Ankit Moorjani brings a valuable blend of experiences in technology, finance and entrepreneurship to his role in the Lightbox investment team. His inherent curiosity, resilience, high risk appetite and the ability to work through ambiguity – qualities he inherited from his past stints as a serial entrepreneur – enable him to take a measured, almost stoic approach, to navigating the tumultuous world of venture capital.
An electronics engineer from University of Mumbai, Ankit started his career with Deloitte Consulting right out of campus. While working on financial solutions and implementing ERPs for Fortune 500 companies, he also cleared the CFA programme. In 2014, he joined JP Morgan’s equity research desk to cover the insurance and healthcare sectors for the Asia Pacific region. A year later, he took the plunge into entrepreneurship and co-founded his first venture, an app-based local discovery platform called Grabstr. His second venture was a healthy snacks retailing startup - The Superfood Co. After exiting the company in 2018, he decided to put his entrepreneurial experience and passion for investing to work at Lightbox.
Ankit’s responsibilities at Lightbox span the venture capital investment lifecycle. His mandate is to find unique areas of disruption, form investment theses based on in-depth research and business analysis, execute deals and drive returns for the fund through active portfolio management and strategy. He has a keen interest in consumer brands, consumer technology and fintech, and business models designed to reap the benefits of India’s demographic dividend. Startup businesses that address large untapped markets, leverage technology for operational efficiencies and are driven by committed and passionate entrepreneurs, he believes, make for the perfect investment bets.
Beyond work, Ankit loves to travel, preferring destinations that offer a degree of adventure in the form of trekking, snowboarding or scuba diving. He also swims, plays tennis and likes to take in a good stand-up comedy act.
“The past year has presented an opportunity to significantly alter the firm’s working dynamic with the portfolio and ramp up interactions. While building trust was key, what really worked was showing continued commitment to achieving our joint goals. I also led much of the negotiations for an investment round in one of our larger portfolio companies and ensured they were on a stronger footing despite ambiguity both internally and across the ecosystem. We helped stabilize their cash burn by addressing the needs of all stakeholders and in turn strengthened the company. Additionally, at a fund level, I’ve contributed to driving clarity on our liquidity plans and strategized exits. Building relationships across the ecosystem is a long-term project targeted at opening up new opportunities to help achieve this goal.”
“The past year has presented an opportunity to significantly alter the firm’s working dynamic with the portfolio and ramp up interactions. While building trust was key, what really worked was showing continued commitment to achieving our joint goals.
I also led much of the negotiations for an investment round in one of our larger portfolio companies and ensured they were on a stronger footing despite ambiguity both internally and across the ecosystem. We helped stabilize their cash burn by addressing the needs of all stakeholders and in turn strengthened the company.
Additionally, at a fund level, I’ve contributed to driving clarity on our liquidity plans and strategized exits. Building relationships across the ecosystem is a long-term project targeted at opening up new opportunities to help achieve this goal.”
All eyes are now on economic activity to recover and catch up to the markets in terms of earnings. But until that day comes, we can continue to expect the unexpected and hopefully see the companies in our venture ecosystem finally achieve their holy grail of being publicly traded.
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