A quiet but significant shift is underway in India’s late-stage startup ecosystem.

Founders, once content to let venture investors bankroll their growth, are now writing personal cheques to their own companies - sometimes worth tens or even hundreds of crores.

Over the past few months, founders at firms like Lenskart, OYO, Zetwerk, Yubi, Shadowfax, Amagi, InMobi, and CRED, among others, have all invested personal capital into their ventures - in some cases through holding entities, and in others directly ahead of planned IPOs. While each transaction varies in structure, together they point to a defining shift: India’s startup founders are starting to look, act, and invest like promoters again.

“If I’m in the driver’s seat and I believe in my company, I’d rather deploy capital here than

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