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If you have a great business idea or are an early-stage startup looking to raise funds, our network of angel investors offers you the opportunity to raise funds and utilize the expertise of our angels who come from diverse backgrounds, as well as leveraging their network to grow your business.

Sparks Angel Network is a part of the Venture Way Startup Ecosystem. All applications to Sparks Angel Network are routed through AngelsApp, Venture Way's proprietary deal management platform.

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Featured Angels

Dr. Vineeth Abraham

Director and Chief of Strategy & Planning, BMH

Dr. Vineeth is a Cardiothoracic Surgeon and Director at BMH, one of the largest corporate hospitals in Southern India. He leads the team at BMH in defining strategic direction, planning and growth, and plays a key role in leveraging technology, promoting innovation, international relations, medical tourism, community awareness etc. He is also passionate about social development initiatives and is actively involved in several nonprofits and charitable organizations.

He is an active angel investor and a board member at Sparks Angel Network. He is a sector agnostic investor and presently has portfolio companies focused on medtech, ecommerce, hyperlocal logistics, Al, and HR Tech.

Featured Angels

Karishma Thakker

Director, Tilak Capital Pvt Ltd.

Karishma is the Director of Tilak Capital Pvt Ltd, which operates a portfolio of over eight startups. She is the founder and CEO of an upcoming blockchain startup. She is also a member of the Board of Directors at Thakkers Developers.

Karishma holds a Master’s Degree in Business Management from NMIMS, Mumbai. Having a keen interest in blockchain technology and crypto, she completed a distance learning course in Blockchain and its applications at IIT Kharagpur.

Karishma is an avid learner who has a knack for finding investment opportunities that others may not. As an active investor at Sparks Angel Network, she is sector agnostic and has investment experience across various industries.

Featured Angels

Jithu George

Deputy CEO, Apex Energy

Jithu is an ardent investor who is in love with the process of conducting due diligence across a steady flow of opportunities. He enjoys the learning curve as he observes startups and angel investors' success stories and continuously educates himself and improves his investment thesis.

In the past few years, he has backed more than 30 top-performing startups across many sectors.

Besides being an active investor, Jithu is a passionate entrepreneur with a portfolio of companies in the Oil & Gas, PVC Manufacturing, and Media sectors.

Jithu is a Mechanical Engineer with a Triple Master's degree specializing in Luxury Goods, Business Design, and Brand Management. An alumnus of Neoma Business School (France), MIP School of Management (Italy), and Domus Academy (Italy), he has extensive consulting experience in India, the Middle East, and Europe.

Jithu believes in creating a long-lasting social impact by deriving accessible financial pathways that drive favourable economic outcomes thereby democratizing wealth creation.

Featured Angels

Mia Sarojini Kynadi

Director & CEO, Beyond Z LLC

Mia is an early stage investor and the Joint Managing Director of Venture Way. She leads the curation and incubation of artificial intelligence startups within Venture Way and also serves as a member of the Board of Governors at Sparks Angel Network.

She is the Managing Director and CEO of Beyond Z, a deep tech lab focused on incubating, funding and implementing AI initiatives. She is also Co-founder at Ideatory, an idea stage incubator and startup studio based in Southern India.

Following her Masters in Engineering from the State University of New York, Buffalo, Mia worked at Qualcomm Inc in San Diego, California. She later went on to complete the Artificial Intelligence Graduate Program from Stanford University as well as a MicroMasters in Data Science and Statistics from MIT. She also holds a Professional Certificate in Artificial Intelligence from Harvard.

Featured Angels

Nasly Mohammed

Director, KRS Ltd.

Nasly is a director at KRS Ltd, one of India's largest logistics companies with more than 500 branches across the country. He has been actively involved in the operations and growth of the company for more than 18 years after he completed his MBA from London.

Nasly is a serial entrepreneur who has co-founded multiple ventures and is actively involved in several large organizations including real estate and construction companies in India and the Middle East, 2 leading schools in Malabar, health care retail ventures etc.

Nasly is the President of Sparks Angel Network, and is an active sector agnostic investor.

