{"id":3157,"date":"2025-06-06T15:00:08","date_gmt":"2025-06-06T09:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pinkpreneurs.in\/index.php\/2025\/06\/06\/sushanto-mitra-the-man-behind-indias-first-private-angel-network\/"},"modified":"2025-06-06T15:00:08","modified_gmt":"2025-06-06T09:30:08","slug":"sushanto-mitra-the-man-behind-indias-first-private-angel-network","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pinkpreneurs.in\/index.php\/2025\/06\/06\/sushanto-mitra-the-man-behind-indias-first-private-angel-network\/","title":{"rendered":"Sushanto Mitra: The Man Behind India\u2019s First Private Angel Network"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Sushanto Mitra, the Founder and CEO of Lead Angels,<\/strong> which is India\u2019s first privately owned angel network. With more than 30 years of experience in entrepreneurship, innovation, and startup investments, Sushanto is helping shape the future for young companies and investors alike.<\/p>\n

The Start of Lead Angels<\/strong><\/p>\n

When Sushanto started Lead Angels over 10 years ago, there were hardly any professional ways for early-stage startups to raise money. Angel investing was mostly informal and didn\u2019t offer much structure or support. He saw this gap and decided to build a platform that would bring discipline, transparency, and expert help to young startups.<\/p>\n

Today, Lead Angels is not just a network, it\u2019s a movement. It has helped hundreds of startups grow from small ideas into full-fledged companies. Sushanto has now taken it one step further by launching Lead Invest-NxtGen, which allows retail investors\u2014people like you and me\u2014to also invest in startups with smaller ticket sizes, but with the same expert-level research and support that big venture capitalists get.<\/p>\n

What Makes Startups Succeed?<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to Sushanto, successful startups usually have three important things:
\n1. Strong and clear founders who know what they want but are also open to change.
\n2. Quick action-takers who don\u2019t waste time and keep improving their ideas.
\n3. Customer focus, where the team listens to users and builds what they actually need.<\/p>\n

He believes that more than a great product, it\u2019s the resilience of the founder that matters most. \u201cGood products can change, but a committed founder makes all the difference,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

When it comes to picking startups for investment, Lead Angels looks at a few main things, does the founder really understand the market? Is the idea new or unique? And can this idea grow into something big? Even if the company doesn\u2019t have strong traction yet, they are evaluated through expert panels and domain specialists. This gives both the startup and the investors a better chance at success.<\/p>\n

Sushanto is no stranger to nurturing startups. Before starting Lead Angels, he was the first CEO of SINE, the business incubator at IIT Bombay. Under his leadership, SINE became one of India\u2019s best incubators, even winning an award from the President of India.<\/p>\n

Some of the startups he helped back then, like IdeaForge, GupShup, and Atomberg, are now leaders in their industries. His work shows how important the right support and mentorship is, especially in the early stages of a startup\u2019s journey.Educational Institutions Can Do More<\/p>\n

With his background in IIT Bombay and other top colleges, Sushanto strongly believes that Indian educational institutions can play a much bigger role in supporting entrepreneurship. While they offer knowledge, research, and talent, they must also offer business thinking, market access, and real investor connections to make student ideas succeed in the real world.<\/p>\n

Lessons from a Book of Real Stories<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sushanto also co-wrote a book titled Funding My Startup & Other Nightmares, which shares real-life stories of Indian founders. The goal was to give readers a true picture of startup life, the ups, the downs, and the emotional rollercoaster in between. One story he remembers well is about a founder who said no to big offers just to stay independent and build a long-term brand. His takeaway? \u201cBe obsessed with your idea, but also stay financially smart.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s Next for Startups in India?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Looking at the future, Sushanto is excited about areas like:
\n\u2022 AI and Deep Tech, especially in health and defense
\n\u2022 EV Infrastructure, like battery swapping and fleet tech
\n\u2022 AgriTech and Climate Tech, solving big problems like food safety and water use
\nHe believes India has the talent and drive to not just catch up with the world but to lead it in these fields.<\/p>\n

<p>The post Sushanto Mitra: The Man Behind India\u2019s First Private Angel Network<\/a> first appeared on Hello Entrepreneurs<\/a>.<\/p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sushanto Mitra, the Founder and CEO of Lead Angels, which is India\u2019s first privately owned angel network. With more than 30 years of experience in entrepreneurship, innovation, and startup investments, Sushanto is helping shape the future for young companies and investors alike. The Start of Lead Angels When Sushanto started Lead Angels over 10 years […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3158,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[28],"class_list":["post-3157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insight","tag-insight"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pinkpreneurs.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pinkpreneurs.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pinkpreneurs.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pinkpreneurs.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pinkpreneurs.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3157"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pinkpreneurs.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3157\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pinkpreneurs.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pinkpreneurs.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pinkpreneurs.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pinkpreneurs.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}