Kanwal Rekhi

CEO

Los Gatos, California, United States56 yrs 3 mos experience
Most Likely To SwitchHighly Stable

Key Highlights

  • First Indian-American founder to take a company public
  • Mentored over 10,000 entrepreneurs
  • Delivered six IPOs and over 20 acquisitions
Stackforce AI infers this person is a Venture Capitalist with a strong focus on startup growth and entrepreneurship.

Contact

LinkedIn

Skills

Core Skills

Start-upsBusiness StrategyInvestmentStartup GrowthEntrepreneurshipNetworking

Other Skills

Business DevelopmentProduct ManagementStrategic PartnershipsCompetitive AnalysisNew Business DevelopmentEnterprise Software

About

I went from being laid off from my first 3 jobs to the first Indian-American founder to take a VC-backed company public when Excelan, a networking startup that helped lay the foundation of the internet, got listed on the US stock exchange in 1987. After Excelan’s IPO and merger, I realized my next chapter was enabling others to find their potential. I’ve mentored 10,000+ entrepreneurs and invested in more than 200 early-stage teams. Some of my notable outcomes include Exodus Communications (IPO), Poshmark (IPO), redBus (acq. Ibibo Group), Sierra Atlantic (Hitachi), and NetMagic (NTT). Today, as Managing Director of Inventus Capital Partners and SV Quad, I focus on people, not ideas, and our portfolio has delivered six IPOs and over 20 acquisitions to date. The goal isn’t just returns, it’s resilience. My mission is simple: create 10 million entrepreneurs by India’s 100th anniversary. That’s why I co-founded TiE, mentor relentlessly, and stay close to the problems founders are solving. If you’re tackling something ambitious, laughing through the chaos, and betting on yourself, let’s talk.

Experience

Silicon valley quad (svq)

Principal

Jan 2021 – Present · 5 yrs 3 mos · San Francisco Bay Area

  • Silicon Valley Quad (SVQ) is a syndicate of investors that provides seed capital to US incorporated first-time technology entrepreneurs. SVQ provides ample capital for 18 to 24 months to reach a meaningful milestone, setting companies up to attract venture capital from Series A investors. SVQ invests in both B2B and B2C startups.
Start-upsBusiness StrategyEntrepreneurship

Monetize360.io

Board Member

Jan 2021 – Jan 2022 · 1 yr · Santa Clara, CA

  • Monetize360 is the first platform designed to provide dynamic and innovative implementation of pricing and business strategy with just a few clicks.

Rand corporation

Advisory Board Member, RAND Center for Asia Pacific Policy

Jan 2015 – Present · 11 yrs 3 mos · Santa Monica , CA

  • The RAND Center for Asia Pacific Policy (CAPP)
  • The RAND Center for Asia Pacific Policy (CAPP) brings multidisciplinary, analytic, and regional expertise to the key policy issues of the Asia Pacific. CAPP’s mission is to improve policy by providing decisionmakers and the public with rigorous and objective research on critical policy challenges facing Asia and U.S.-Asia relations.

Inventus capital partners

Managing Director

Sep 2007 – Present · 18 yrs 7 mos · San Francisco Bay Area

  • We’ve been the first investors in scores of successful startups, including 7 Unicorns, two of which had multi-Unicorn IPOs in 2021. We invest early, and with high conviction, providing as much as $3 million in Seed capital to finance the runway and resources required to attract a meaningful Series A and rapidly scale. We are coaches and collaborators, not referees. We’ve all been successful entrepreneurs with blue chip operating careers in leading Silicon Valley companies. And we have a network of 100s of Global 5000 CXOs with express interest in being customers and partners of new companies that solve the hard problems their companies and colleagues are facing. Come work with us, and we’ll work for you.
Start-upsBusiness StrategyEntrepreneurshipBusiness Development

Kaboodle

Board Member

Jan 2005 – Jan 2012 · 7 yrs · Santa Clara, CA

Adviceamerica

Board Member

Jan 2004 – Jan 2010 · 6 yrs · Fremont, CA

Ensim, inc

CEO, Board Member

Jan 2002 – Jan 2004 · 2 yrs · Sunnyvale, CA

Stanford university

Advisory Board Member; SIEPR ( Sandford Institute of Economic Policy Research)

Jan 2001 – Present · 25 yrs 3 mos · Palo Alto, CA

  • The Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) is Stanford University’s home for understanding the economic challenges, opportunities, and policies affecting people in the United States and around the world.

