Our Company

We put founders on a live stage before India was watching.

Founder Global Institute is the founder-development vertical of The Founders Lab Asia — an ecosystem born on a pitching stage in Nashik in January 2020, long before start-up shows became prime-time television.

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How it started

Before Shark Tank, there was a stage in Nashik.

On 22 January 2020, Riteshkumar Shrivastava invested in and anchored a live start-up pitching event at Ashoka Business School, Nashik. Inspired by the Dragon’s Den format, founders pitched directly to investors in front of an audience — and some walked away funded on the spot.

That evening became the foundation stone of The Founders Lab Asia, and the belief behind Founder Global Institute: founders are built through real stages, real feedback and real capital.

Live pitching22 January 2020

0early-stage start-ups pitched live

0secured on-the-spot pre-seed funding

Investors on stage

100X.VC
Venture Wolf
Bank of Maharashtra
Ashoka Group (Nashik)

Jan 2020Live pitching at Ashoka Business School, Nashik
2020 onwardThe Founders Lab Asia takes shape as an ecosystem
Six yearsContinuous mentoring, from raw ideas to investor-ready
TodayFounder Global Institute: structured founder development

Our foundation

Founders aren’t born. They are built.

Vision

Build an ecosystem in India strong enough to keep its most ambitious founders here — reversing the brain drain and helping the nation reclaim its “Golden Sparrow” narrative.

Mission

Take ambitious founders with raw concepts from founder-market fit to product-market fit, MVP, fund readiness and beyond — with access to a global start-up ecosystem.

Philosophy

Build founders before building start-ups. Long-term capability, ethical growth and real-world impact through collaboration.

The road we walk with founders

From a raw idea to a world-proof venture.

Concept

DNA alignment

Product-market fit

MVP

Fund readiness

Pre-seed & rounds

IPO readiness

Investor exit

Connected with institutions

Connected with mentors & investors

Connected with global partners

Leadership & partners

The people building founders.

Operators, investors and finance professionals committed to a founder-first ecosystem.

Riteshkumar Shrivastava

Founder Director

The Founders Lab Asia

Known for a “Never Say Die” attitude and a marathon-runner mindset, he anchored the 2020 Nashik live-pitching event that became the foundation stone of the ecosystem.

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Jitendrakumar Badami

Co-Founder

The Founders Lab Asia

33+ years of cross-industry experience, from pre-seed to a Series A raise. For six consecutive years he has mentored founders from raw ideas to investor-ready businesses.

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Rushiraj Patil

Growth Strategist (Offline / Online)

Founder Global Institute

Builds and scales brands through structured strategy, strong positioning and purposeful execution across offline and online ecosystems.

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Devang Raja

Founder, Venture Wolf

Investor ecosystem

Entrepreneur and investor-ecosystem leader with two decades in financial services, connecting promising businesses with the capital they need to scale.

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