The Foundery Launch: Kamath and Biyani’s Bold Bet on Early-Stage Startups

Building Founders, Not Just Startups  
Foundery compresses the early-stage journey into a tightly structured program where participants move from concept to investment readiness. With mentorship from industry leaders like Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Kunal Bahl, and Rama Bijapurkar, the initiative seeks to nurture entrepreneurs who can build, fail, and rebuild challenging conventional incubation models.  

Major takeaways  
• The Foundery offers a 90-day immersive residential program combining education, acceleration, and venture building  
• Selected participants can retain up to 25% equity in ventures they help create  
• Seed funding of up to ₹4 crore available for successful startups  
• Mentors include leading entrepreneurs and strategists such as Vijay Shekhar Sharma and Kunal Bahl  
• Kamath emphasizes building creators over managers, while Biyani calls it a “live business-building environment”  

Impact on Startup Ecosystem  
By merging tech-era capital with legacy retail expertise, The Foundery represents a new model of founder development. It signals a shift toward experiential learning and hands-on execution, aiming to produce resilient entrepreneurs ready to scale India’s next wave of startups.  

Sources: Business Standard, CNBCTV18, Fortune India, Entrepreneur India, Indian Startup News