Entrepreneurs Nikhil Kamath and Kishore Biyani have introduced The Foundery, a residential business launchpad designed to support early-stage startups in India. The program combines elements of a school, accelerator, and venture studio, offering participants a 90-day immersive experience from concept development to investment readiness.
The Foundery aims to guide participants through idea validation, business execution, and scaling, with mentorship from industry professionals including Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Kunal Bahl, and Rama Bijapurkar, among others. Kishore Biyani said, “It is a live business-building environment where entrepreneurs learn by creating, testing, failing, and evolving.”
Selected participants can retain up to 25% equity in ventures they help create, and successful startups may receive seed funding of up to ₹4 crore.
The Foundery is open to aspiring entrepreneurs, mid-career professionals, and early-stage founders. Selection emphasizes creativity, problem-solving, and founder potential rather than formal qualifications or presentation polish.
“Most of what we call education was built for a world that doesn’t exist anymore. It teaches people to fit in when progress comes from those who don’t. MBAs create managers. We need people who can build, break, fail and rebuild. The Foundery is for them – the ones who’d rather make their own path than follow someone else’s”, said Nikhil Kamath.
Each cohort will conclude with a Demo Day, where ventures are pitched to a curated network of investors. The program also includes a reflective “School of Life” component, covering personal resilience and leadership skills.