Featured Angels

Zinekhar Ahmed

Director and Lead of Engineering, Galaxy Builders

Zinekhar Ahmed is a director and leads the construction and planning team at Galaxy Builders, currently working on the tallest tower in Kerala. His area of interest lies in construction management and under his leadership, the company has ventured into civil contracting. Galaxy Builders has developed over a million square feet of luxury condominiums and have been leading the space for over two decades. He also owns and manages a boutique resort in Kerala, developed under Galaxy Builders.

He has an engineering degree from NIT-C and a masters degree in Project Management from Northwestern University. He has also co-founded Hound Electric and Kitty Hawk- startups in electric mobility space.

Featured Angels

Daniel Giuditta

Product Designer, Patreon

Daniel Giuditta is a product designer and inventor who specializes in group communication; specifically community chat, video calling and social networks.

He was formally trained in graphic design at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and has been working in consumer tech for the last 8 years based out of San Francisco, London and New York.

He’s spent his career designing the core communication mechanics for Facebook Groups, Messenger and Instagram. Most recently he’s working with Patreon, a network for fans to support content creators.

His design philosophy is that technology should solve real world problems by complementing and enhancing real world behaviours. He mentors young startups and product teams by helping them understand their problem space and frame their solution through real world analogs and narrative.

Featured Angels

Vinay James Kynadi

Managing Partner, Venture Way

Vinay is a serial entrepreneur, industrialist and sector agnostic investor who has invested in over 15 ventures in and outside India. He is an MBA graduate from London Business School and an alumnus of the Venture Capital Unlocked program at Stanford.

He is the Founder of Venture Way, a 'virtual global startup ecosystem' and of Ideatory, an idea stage incubator and startup studio. Vinay is also the Co-founder & Managing Director of Highland Silver Sands, one of Kerala's leading mining and rock crushing companies.

He is the Founder & Chairman of Sparks Angel Network, and leads 2 other global angel networks; LAAN and MyEO Angels.

Featured Angels

Dr. Vineeth Abraham

Director and Chief of Strategy & Planning, BMH

Dr. Vineeth is a Cardiothoracic Surgeon and Director at BMH, one of the largest corporate hospitals in Southern India. He leads the team at BMH in defining strategic direction, planning and growth, and plays a key role in leveraging technology, promoting innovation, international relations, medical tourism, community awareness etc. He is also passionate about social development initiatives and is actively involved in several nonprofits and charitable organizations.

He is an active angel investor and a board member at Sparks Angel Network. He is a sector agnostic investor and presently has portfolio companies focused on medtech, ecommerce, hyperlocal logistics, Al, and HR Tech.

Featured Angels

Karishma Thakker

Director, Tilak Capital Pvt Ltd.

Karishma is the Director of Tilak Capital Pvt Ltd, which operates a portfolio of over eight startups. She is the founder and CEO of an upcoming blockchain startup. She is also a member of the Board of Directors at Thakkers Developers.

Karishma holds a Master’s Degree in Business Management from NMIMS, Mumbai. Having a keen interest in blockchain technology and crypto, she completed a distance learning course in Blockchain and its applications at IIT Kharagpur.

Karishma is an avid learner who has a knack for finding investment opportunities that others may not. As an active investor at Sparks Angel Network, she is sector agnostic and has investment experience across various industries.

Featured Angels

Jithu George

Deputy CEO, Apex Energy

Jithu is an ardent investor who is in love with the process of conducting due diligence across a steady flow of opportunities. He enjoys the learning curve as he observes startups and angel investors' success stories and continuously educates himself and improves his investment thesis.

In the past few years, he has backed more than 30 top-performing startups across many sectors.

Besides being an active investor, Jithu is a passionate entrepreneur with a portfolio of companies in the Oil & Gas, PVC Manufacturing, and Media sectors.

Jithu is a Mechanical Engineer with a Triple Master's degree specializing in Luxury Goods, Business Design, and Brand Management. An alumnus of Neoma Business School (France), MIP School of Management (Italy), and Domus Academy (Italy), he has extensive consulting experience in India, the Middle East, and Europe.