Healthatoz

2 roles

Board Member

Jan 2000 – Jan 2008 · 8 yrs · New Jersey

Board Member

Jan 1999 – Jan 2007 · 8 yrs · New Jersey

Great unwashed

Board Member

Jan 2000 – Jan 2005 · 5 yrs · South Carolina

  • Great Unwashed was a book publisher for self publishing books. It was acquired by Amazon.com

Jamcracker

Board Member

Jan 2000 – Jan 2002 · 2 yrs · Sunnyvale, CA

Center for civil society, india

Board Member

Jan 1999 – Jan 2009 · 10 yrs · New Delhi Area, India

Cyber group inc.

Board Member

Jan 1998 – Present · 28 yrs 3 mos · Dallas/Fort Worth Area

Cybermedia

President and CEO and a Board Member

Jan 1998 – Jan 1999 · 1 yr · Santa Monica, CA

  • CyberMedia was a consumer Software Company that was acquired by Network Associates.
  • I was an Angel Investor in CyberMedia.

123signup

Board Member

Jan 1997 – Jan 2001 · 4 yrs · San Jose

Decide.com

Board Member

Jan 1997 – Jan 2001 · 4 yrs · San Jose

Apptivity

Board Member

Jun 1996 – Jun 1998 · 2 yrs · Fremont, CA

  • I was an Angel Investor in Apptivity.
  • Apptivity was acquired by Progress Software.

Mediaway (chuckwalla)

Board Member

Jun 1996 – Jun 1998 · 2 yrs · Milpitas, CA

Sierra atlantic

Board Member

Jan 1996 – Jan 2010 · 14 yrs · Newark, CA

  • Sierra Atlantic was acquired by Hitachi Data System in 2010

Versata

Board Member

Jan 1996 – Jan 2002 · 6 yrs · Oakland

Kaseya

Board Member

Jan 1996 – Jan 1999 · 3 yrs · Milpitas, CA

  • I was a Angel Investor in Kaseya.

Placeware

Board Member

Jan 1996 – Jan 1998 · 2 yrs · Mountain View, CA

Exodus

Member of the Board

Sep 1995 – Nov 2000 · 5 yrs 2 mos · Santa Clara, CA

  • Exodus pioneered Internet Data Center Business and at one time carried 50% of the Internet business.
  • I was the original Angel investor in Exodus. It went public in October of 1998.

Zietnet

Board Member

Feb 1995 – Jul 1997 · 2 yrs 5 mos · Santa Clara, CA

  • ZietNet was acquired by Cabletron in 1997

Ambit design

Board Member

Jan 1995 – Jan 1999 · 4 yrs · San Jose, CA

  • I was an Angel Investor in Ambit. Ambit was a CAD Software Company acquired by Cadence in 1999.

Intellimatch

Board Member

Jan 1995 – Jan 1997 · 2 yrs · San Jose

Novell

EVP, CTO and Board Member

Jun 1989 – Dec 1995 · 6 yrs 6 mos · San Jose CA and Provo Utah

  • Came to Novell through merger of Excelan into Novell.

Excelan

Founder and CEO

Apr 1982 – Jun 1989 · 7 yrs 2 mos · San Jose, CA

  • Excelan was a Local Area Networking company that pioneered Ethernet and TCP/IP protocols. These protocols eventually became the basis of Internet.

Zilog

Hardware Engineering Manager

Jan 1981 – Apr 1982 · 1 yr 3 mos · Campbell, CA

  • All the activities relatedto system hardware.
Start-upsEntrepreneurship

Gould biomation

Hardware Engineer

Feb 1980 – Jan 1981 · 11 mos · Santa Clara, CA

  • Wasted one year here as they had no idea what they hired me for.

Singer-link

Hardware Engineer

Dec 1971 – Jan 1980 · 8 yrs 1 mo · Sunnyvale, California

  • Singer-Link did the flight simulators for the Air Force and Navy. Had a good 10 year run!

Rca computer systems

Hardware Engineer

Mar 1971 – Sep 1971 · 6 mos · West Palm Beach, Florida Area

  • Fun job but only for 6 months! Got laid off for the third time.

Sel

Hardware Engineer

Apr 1970 – Feb 1971 · 10 mos · Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

  • Had a great year of fun! Got laid off in 9 months!

Eai

Hardware Engineer

Aug 1969 – Apr 1970 · 8 mos · Long Branch, New Jersey

  • My first Job. Great job but got laid off in 7 months!

Education

Michigan Technological University

MSEE — Electrical Engineering

Jan 1967 – Jan 1969

Michigan Technological University

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) — Business and Engineering

Jan 1967 – Jan 1969

Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay

Electrical — Electronics and Communications Engineering

Aug 1963 – May 1967

Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay

B.Tech. — Electrical Engineering

Jan 1963 – Jan 1967

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