishek Goenka Managing Partner, RPSG Capital Ventures

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Mr. Ajay Rajan Head of Transaction Banking & Supply Business, Yes Bank

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CA. Amit D Kumar Co – Founder, Ah! Ventures Fund

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Ms. Anju De Alwis Managing Director Ultimate Access

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Apart from being the Managing Director – Ultimate Access Ms. Anju De Alwis is also, Advisory Director – Neoki Metaverse co. Advisory Director – IDS Blockchain co. Chairperson – Ethics & Governance – Centre of Excellence Global Council Member – Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (UK) Currently she is leading an innovative Education company via technology & agility to become one of the leaders of Corporate Education. High performance senior executive with domestic and international experience. An Australian, living and working in the UAE & Australia. She is a PhD candidate - USQ Australia : Topic - Blockchain in Education Manchester Business School - MBA Fellow Member CIMA (UK) Fellow member CPA Australia

CA. Ankit Fatehpuria Co – Founder, Zetwerk

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Mr. Anshul Rustaggi Founder, Totality Corp

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I love Virtual Gaming. And that’s why, I am developing ZionVerse, a truly decentralised full blown meta verse gaming system. I first got introduced to Blockchain in 2011. And since then I am exploring the domain and finding opportunities to use this technology along with my passion for gaming. Working in this domain got my interest in TradFi and DeFi. I am an active investor in NFT’s and also recommend people to explore this space for investments as this is the future. Personally, I like adventures. I collect puzzles and love to solve them in my free time, which gives me mental stimulation. I like to connect with people with similar interests and exchange knowledge and views about the gaming and financial markets.

Mr. Anu Tiwari Partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas

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CA. Anup Kumar Agarwal South Asia Fintech Lead, IFC - International Finance Corporation

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CA. Anup Kumar Agarwal is the South Asia Equity Lead for FIG/Fintech in IFC, leads private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) direct investments (also debt) in BFSI / fintech space in India / South Asia. He has also led investment transactions in East Asia and Africa (with ~20 years’ experience in private equity, venture capital, listed equity, debt, structured transactions, exits, portfolio management, credit rating, consulting across sectors). During the last ten years in IFC, he has led several investments across the financial services space in India, including bank, NBFCs, microfinance, housing finance, broking, PE/VC fund, etc. He has successfully managed exits and has experienced full investment cycle. Prior to joining IFC, Anup worked as Group Head - Credit and Deputy General Manager in ICICI Bank (one of India's largest private sector banks) and as Assistant General Manager with ICRA Limited (a leading credit rating agency of India and an associate of Moody's Investors Service). Anup is a Chartered Accountant (Rank Holder), additionally qualified as a CFA (ICFAI), ICWA, and CS with over 20 years of experience in equity investing, lending, portfolio management, credit rating, and consulting. Specialties: Wide experience of private equity, venture capital, structured debt, and debt investing in almost all types of financial services entities (e.g., fintech, bank, NBFC, microfinance, housing finance, payments, broking, insurance, asset management, and funds)

