was formed in 2019 with the vision of creating a community of “startup developers” to help young entrepreneurs with the right mix of capital, know-how, and networks to build enduring businesses.
And as of today, MCats have got a well-seasoned and highly competent team in turn having a full-fledged 100 co-founders club from major cities like Surat, Ahmedabad, Nasik, Jaipur, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Ranchi, Indore and Mangalore.
“Winning teams have players who make things happen” the quote advocates the scenario perfectly because every unicorn startup’s success starts with unicorn founders & co-founders. It is the team leadership that makes it happen.
The journey of each startup with unicorn status today at some time was at the idea stage. Every entrepreneur at the front of the line of life started at the back of the line. But with the right team, it’s these set of co-founders that make the magic happen.
One such team that is built to last is that of Marwari Catalysts, India’s fastest growing accelerator. Marwari Catalysts (MCats) was formed in 2019 with the vision of creating a community of “startup developers” to help young entrepreneurs with the right mix of capital, know-how, and networks to build enduring businesses. And as of today, MCats have got a well-seasoned and highly competent team in turn having a full-fledged 100 co-founders club from major cities like Surat, Ahmedabad, Nasik, Jaipur, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Ranchi, Indore & Mangalore.
The co-founders are the powerful source of energy and can be considered as a team of ‘Ace Players’, or anyone who fits perfectly with the main protagonist to complete the required skill set and fulfil the vision of a proposed company.
Being a family of 40+ startups with 100 co-founders as of today’s date, by January, MCats is confident that it will be standing proudly with a family of 50+ startups and 120+ co-founders.
Focused on strengthening the start-up ecosystem in the smaller Indian towns, “Choose co-founders the way you would choose a spouse”, advises Sushil Sharma, Founder & CEO, Marwari Catalysts.
“The reality is that you will, at least in the early days, spend far more time with your co-founders than your partner.”
The co-founder relationship is perhaps the most personal of all business relationships. Some of the world’s most successful co-founders have had drastically different outlooks and skill sets, but it was often those differences that made the relationships work.
Marwari Catalysts has played a pivotal role in building the startup ecosystem in the country, enabling startups across geographies and industries to realise their vision in a seamless manner. It is acting as a bridge between startups and investors, effectively building a unique startup dedicated framework that has helped many entrepreneurs acquire funding and bagging successful multimillion exits.
Speaking on the importance of Co-founders, Sushil Sharma further says, “MCats as a platform has been receiving a great response from investors, ecosystem partners and can thereby bring a revolution in India. This would not have been possible without an active network of co-founders who are one of the most integral parts of MCats.
It’s because of our 100 co-founders club that as of today we have successfully travelled the journey from $1 million to $10 million valuation with mainly startups from EdTech, FinTech, D2C, Social impact, Healthcare, etc.
Our set of 100 visionary co-founders are passionate individuals who are driven by a common goal of ‘giving it back’ to the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the best way possible and because of them, we are optimistic that we will be able to strengthen and broaden our Indian startup ecosystem.”
Further commenting, Devesh Rakhecha, Founder & Director, Marwari Catalysts says, “One of the biggest strengths of Marwari Catalysts is that each and every startup under our portfolio is complementary to each other. The way the superheroes of Avengers or Justice League win bigger battles and bigger wars together, similarly our startups are helping MCats to create a founder and investor friendly ecosystem. As of today it becomes so unique to have 100 co-founders from different backgrounds helping their startups grow as well as our fellow startups in achieving a bigger impact.”
Not only this, Marwari Catalysts realises that there is a very thriving women entrepreneur network and so expands itself to become an ecosystem for nurturing women entrepreneurship and is able to identify some solid women entrepreneurs, build great, fundable businesses and provide them the support pivotal in taking their business to the next level.
Results being, as of today’s date, approx 40% of our portfolio startups today, are led by women co-founders and they are rocking the scenario. This turns out to be a huge success and a great motivation for MCats to keep continuing this.
With a passion towards professional community building, Richa Sharma, a woman entrepreneur and Co-founder at Marwari Catalysts, says, “Marwari Catalysts has always focused on having a dedicated platform to empower women who are trying to break the glass ceiling by being a part of this startup ecosystem. And we won’t stop here. We’ll constantly work towards creating a world that works for women’s businesses, generating a ripple effect of positive change for everyone and more women founders/co-founders joining hands with us.”
CA Anish Mehta, UAE, Shareholder at Marwari Catalysts; Chairman ICAI, Dubai says, “No business has ever succeeded merely based on an idea or product. The IP or product needs to be converted into the real business, for which an entrepreneur needs a strong team of like-minded co-founders with comprehensive vision, who have an attitude of getting things done and the ability to build teams. MCats is a platform for the founders, by the founders. They are mission driven with a goal to change things for good and I am super confident about it.”
Chintan Seth, USA, Shareholder at Marwari Catalysts, CFO Navika Group, Ex-Morgan Stanley, supporting Anish’s statement says, “MCats is a one-of-its-kind platform that fills a long felt need gap of bridging investors from all over the world to local and international markets. I am pleased that I placed my confidence in MCats’ efficient team and will support MCats to further build their product and team for rapid expansion across multiple markets.”
Nitin Sethi, Shareholder at Marwari Catalysts, Chief Digital Officer at Adani Group, Ex- VP- Indigo, Quikr, Yatra, Naukri, says, “In the last few years, the Indian startup ecosystem has finally realised that it’s the team work that makes the startup stand out. As we already know Talent can win games but it’s the teamwork that wins the championships. Looking forward to more of these impactful stories from MCats.”
Thus, unlocking entrepreneurship amongst Tier II & Tier III cities in India is a complex effort, but MCats is working constantly with our set of founders/co-founders to provide an unprecedented opportunity to change the economic and social trajectory of India and it’s youth for generations to come. Because as we know, a team is always stronger than an individual-be it a tug of war match or a relay run.
