Nikhil Kamath and Kishore Biyani launch The Foundery to back early-stage entrepreneurs

New Delhi: Nikhil Kamath and Kishore Biyani have announced the launch of The Foundery, a residential business launchpad positioned as a new platform within India’s startup ecosystem to support early-stage entrepreneurs through an immersive, cohort-based model.

Described as a hybrid of a school, accelerator and venture studio, The Foundery operates as a 90-day residential programme that brings together aspiring founders, mid-career professionals and early-stage entrepreneurs. The structure is designed to take participants from initial ideas to investible businesses, with guidance from mentors, investors and experienced operators.

According to the founders, the initiative has been conceived as a “co-founder factory,” where participants work alongside the Foundery team to develop ventures in real time.

Speaking about the thinking behind the platform, Nikhil Kamath said, “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.”

Kishore Biyani described the model as distinct from conventional incubators. “This isn’t a classroom or an incubator,” he said. “It’s a live business-building environment where entrepreneurs learn by creating, testing, failing, and evolving. We’re forging founders through experience, not theory.”

Participants in the programme are expected to work closely with mentors to convert ideas into ventures ready for investment. Those selected may retain up to 25% equity in the businesses they help build. Successful ventures emerging from the programme may receive seed funding of up to Rs 4 crore, along with continued strategic support after completion of the cohort.

The selection process focuses on identifying potential rather than polished pitches. Applicants go through multiple stages, including idea articulation, problem-solving challenges and interviews intended to assess creativity, resilience and founder mindset.

Santosh Desai, who was involved in conceptualising The Foundery, said, “We’re looking for people who combine imagination with intent, those who can think differently and act decisively.”

The initiative brings together a mentor group drawn from across technology, finance, consumer businesses, education and media. The list includes Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Kunal Bahl, Aakash Chaudhry, Mithun Sacheti, Varun Berry, Haresh Chawla, Aditya Sehgal, Garima Deveshwar Bahl, Jacob Mathew, Ireena Vittal, Rama Bijapurkar and Aakrit Vaish, among others. Mentors are expected to support founders across opportunity identification, validation, execution and scaling.

Each cohort concludes with a Demo Day, where participants present their ventures to a curated investor network. Selected businesses may receive seed investment and access to The Foundery’s wider ecosystem.

Alongside the business-building component, the programme also includes a parallel stream titled The School of Life, which focuses on the emotional and human dimensions of entrepreneurship, including resilience, curiosity and purpose.