CA. Aparajit Bhandarkar Partner, Varanium Advisory

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Aparajit is a Partner at Varanium Group (USD 800 M AUM) managing the Venture Capital Fund focused on Fintech Start-ups, Varanium NexGen Fund. Varanium NexGen Fund, A SEBI registered Cat1 AIF VCF has over 50 LPs and has invested in 11 start-ups, Easebuzz, Riskcovry, HomeCapital. Datasutram, Drona Pay, TartanHQ Getvantage to name a few. Prior to Varanium, was the CEO of DICE Fintech Ace, a Fintech Accelerator and Fund. At DICE, Aparajit had and invested in 8 start-ups. Aparajit was on the board of 2 companies -Trendlyne.com and Bank Open. Aparajit is currently on the board of Easebuzz a RBI (in-principal approved Payment Gateway) and Getvantage, a Revenue Based Financing Platform. Aparajit was a seed investor in Bank Open at an average valuation of Approx USD 2 M, which is now a unicorn. Another start-up in Aparajit’s portfolio has achieved a 7X exit recently. Prior to joining DICE Fintech, Aparajit has worked at Jio Payments Bank as Head of Strategy (2015-2016) and YES BANK (2004-07, 2009-15). Aparajit was President & Country Head of Merchant Banking (2014-2015), President & Head of Financial and Investor Strategy (2009-2014) and was involved at the start-ups phase. He started his career as an articled trainee and senior with KPMG India (2002-2004) and has worked in Rose Tech Ventures (NYC) (summer of 2008). At Jio Payment Bank, as the Head of Strategy, Aparajit was involved in developing business plans, policies and processes, product and consumer strategies, partnerships with SBI and other firms, products such as payment solutions. At YES BANK, Aparajit helped develop policies and processes for financial management, accounting, audit and credit; he was also instrumental in developing the 5-year plans for the Bank and has raised over $725M through two QIP (2010 and 2014). Aparajit has also led discussions with rating agencies and has secured two rating upgrades with (ICRA and CARE) and the maiden international rating with Moody’s. He was also involved in IPOs of external clients including Healthcare Global, Inox Wind, Café Coffee Day, Shemaroo Entertainment.

Aparajit is a Chartered Accountant having secured a merit rank in both the intermediate and final exams. He has also cleared all three levels of CFA® and is an MBA from the Stern School of Business, New York University in Finance and Entrepreneurship. At Stern School of Business, Aparajit was awarded the Ernst Bloch MBA Scholarship and Glucksman Fellowship for which he published a paper on “Patterns in Angel Investing”. Aparajit’s skillset includes team building and working in a start-up environment. His hobbies include sailing, participating in triathlons/ marathons and visiting museums and vineyards around the world to appreciate art and wines.

Mr. Ashish Singhal Co – Founder & CEO, CoinSwitch

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Mr. Ashish Singhal is the founder and CEO of CoinSwitch, India’s largest crypto platform with 18 million registered users. Be it the note-taking app from his engineering days or the 1-hour delivery service he developed at Amazon as a JeffB crack-team member, Ashish’s approach is straightforward: Build the product the customer wants, and make it as simple as she wishes. It is a maxim that today underpins CoinSwitch, no matter the sophistication of the crypto technology. Founded in 2017 with Govind Soni and Vimal Sagar Tiwari as a single window to purchase crypto from global exchanges at the best price, CoinSwitch expanded to INR-Crypto trading in June 2020, providing Indians with a simple, safe and secure platform to partake in the crypto revolution. Today, users can purchase over 100 crypto assets on CoinSwitch, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana — through a one-time order or by automating a recurring purchase.

Mr. Bhavik Vasa Founder, GetVantage

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Bhavik is an entrepreneur and business leader with 14+ years of global experience across FinTech, eCommerce, Digital Payments, and Mobile technologies. He is deeply passionate about building for and empowering entrepreneurs. He founded GetVantage as a purpose-driven company by founders for founders. He is also an Angel Investor and on the Board of multiple startups like BnT Fintech, Vested Finance, Blue Tokai, and LivingFood Company. Previously, Bhavik was Chief Growth Officer at ItzCash, instrumental for its scale as India's leading Fintech, and its exit to the Ebix group in 2017. He has a Bachelor's degree with honors in International Business from Northwood University, Florida, and executive training in Entrepreneurship from Stanford University.

Ms. Chinu Kala Founder, Rubans Accessories

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Dr. Chintan Vaishnav Mission Director, Atal Innovation Mission

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CA. Deena Jacob Co-founder, CFO and Head of Revenue and Growth of Open Financial Technologies Pvt. Ltd