Jithu believes in creating a long-lasting social impact by deriving accessible financial pathways that drive favourable economic outcomes thereby democratizing wealth creation.

Featured Angels

Mia Sarojini Kynadi

Director & CEO, Beyond Z LLC

Mia is an early stage investor and the Joint Managing Director of Venture Way. She leads the curation and incubation of artificial intelligence startups within Venture Way and also serves as a member of the Board of Governors at Sparks Angel Network.

She is the Managing Director and CEO of Beyond Z, a deep tech lab focused on incubating, funding and implementing AI initiatives. She is also Co-founder at Ideatory, an idea stage incubator and startup studio based in Southern India.

Following her Masters in Engineering from the State University of New York, Buffalo, Mia worked at Qualcomm Inc in San Diego, California. She later went on to complete the Artificial Intelligence Graduate Program from Stanford University as well as a MicroMasters in Data Science and Statistics from MIT. She also holds a Professional Certificate in Artificial Intelligence from Harvard.

Featured Angels

Nasly Mohammed

Director, KRS Ltd.

Nasly is a director at KRS Ltd, one of India's largest logistics companies with more than 500 branches across the country. He has been actively involved in the operations and growth of the company for more than 18 years after he completed his MBA from London.

Nasly is a serial entrepreneur who has co-founded multiple ventures and is actively involved in several large organizations including real estate and construction companies in India and the Middle East, 2 leading schools in Malabar, health care retail ventures etc.

Nasly is the President of Sparks Angel Network, and is an active sector agnostic investor.

Featured Angels

Zinekhar Ahmed

Director and Lead of Engineering, Galaxy Builders

Zinekhar Ahmed is a director and leads the construction and planning team at Galaxy Builders, currently working on the tallest tower in Kerala. His area of interest lies in construction management and under his leadership, the company has ventured into civil contracting. Galaxy Builders has developed over a million square feet of luxury condominiums and have been leading the space for over two decades. He also owns and manages a boutique resort in Kerala, developed under Galaxy Builders.

He has an engineering degree from NIT-C and a masters degree in Project Management from Northwestern University. He has also co-founded Hound Electric and Kitty Hawk- startups in electric mobility space.

Featured Angels

Daniel Giuditta

Product Designer, Patreon

Daniel Giuditta is a product designer and inventor who specializes in group communication; specifically community chat, video calling and social networks.

He was formally trained in graphic design at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and has been working in consumer tech for the last 8 years based out of San Francisco, London and New York.

He’s spent his career designing the core communication mechanics for Facebook Groups, Messenger and Instagram. Most recently he’s working with Patreon, a network for fans to support content creators.

His design philosophy is that technology should solve real world problems by complementing and enhancing real world behaviours. He mentors young startups and product teams by helping them understand their problem space and frame their solution through real world analogs and narrative.

Featured Angels

Vinay James Kynadi

Managing Partner, Venture Way

Vinay is a serial entrepreneur, industrialist and sector agnostic investor who has invested in over 15 ventures in and outside India. He is an MBA graduate from London Business School and an alumnus of the Venture Capital Unlocked program at Stanford.

He is the Founder of Venture Way, a 'virtual global startup ecosystem' and of Ideatory, an idea stage incubator and startup studio. Vinay is also the Co-founder & Managing Director of Highland Silver Sands, one of Kerala's leading mining and rock crushing companies.

He is the Founder & Chairman of Sparks Angel Network, and leads 2 other global angel networks; LAAN and MyEO Angels.

Our Philosophy

Our Vision

To be the most resourceful, powerful and successful angel network in India, that churns out ventures that make a mark globally while generating attractive returns to the founders and our angel investors.

Our Mission

To identify the true potential of ideas, opportunities and entrepreneurs early; to invest in, mentor, and nurture promising and deserving ventures; and to help them think big and grow into industry leading, globally competitive, and socially responsible businesses which are perfectly streamlined to be easily worthy of later stage growth funding wherever necessary.

Our Core Values

Innovation

We consider innovation fundamental for human progress, and we would most specifically be interested in the most innovative ideas presented to us.

