Koushik Sekhar — Co-Founder
Koushik Sekhar is the Managing Partner at Enlighten Capital, a SEBI-registered Micro-VC fund deploying high-conviction, sector-agnostic capital into India’s most ambitious early-stage founders. He is known for a decisive, global approach to early-stage investing—identifying outlier talent early and backing them with conviction, discipline, and scale-oriented strategy. With a career spanning leadership roles across CitiBank NA, Wells Fargo, Sutherland, and HCL, Koushik brings deep expertise in financial systems, execution leadership, and operational governance. This operator-to-investor background allows him to evaluate founders through a sharper, cross-functional lens rooted in global institutional standards. At Enlighten Capital, he leads the firm’s investment strategy, IC governance, fund deployment, and LP engagement. He works closely with founders to strengthen product clarity, GTM strategy, financial architecture, and long-term value creation. Under his leadership, Enlighten Capital maintains a sector-agnostic thesis focused on founder quality, market inevitability, and scalable business models. What he looks for: • High-alpha founders with global ambition • Capital-efficient business models with clear traction signals • Strong founder-market fit backed by execution velocity • Teams building for scale across India and global markets What he brings to founders: • High-conviction capital and rapid IC decision-making • Deep financial, operational, and governance discipline • Access to a broad network of investors, corporates, and ecosystem partners • Active, strategic support across 0→1 and 1→10 growth phases Koushik is an active presence in India’s startup ecosystem and frequently serves as a jury member, keynote speaker, and mentor for national-level innovation programs and accelerators. His mission is to support and scale the next generation of founders building transformative companies from India for the world. Founders and partners seeking a decisive, high-conviction early-stage investor frequently engage with him to explore collaboration and high-quality venture opportunities.
Stackforce AI infers this person is a venture capital expert with a focus on early-stage startups in India.
Location: Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Experience: 16 yrs 5 mos
Skills
- Investment Management
- Operational Leadership
- Fund Management
- Investment Analysis
- Startup Support
- Startup Development
- Networking
- Training And Development
Career Highlights
- Expert in early-stage investment strategies.
- Strong operational governance background.
- Active mentor in India's startup ecosystem.
Work Experience
St.Peters Institute of Higher Education and Research
Member-Incubation Seed Management Committee (1 yr)
Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer, IIT Delhi
Member- Incubation Seed Management Committee (1 yr 1 mo)
TiE Mumbai
Charter-Member (1 yr 7 mos)
Annamalai Innovation & Incubation Research Foundation - Annamalai University
Member - Incubation Seed Fund Management Committee- SISFS (2 yrs 6 mos)
ACIC GIETU FOUNDATION
Expert Advisory Committee (2 yrs 7 mos)
Atal Incubation Centre- BIMTECH
Investment Committee (3 yrs 7 mos)
Founders Lair
Connector (3 yrs 11 mos)
Enlighten Angel Fund
Founder & Chairman (4 yrs 1 mo)
The OutlandishStory
Co-Founder (4 yrs 5 mos)
Asgardia
Member (7 yrs)
PLATO- An AMK Venture
Co-Founder (8 yrs 2 mos)
BNI Foundation
Member (9 yrs 2 mos)
Citi
Trainer (3 yrs 4 mos)
Sutherland
Soft skills trainer (3 yrs 11 mos)
Education
Bachelor of Business Administration - BBA at University of Madras