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CA. Deena Jacob is the Co-founder, CFO of Open, a fintech startup, which offers a neobanking service for SMEs and startups. She has over 18 years of experience in building and establishing finance teams from scratch for early-stage startups. She has led teams across a broad range of functional areas like SME credit and marketing, investment research, business finance and analytics, strategic partnerships, investor relations, legal and compliance apart from end-to-end finance functions. Currently, she anchors the finance function of Open along with heading revenue and growth for the startup. Open is Asia’s first neo-banking platform that helps SMEs automate their business payments, banking, and accounting functions in one unified service to help business owners focus on their core business. Previously, Deena was associated with Tapzo as the CFO, and with TaxiforSure and Zansaar.com as the Head of Finance. Deena recently won Best CFO Startup from BW CFO in August 2021. She has been a winner of CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) Most Influential CFOs Award in 2016 and was also chosen in the top 100 CFO roll of honour by CFO India in the category management controls in 2017. Deena is also considered a think tank on topics related to financial management and has been covered by publications like Fortune and Business Today for her opinions on the Budget and other government policies. When she is not troubleshooting, she loves to travel

Mr. Dilip Chenoy Chairman, Bharat Web3 Association

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Mr. Dilip Chenoy is the Chairman of the Bharat Web3 Association (BWA). He has had an illustrious career serving as the Secretary-General of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), Director-General of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), and Deputy Director-General of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). With decades of experience in leading domestic industry bodies, Mr. Chenoy is a renowned figure in the policy domain and his expertise and contributions have been invaluable to the Indian business landscape.

Mr. Gaurav Mehta Co-founder & CEO, Catax - Simple Crypto Taxes

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Mr. Gaurav Mehta, with over a decade of experience in IT and emerging technologies, holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Innovation & Technology, and completed Master in Digital Currency in 2015 before immersing in crypto & blockchain ecosystem. He has made significant contributions in this field, working closely with various central and state law enforcement agencies such as the Police Department, NCB, and the Enforcement Directorate. In his capacity as a blockchain forensic expert, he has successfully handled cases totaling a remarkable worth of $10 billion over a span of five years. He is India's first TEDx speaker on subject and has won various awards for blockchain innovation. In addition to their expertise in the blockchain domain, Gaurav has also shared their knowledge as a visiting faculty member at the National Academy of Direct Tax in Nagpur. Now, he has transitioned into the private industry, where he is developing automated digital asset bookkeeping, auditing, and taxation software called Catax for CA's and investors.

CA. Gaurav Samdaria Co-Founder & CFO, Karza Technologies

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CA. Guru Prasad Eminent Speaker

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Founder | Guru & Jana | 2023 to date Director I Hi Fidelity I Specialized in fund accounting. A 650 people accounting firm, Board advisory Practice, Business development, culture & Strategy. Founder | Vardaan | 2014 to date A boutique Social responsibility advisory firm, with JV with Raffa, USA Founder | Pathway | 2018 to date A SEBI registered Angel Investment Fund. Past Trustee of IIM B Alumni Trust Member of Peer Review Board, QRB and FRRB Author of God in the Boardroom, Banter beyond the buck & GST- Where did the profits go? Represents India subcontinent in the HLBI Global Tech Group. Board Adviser to Vishwakarma univ Has written 8 technical guides, peer review manual and DCMM manual on behalf of ICAI Trustee for three NGO’s Independent director in over 10 companies

CA. Jayjit Biswas Founder of Elite Web3 Forum

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CA. Jayjit Biswas is a well-known personality in India, being an all time with Tata’s and as well as founder of Elite Web3 Forum, his story of struggle as a Differently Abled person had taken place in YourStory Media along with many other renowned publications. His story of struggle combined with success makes him a role model of many Indian Youth. Jayjit is a veteran in cybersecurity. He has been a champion of SOX compliance for large and complex organizations. He is also one of the most well-networked leaders in the cybersecurity industry of India and that is because of his incredible contribution to the space.

Mr. Jorge Sebastio CoFounder and Executive Director, Global Blockchain Organization

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Co-Founder EcoX, Ecosystem ConneXions is the largest Blockchain & Technology community of Middle East, Operating across 9 Countries. Organizing regular meetups, start-up pitches, investments, resourcing talent and bringing and end-to-end Eco-System. A seasoned CEO, CTO, CISO, Advisor and International speaker, with experience in Blockchain, Gaming, DeFi, NFT, Asset Tokenization, Cyber Security, AI, IoT, 5G, Digital Twin (Meta Verse) Cloud, Disaster Recovery, Bigdata, & Managed Services. Jorge is professional advisor in several innovative start-ups using disruptive technologies with focus on generating business value and enabling sustainability, scalability and impact. He created the powerful framework A6 of security: Assess, Architect, Apply, Administer, Awareness & Agility. Jorge is a regular speaker at international conferences and he is also the Author of Book “La Face Cachée du Crédit” Editions QuebecOr Jorge is action and results oriented with passion to deliver a results… “Cyber Security is a continuous skilled process which requires thought…”