Enterprise

Enterprise helps execute the Innovation. Entrepreneurs and their spirit of enterprise will be cardinal to ensure that any innovation is translated into a definable and scalable venture.

Synergy

It’s synergy that generates value. Value is generated only when there is synergy in the coming together of ideas, people and capital.

Our Investment Process

Screening and Fit Determination by Venture Way

All the details about your venture will be passed on to the Venture Way Deal Curation team. The team will evaluate your application based on fit, before passing it on to potential investors in the Sparks Angel Network.

Investor Circulation

After curation, the deal is shared on Sparks Angel Network's deal management platform for all investors to view, engage with and assess.

Exploration

Usually a 10 day period when angels and startups get to ask questions and learn more about the venture and their mutual compatibility.

Due Diligence

Angel Investors will be allowed another 10 day period to complete their due diligence while the Share Holder Agreement is being drafted.

ONLINE APPLICATION THROUGH ANGELSAPP

All details about your venture and investment preferences are collected through the application. The application requires a pitch deck covering all key elements of your business to be uploaded.

Screening and Fit Determination by Venture Way

All the details about your venture will be passed on to the Venture Way Deal Curation team. The team will evaluate your application based on fit, before passing it on to potential investors in the Sparks Angel Network.

Curation

Post fit determination by the Venture Way team, your application will be curated by a Sparks Angel Network member.

Investor Circulation

After curation, the deal is shared on Sparks Angel Network's deal management platform for all investors to view, engage with and assess.

Pitching Session

Depending on investor interest shown, a pitching session will be set up virtually to take the deal forward. The pitching session is an opportunity for you to talk about yourself and your business, as well as for investors to ask questions about the venture and interact with you.

EXPLORATION

Usually a 10 day period when angels and startups get to ask questions and learn more about the venture and their mutual compatibility.

TERM SHEET SIGN UP

Based on the deliberations and discussions, a Term Sheet will be decided upon and signed at a joint meeting of investing angels and the founders.

DUE DILIGENCE

Angel Investors will be allowed another 10 day period to complete their due diligence while the Share Holder Agreement is being drafted.

SHAREHOLDER AGREEMENT

With the signing of the SHA, the investment in the company is completed.

ONLINE APPLICATION THROUGH ANGELSAPP

All details about your venture and investment preferences are collected through the application. The application requires a pitch deck covering all key elements of your business to be uploaded.

Curation

Post fit determination by the Venture Way team, your application will be curated by a Sparks Angel Network member.

Pitching Session

Depending on investor interest shown, a pitching session will be set up virtually to take the deal forward. The pitching session is an opportunity for you to talk about yourself and your business, as well as for investors to ask questions about the venture and interact with you.

Term Sheet Sign Up

Based on the deliberations and discussions, a Term Sheet will be decided upon and signed at a joint meeting of investing angels and the founders.

SHAREHOLDER AGREEMENT

With the signing of the SHA, the investment in the company is completed.

Featured Startups

Our Investment Thesis

Sparks Angel Network being an angel network with an eclectic group of members, the network does not define a specific investment thesis for the group. Instead, the Sparks Angel Network team works with individual members to help them etch out their own independent investment theses based on their contexts and interests.

However, to give founders approaching us some clarity regarding what they could expect from Sparks Angel Network, we could surmise the following:

Sector Preferences

Many of our members are sector agnostic investors. We do have a few members who are interested only in specific sectors, but as a group, Sparks Angel Network is sector agnostic.

Location Preferences

Most of our members are from Kerala or have a Kerala connection. So particularly with our more involved and hands-on angels, we see a preference for startups from Kerala. However, since our members are spread across the globe, many of them are open to exploring opportunities outside India as well.

Preferred Ticket Size

We have some angels who have been open to ticket sizes of upto $500,000 or more, but most of our angels prefer to invest between $10,000 to $40,000 per startup. Consequently, as a group Sparks angels would generally invest between $50,000 to $100,000 in a round.

Ideal Stage/ Funding Round

All our investments so far have been before the Series A round, and we expect that to continue being the case.

© Venture Way Startup Ecosystem (P) Ltd. 2023