India’s startup ecosystem has matured significantly over the past decade, with capital, talent, and innovation accelerating across sectors. However, one of the most critical gaps that continues to evolve is growth-stage funding—where companies transition from early traction to scalable, sustainable businesses.
In this conversation with Indian Startup Times, Abhisekh Shah, Principal at Elev8 Venture Partners, shares his journey, the firm’s investment philosophy, and sharp insights into what defines durable growth and founder readiness at scale.
From Operator to Investor: A Journey Across Ecosystems
Abhisekh Shah began his professional journey in 2013 with a pharmaceutical multinational, working in the engineering division. Early in his career, he transitioned into entrepreneurship, launching a bootstrapped fashion rental startup.
He then became part of the core team at what is now Goodera (formerly NextGen), where he worked across product, growth, and expansion. The company was backed by leading venture capital investors.
In 2019, he moved to Europe to pursue a Master’s with Finance specialization from HEC Paris. Post his studies, he transitioned into investing with Blue Future Partners in Germany, focusing on venture fund of funds and growth investments across global markets. During this stint, he also helped bring India into the fund’s investment mandate.
In January 2023, he joined Elev8 Venture Partners, where he now plays a key role in leading growth-stage investments.
Elev8’s Investment Thesis: Filling India’s Growth Capital Gap
Elev8 Venture Partners is a ₹1400 crore growth-stage fund focused on Series B and beyond investments in India-headquartered technology companies.
The firm is built around a clear thesis—to bridge the domestic growth-stage capital gap that was traditionally filled by global investors.
Its sector focus includes financial services, consumer technology, B2B enterprise software and commerce, with an evolving interest in deeptech. With cheque sizes ranging from $8 million to $30 million, Elev8 backs companies that are either profitable or close to profitability.
The investment approach is grounded in a few core principles: strong revenue quality, healthy gross margins, efficient customer acquisition, institutional governance, and founder-led but team-driven organizations.
Backing Conviction: What Stood Out in Smallcase and Snapmint
Elev8’s conviction-building approach is rooted in long-term tracking and deep evaluation.
Smallcase stood out as a reflection of a structural shift in how Indians invest. As retail participation in financial markets grows, the platform has successfully positioned itself as a category-defining brand. Its evolution into a full-stack wealth platform—with offerings across portfolios, mutual funds, international investing, and credit—reinforced its long-term potential.
Snapmint, operating in the buy now pay later space, differentiated itself through disciplined execution. In a segment where many players struggled, Snapmint demonstrated strong unit economics, profitability focus, and strict regulatory alignment. The company’s approach to sustainable growth, rather than aggressive capital-led expansion, played a key role in building conviction.
In both cases, strong founding teams, market opportunity, and sound financial fundamentals were central to the investment decision.
Understanding Sustainable Growth: Beyond Capital-Driven Expansion
A key focus for Elev8 is distinguishing between durable growth and growth driven purely by capital.
At the foundation is unit economics—ensuring that every transaction or product generates value rather than burns capital. This is complemented by deep cohort analysis, which helps assess how customer behavior evolves over time, including retention, engagement, and monetization patterns.
Customer acquisition efficiency is another critical lens. Companies that evolve into strong brands reduce their dependence on paid acquisition, resulting in healthier and more sustainable growth.
Together, these factors provide a clearer picture of whether a business can scale sustainably over the long term.
Founder Evolution: From Builders to Institution Creators
At the growth stage, founder evaluation shifts significantly. While intellect and hustle are assumed, what truly matters is the ability to build an organization, not just a product.
Strong founders demonstrate an ability to think in terms of trade-offs, rather than just outcomes. They focus on quality over quantity in decision-making and reporting, and are willing to hire leaders who are better than them in specific areas.
They also take governance seriously, leveraging their board as a strategic sounding platform. Importantly, they begin to think like public market leaders—planning ahead, aligning execution with long-term commitments, and preparing the organization for scale.
Companies that have gone through multiple cycles often reflect this maturity more clearly, having built resilience through both growth phases and challenges.
Building for the Long Term: Key Patterns for Founders
For founders preparing to raise growth-stage capital, the shift lies in mindset as much as metrics.
Thinking like a public company early helps embed discipline and long-term orientation. Balancing passion with structured decision-making becomes essential as the organization grows. Sustainable growth, rather than short-term acceleration, becomes the real differentiator.
Ultimately, the goal is to build institutions that can outlast their founders—organizations that are resilient, scalable, and grounded in strong fundamentals.
Conclusion
As India’s startup ecosystem continues to mature, the nature of growth-stage investing is evolving. The focus is shifting from rapid scale at any cost to disciplined, high-quality growth backed by strong governance and fundamentals.
Through its focused thesis and investment approach, Elev8 Venture Partners is playing a key role in shaping this transition.
Abhisekh Shah’s insights underline a fundamental shift in the ecosystem—successful companies of the future will not just grow fast, but grow with clarity, structure, and long-term intent.
-Interview conducted by Sandhya Bharti