Mr. Kamal Bansal Managing Director, Gujarat Venture Finance Limited

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Mr. Mr. Kamal Bansal is the Managing Director of GVFL Ltd. Prior to GVFL, Mr. Bansal worked with several well reputed organizations in Industry viz. SIDBI Venture Capital Limited, Bonanza Portfolio Ltd. and Vanenburg Group. He has multi-faceted experience of over two decades in Venture Capital, Capital Markets, Equity Research and Investment Banking. He has gained rich experience of investment appraisal, business due diligence, fund structuring, shareholders agreements and post investment support as an investment professional with India’s leading venture capital firms. He also closely worked with entrepreneurs at the strategic as well as operational levels.

Mr. Kamlesh Nagware Chief Technology Officer, Snapper Future Tech

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Mr. Kamlesh Nagware is a TEDx speaker and CTO Blockchain at Snapper Future Tech. He is among the top 30 Influencers of Blockchain in India, Founding Member of India Blockchain Forum. He is Hyperledger India Co-Chair and a member of the Hyperledger Technical Steering Committee (TSC2021-22). Also, Blockchain Mentor at APIARY Blockchain COE which is STPI & MEITY(Govt. of India) and Advisor to Web3, Tokenization, CBDC Start-ups globally.

CA. Krishna Vatsal Tyagi Head of Web3, KPMG

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Krishna Tyagi is head of web3 at KPMG India. He has been in the global crypto / web3 ecosystem for close to a decade as a builder, researcher, investor and advisor. He has also taken guest lectures for graduate university students on web3 topics such as DeFi, crypto, token economics, NFTs etc. He is a strong advocate of a decentralized future and believes the accelerated adoption will come through enterprises. During covid times, he had built a nonprofit tech product which was backed by FB/ WhatsApp and presented at UNSC as case study. He is a Chartered Accountant, certified in blockchain and lifelong student of liberal art subjects.

Ms. Lisa Ray Co - Founder, TheUpsideSpace

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CA. Mahaveer Singhvi Joint Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, India

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Mr. Nikhil Velpanur Head – Web3 & JIC, Amazon Web Services

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Mr. Nikhil Vora Founder & CEO, Sixth Sense Ventures

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Mr. Pankit Desai Co-Founder and CEO, Sequretek

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Mr. Pankit Desai is an Indian entrepreneur and the Co-founder and CEO of Sequretek, a cybersecurity, cloud security products and services company. He Co-founded Sequretek in 2013, along with Anand Naik and has been instrumental in growing the company into a leading provider of cybersecurity and cloud security solutions. Before starting Sequretek, Pankit held various technology leadership and management roles in the IT industry across companies such as across companies such as NTT Data, Intelligroup and Wipro Technologies. He holds a degree in computer engineering and has a strong background in technology and entrepreneurship.   At Sequretek, he is proud of the growth that this team has been able to achieve within a short duration. With product offerings that have found resonance with over 120 customers across industry segments, it has been able to grow at phenomenal growth rates and has ambitions to create India’s first truly global security product and solutions company. The success of the company got a boost with the two rounds of funding by two very renowned funds out India (GVFL and Unicorn Ventures) and is now looking to raise another round of funding for global expansion. Under Pankit's leadership, Sequretek has won several awards and recognition for its innovative solutions and commitment to the cybersecurity industry.

