My Story Series 2: Dr. Hemant Kanakia

The second session was held by Dr. Hemant Kanakia. The serious intellectual he is, Dr. Hemant Kanakia managed to keep a hundred strong audience of Undergrads, Fellows, Professors and Entrepreneurs enthralled as he doled out the secrets of an angel investor’s world. He started out by describing his journey through the field of technology and how he got to his current position; then, he gave out his list of “4 things to take care of” while building a startup and approaching an angel investor. He talked about factors that were pertinent in building a startup environment, such as “Momentum Play and Transplanting Across Geographies”, giving insights that were really valuable to the entrepreneurs in the audience. His talk was followed by a 20 minute Q&A session, where he patiently answered questions from the audience, often surprising us with his incisive answers. His calm demeanor and heavy voice reflected the wisdom and experience he brought with him to Ashoka. It was quite an enriching experience to have him as a speaker for the series.