Akshat Jain loves to play the devil’s advocate, leading to some of the most interesting conversations during internal brainstorming sessions at Lightbox. He thrives on independent thinking, is always excited to explore new and emerging business models in the consumer sector, and makes a conscious effort to stay away from the hype cycles that are all but too common in the venture capital business. His biggest motivation for investing in startups – making a tangible impact by collaborating with founders to build innovative companies.

Growing up, Akshat was always curious about how businesses work and investing in the stock markets. He actually chose to complete his graduation in finance from Bentley University because he found the college’s trading room inspiring! While in college, he realised that his interest lay in startups, which led him to the world of venture capital. Before heading back home, he landed a gig at venture debt firm Eastward Capital Partners during his last semester. An internship with Lightbox in 2019 ushered him into a career in India’s venture capital industry.

As part of the investment team, Akshat’s mandate is to find founders who are building great companies and assist portfolio founders in overcoming challenges that may arise. He works closely with portfolio teams and supports founders in identifying operational blind spots, facilitating hiring, and sharing data and research-backed insights that may enhance business performance. His approach to investing is defined by the people behind an idea and what drives them to build great companies, whether the product or service is compelling enough to sustain his excitement about working with the founder for a decade, and how well the founder’s narrative and the financial metrics align.

Investing is Akshat’s passion. When he’s not working, he’s often found reading about the cultures and strategies of leading businesses, various investing styles, and what makes investors unique. The preliminary learnings about venture capital early in his career were from reading blogs written by Fred Wilson and Bill Gurley. He’s also a massive sports enthusiast from cricket and football to F1 and loves trying out new board games.