Dr. Pavan Duggal Founder & Chairman of International Commission on Cyber Security Law

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While a practicing Advocate, Supreme Court of India, Dr. Pavan Duggal has made an immense impact with an international reputation as an Expert and Authority on Cyber Law, Cyber Security Law, Artificial Intelligence Law & E-commerce law. Dr. Duggal has been acknowledged as one of the top 4 Cyber Lawyers around the world. WDD [World Domain Day] recognizes him as one of the top 10 Cyber Lawyers around the world. Dr. Pavan Duggal, is the Founder & Chairman of International Commission on Cyber Security Law. He is also the President of Cyberlaws.Net and has been working in the pioneering area of Cyber Law, Cyber Security Law & Mobile Law. Dr. Pavan is also heading the Artificial Intelligence Law Hub and Blockchain Law Epicentre. He is the Founder-cum-Honorary Chancellor of Cyberlaw University. Dr. Pavan Duggal is the Chief Evangelist of Metaverse Law Nucleus, Conference Director of International Conference On Metaverse And Law – Opportunities & Challenges and is also the Conference Director of the International Conference on Cyberlaw, Cybercrime & Cybersecurity, being world's only authoritative Conference on Cyberlaw, Cybercrime & Cybersecurity. In addition, Dr. Duggal has also conducted various Round Tables on Cyberlaw, Cybercrime & Cybersecurity over the last couple of years. He has also organized various Thematic Workshops at the previously held ITUWSIS Forums. His empanelment as a consultant to UNCTAD and UNESCAP on Cyber Law and Cyber Crime respectively, membership of the AFACT Legal Working Group of the UN / CEFAT, consulting as an expert with the Council Of Europe on Cyber Crime, inclusion in the Board of Experts of European Commission’s Dr. E-commerce and his work as an expert authority on a Cyber Law primer for E-ASEAN Task Force and as a reviewer for Asian Development Bank speaks volumes of his worldwide acceptance as an authority. Pavan is the President of Cyberlaw Asia, Asia’s pioneering organization committed to the passing of dynamic cyber laws in the Asian continent. Dr Duggal is also a member of the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center Panel of Neutrals

Mr. Pradeep Khanna Executive Director Asia Pacific, CEO of Global Mindset

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Mr. Pradeep Khanna is recognized and sought after global thought leader in the Metaverse ecosystem. He has number of Metaverse related global roles and knows more than 10,000 Metaverse related entities. He is invited to present at many conferences all over the world and regularly presents at Seoul, Sydney, Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Lisbon, Miami and a number of places in India. Brief details of global VR AR Associations (one of Pradeep's global roles) VR/AR Association (VRARA) is a global member community of the best minds in immersive technologies and other Metaverse related emerging technologies. It has 70+ Chapters in major cities across the globe, a community of thousands, 4400+ registered entities from the emerging tech ecosystem. It is an international organization focused on building collaboration between all stakeholders related to Immersive Technologies (Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality) and Metaverse related emerging technologies - including demand, supply, Industry, Academia and other Stakeholder Groups. It fosters thought leading research & education, helps develop industry standards, connects and enables growth of member organizations He is CEO of Global Mindset and also Executive Director Asia Pacific, Sydney President & Global Co- Chair Education for the global Virtual Reality Augmented Reality Association  He is also an Advisory Board member of global Metaverse Fashion Council as well as Metaverse Strategic Advisor to IIT Jodhpur/i-Hub Drishti  Mr. Pradeep Khanna has 30+ years of executive experience and has been a leader for IBM Australia/NZ leveraging India, China, Philippines, Vietnam, Egypt, Romania, Brazil & Argentina. He is Adjunct Professor in Australia and Asia. He is on the Academic Board of Astra Institute of Higher Education Pradeep is a regular speaker at international conferences all over the world and typically is invited to speak on average at 1 to 2 conferences a week He is an acknowledged Leader in Emerging Technologies, Immersive Technologies and Metaverse Pradeep is also Co-Founder of a social enterprise INSquare - Inclusive Innovation in the New Normal He is also convenor for Global Chapters & Emerging Technologies (including Immersive Technologies) for IIT Delhi Alumni Association (IITDAA), a worldwide community of more than 50,000 professionals. Pradeep is on the Advisory Boards of a number of companies. He has MBA from AGSM (UNSW), MSc (Computer Science) from UTS & B Tech from IIT Delhi

