Pratik Poddar

Pratik Poddar is a seasoned venture capitalist and a Partner at Nexus Venture Partners, where he focuses on identifying and investing in disruptive technology startups across various sectors including consumer, web3, education, and financial services in India. His investment philosophy is heavily influenced by his entrepreneurial background and a product-first approach, seeking founders with deep problem-solving skills and a focus on high-quality customer experiences. nexusvp+2

Prior to his career in venture capital, Pratik was a serial entrepreneur, co-founding startups like Clipr (social e-commerce) and Scatter (content marketing platform/Spiral Content Solutions), and founding Content R Square (which included a news summarization engine like ZippedNews). This hands-on experience has provided him with firsthand understanding of the challenges and opportunities in building a company. wordpress+2

With a strong foundation in quantitative analysis and computer science, Pratik brings a unique analytical perspective to his investment roles. He previously worked as a quantitative analyst and algorithmic trader at Morgan Stanley and an investment analyst at The Blackstone Group, following his B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering from IIT Bombay, where he also pursued research in computational geometry and algorithms. nexusvp+2

Beyond his professional endeavors, Pratik maintains a public presence through his personal blog and a dedicated CSE blog where he shares his insights on quantitative finance, mathematics, and computer science puzzles. This demonstrates his ongoing engagement with technical and intellectual challenges, reflecting a lifelong passion for problem-solving. wordpress+2

He is an active investor and board member in numerous startups, showcasing his commitment to nurturing the Indian startup ecosystem. Notable investments span diverse sectors including fintech (Mudrex, ZET), edtech (Newton School, Quizizz, WhiteHat Jr), mobility (Rapido), health (Allo Health, myUpchar.com, The Medical Travel Company), gaming (Kratos Gaming Network, Liquidnitro Games), and content/e-commerce (Pratilipi, Urbanic, Slikk). asugsvsummit+3