Mr. Prasanna Lohar CEO - Block Stack, Head of Technology (Digital Banking) at DCB Bank Ltd

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Mr. Prasanna Lohar is an Award-Winning Banker, Digital Architect, Industry Innovator, Boar Member, Fintech Influencer, Startup Mentor and a Leadership Coach with 23+ Years of experience at all levels, Engineering, Management, and Innovation as CXO. He has worked Globally for Banks, Fintech, Micro-Finance, Engineering, Multi-National companies for Digital & Architecture Transformation. He is closely associated with cutting edge technology adoption Strategy, Assimilation, Experimentation, Innovative Customer Servicing & Engagement, Robust Architecture Implementation, Fintech & Start-up Alignment, Open Innovation practices, Ecosystem Collaboration with Govt , BigTech , Fintech , banks , Academia.

Mr. Preetam Rao CEO, Quill Audits

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Mr. Preetam Rao is the CEO and Co-founder of QuillAudits. QuillAudits is a leading Web3 security firm committed to secure Blockchain projects. So far, QuillAudits has secured over 700+ Web3 protocols with its cutting-edge Web3 security solutions.

Background & Early Life From Front-end Ðeveloper to Backend Ðeveloper From Backend Ðeveloper to AR/VR Ðeveloper From AR/VR to a Blockchain Ðeveloper From a Blockchain Ðeveloper to leading a Web3 security company From Development to Entrepreneurship

When working with Times Internet (Jan. 2015–Jan. 2016), he learned about the growing startup's ecosystem, TLabs & TVF Pitchers and then, decided to quit his job in 2016 to start working at a startup. Before starting his own venture, he worked in 3 startups (Oct 2013–December 2014, Feb 2016 - Nov 2016, and Nov 2016–August 2017 ). On the 1st Jan’18, he was paragliding, floating for several minutes and It was the same day, just after paragliding, he called the co-working space guy and said, "I am coming office from tomorrow," thus beginning his entrepreneurial journey. While working with one (2016-2017) of the startups, he learned about Blockchain and its disruptive power, and thus after working with three startups, he began his journey from being a developer to an Entrepreneur.

Mr. Punit Agarwal Founder, KoinX

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Mr. Punit Agarwal is the founder and CEO of KoinX, a platform that helps calculate crypto taxes in a jiffy. He has been involved in the Web3 landscape for over 5 years and has held noteworthy positions in several blockchain and crypto projects in India. Formerly, he led the Crypto Relief Fund, a $500 million impact fund started by Sandeep Nailwal (co-founder of Polygon). Punit helped in deploying and overseeing major public healthcare initiatives across India. He also advises on blockchain projects in the space of NFTs, DeFi, and the Creator Economy, among others.

Mr. Rajesh Dhuddu Global Practice Leader at Tech Mahindra

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Mr. Rajesh Dhuddu is a Blockchain & Cybersecurity Leader for USD 5.2 billion IT giant Tech Mahindra. He was instrumental in establishing Blockchain practice at Tech M that made Blockchain real and valuable for several global customers. Under his leadership, Tech M has been recognized as one of the Global Blockchain leaders by several leading analysts, industry bodies like World Economic Forum & Governments like State Government of Telangana. Rajesh is responsible for making Blockchain relevant and valuable for common man in India by spearheading implementation of solutions to block spam calls and text in partnership with 3 leading Telcos and also Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. Lattice80 has listed Rajesh as one of the top 100 Blockchain Influencers in the world in recognition of his contributions over the last 5 years. Thinkers360 has recognized him in the Top 3 Global list of Blockchain influencers. He is a member of Blockchain Steering Committee at IIM Ahmedabad, part of World Economic Forum Expert Network comprising only select 5000 people in the world on emerging technologies and is founding chairman of Blockchain Special Interest Group at Nasscom. Rajesh is an alumnus of Columbia Business School & Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning with a Gold Medal in MBA Finance. Driven by his life motto “Help Ever, Hurt Never”, Rajesh has mentored several Entrepreneurs, Corporate Executives and MBA Students. He is an avid cyclist, holds the title of Randonneur from Paris for cycling 208+ kms in under 10 hours.

Mr. Rajesh Sehgal Managing Partner, Equanimity Investments

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Mr. Ravikant Agarwal Web3 mobile strategy and ID, Polygon Labs

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Mr. Rohit Srivastawa Professor, Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT Bombay

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Rohit Srivastwa is the founder of BharatVerse, a Metaverse being developed specifically for Bharat. With 20 years of experience and successful exits, he has been focusing on the domain of information security and now pivoted into web3. Now he is a “Certified Metaverse Expert” and also provides training as well as coaching to students as well as corporates in this domain Rohit has been a serial entrepreneur, recipient of Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) award in the domain of “Enterprise Security,” and a multifaceted professional with experience in Cyber Security, Enterprise Security, Secure Digital Transformation and Cyberwarfare. He is also actively involved in advising several Military agencies, Law Enforcement, Corporate, and Government bodies of different countries in these fields. He is a liaison member at FIRST.org which is a consortium of Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) from across the globe liaising between CERTs of difference countries and companies in case of cyber-attack and adversary’s takedown Rohit is a well-known Security Evangelist who started India’s first-ever hackers conference and community named “ClubHack” back in 2006. He has had a bunch of start-ups in the past, with the last one acquired by QuickHeal Technology Ltd in 2016 A teacher at heart, Rohit has designed the entire MTech program in Information Security that is currently being offered by Pune University. He is also a visiting faculty at several A-grade institutions such as IITs, IIMs, Symbiosis, etc. Currently he is teaching web3.0, metaverse and related topics to corporates and students of various institutions. He has recently authored a book on personal data security and privacy for techies as well as non techies. The book is named “My Data My Privacy My Choice” which is available at ecommerce platforms. The same recently got translated into Russian as well.

Mr. Sanjay Mehta Founder, Partner, 100X.VC

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Dr. Sanjeev K Varshney Adviser and Head (International Cooperation), Department of Science and Technology (Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India)

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Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Varshney is Head of the International Scientific Cooperation in the Ministry / Department of Science & Technology, Government of India. He joined DST in 1990 and has been facilitating international scientific cooperation from the Department of Science & Technology with its bilateral, multilateral, and regional scientific partners. He is presently the Indian Co-Chair, Governing Body of the binational Indo-German Science & Technology Centre (IGSTC) and the binational U.S-India Science and Technology Endowment Fund (USISTEF); both promoting joint Industrial R&D, Board of Directors of a private limited company, Global Innovation & Technology Alliance (GITA) and is Member, Governing Council of the International Advanced Research Centre of Powder Metallurgy (ARCI). He is the Indian Focal Point for BRICS Working Group on Science & Technology and OECD Committee on Science & Technology Policy. He was also the Governing Board member of the US-Indian Education Foundation (USIEF) during 2018-2022 and the Member, Board of Research Studies in Department of Geology, Aligarh Muslim University during 2018-2020. He has worked as Counsellor (S&T) with Embassy of India in Moscow to facilitate bilateral scientific cooperation between India and Russia during April 2008 - June 2011. He has been actively contributing to the promotion of international scientific cooperation as well as scientific – industrial cooperation. He completed Master in Geology in 1984 from Aligarh Muslim University with University Medal for obtaining first position. He qualified UGC NET in 1985 for Junior Research Fellowship and lectureship. He pursued research at University of Delhi during 1985-1990 on Himalayan river systems, sedimentation, diagenetic and tectonic modifications. He was also awarded Dr DN Wadia Research Fellowship in 1986 for his research on Himalayan Geology. He has been conferred Doctor of Science (DSc) (Honorary Causa) by Amity University, Rajasthan. He is Life Fellow of Geological Society of India, Bangalore; Nepal Geological Society, Kathmandu and member of International Association of Sedimentologists, Oxford. He also has numerous certifications to his credit. He also taught at Kurukshetra University in 1990. He has written several articles on Science Policies focusing on International Scientific cooperation. He is also involved in science popularization for which he writes regularly in newspapers, magazines and journals (online/offline).

CA. Sarthak Ahuja Director, Niamh Ventures Private Limited

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Mr. Sharat Chandra Co-Founder, India Blockchain Forum

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Mr. Sharat Chandra is a Startup Enabler, Educator, Blockchain & Emerging Tech Evangelist . Mr Chandra Co -Founder of India Blockchain Forum and is an Advisor to GMR Airport's Blockchain Center of Excellence, Hyderabad and mentors startups in Blockchain technology. He provides Growth & Strategy Advisory to startups and helps in shaping startup- corporate engagements in markets across India and South East Asia. "

Mr. Sumit Gupta Co-Founder and CEO, CoinDCX

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Mr. Sumit Gupta is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CoinDCX, India’s first crypto unicorn and the safest cryptocurrency exchange. As a pioneer in India’s crypto industry, Sumit has been instrumental in bringing the emerging asset class to the consciousness of India’s mainstream. In his role, Sumit is responsible for the overall strategy and growth of CoinDCX, and is the driving force behind the company’s vision to onboard 50 million Indians into crypto. Sumit is an influential industry figure who advocates actively for better understanding and adoption of crypto. When Bitcoin began gaining traction in 2014, Sumit saw the potential of leveraging blockchain technology to enable financial inclusion and saw crypto’s potential to supercharge India’s growing innovation economy. Together with his team at CoinDCX, Sumit is committed to democratizing access to crypto for India, empowering Indians to manage their digital wealth in an increasingly digital and decentralized future.  Sumit holds an Undergraduate and Master’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.

Mr. Sunil Aggarwal Dean, Blockchain Programs

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Dean, Blockchain Programs, TalentSprint, Hyderabad. Mr Mr. Sunil Aggarwal is responsible for Designing & running an (18-week long) Advanced Certificate Program in Blockchain & Distributed Ledger Technologies in collaboration with International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Hyderabad. Around 200 executives (3 cohorts passed out+ 1 current cohort) have got trained in this program. He also designed an MS Program in Next Generation in Disruptive Technologies (NGDT 520) with specialization in Blockchain Technology for Harrisburg University, Pennsylvania. Mr. Aggarwal taught an online course “Foundations of Blockchain Technology” at Harrisburg University, Pennsylvania since January 2019 as Corporate Faculty and has completed three trimester programs (Spring, Summer and Fall Batches). He is the Head of Research, Karm.Network, an upcoming blockchain-based reputation network for all kinds of internet properties since April 2019. Mr Sunil is the Author of “Bitcoin Magnet”, 1st comprehensive Blockchain book from India published in July 2017 by Notion Press, Chennai, India. He is the first in India to teach a credit course on Bitcoin and Blockchain Applications in a university at NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad from Jan 27th -4th Feb, 2016. Mr Mr. Sunil Aggarwal is the Director, Trustmachines Private Limited that is a Blockchain education, research and mentoring enterprise and a Strategic Advisor to STARTEREUM, a multi-city accelerator project being run by Startup Tunnel in collaboration with FORGE Accelerator, SWAN ANGEL NETWORK with support from HEADSTART, Bengaluru. He is also the Producer-Director of a blockchain-dedicated Youtube Channel, Moneyframes TV sponsored by GENESIS MINING, a world leader in crypto-currency mining space

Ms. Sushma Kaushik Partner, Aavishkaar Capital

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Mr. T. Rabi Sankar Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India

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Mr. Varun Dube Head of Blockchain at Lab45, Wipro

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Mr. Vikram Gupta Founder and Managing Partner, IvyCap Ventures

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Mr. Vikram Gupta is the Founder and Managing Partner of IvyCap Ventures, a USD 530 Mn (INR 4200 Cr+) fund that invests through the alumni ecosystems and manages 35+ portfolio companies. He has held leadership positions across well-known companies in India and abroad. He conceptualized and established India's first endowment Fund at IIT, Delhi which was launched by the Honorable President of India in 2019. He currently sits on the board of this fund. He has completed his B.Tech. in Chemical Engineering (IIT Delhi) and has an MBA degree in Strategy and Finance from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.