Welcome to our ‘Fund in Focus’ series where we profile our member VC funds, underscore their investment philosophy, and highlight some of their interesting work. In this exclusive chat with Pratekk Agarwaal, Founder & General Partner of GrowthCap Ventures, he shares his two decades of operating and investing experience in building an operator-led, high-conviction venture model. Focused on fintech, SaaS, and deeptech, GrowthCap backs founders early, combining capital with hands-on support—from enterprise partnerships to regulatory navigation. Guided by the philosophy of “Profits with Purpose,” the firm delivers both strong returns and social impact through the GrowthCap Foundation. With Fund II on the horizon, GrowthCap aims to double down on its differentiated, founder-first approach.
Fund In Focus: Building Beyond Capital – How GrowthCap Ventures Partners with Founders to Scale
Pratekk Agarwaal, Founder & General Partner, GrowthCap Ventures
Spokesperson: Pratekk Agarwaal, Founder & General Partner, GrowthCap Ventures
1. What inspired you to build GrowthCap Ventures, and how does that founding vision guide you today?
GrowthCap Ventures was born from lived experience—20 years of building and scaling businesses in India’s financial services and fintech space. I’ve been on both sides of the table—as an operator scaling institutions like Bajaj Finserv and BharatPe, and as an early-stage investor backing over 30 startups. What I consistently saw missing was operator empathy in capital—early investors who understand GTM challenges, regulatory headwinds, and product-market cycles.
GrowthCap was launched to fill that gap—with an operator-led, return-focused fund built to support founders from day one with capital, conviction, capability, and network. That same vision shapes how we show up as a fund today: we understand the business, and we are involved and proactive partners to founders in fintech, SaaS, and deeptech.
2. What does “capital with conviction” mean at GrowthCap?
To us, conviction is not just about writing the first cheque—it’s about standing by the founder before the world notices. It’s about pattern recognition rooted in lived experience. We don’t chase FOMO; we back clarity, hustle, and founder-market fit. Our conviction shows in how early we commit, how deep we engage post-investment, and the operating leverage we bring through our network. If we are convinced, we don’t mind leading the round or co-investing with like-minded funds. We go with our conviction to support the founder. Most times, other funds have realised the potential much later in the journey which we have identified much earlier.
3. Why Fintech, SaaS, and Deeptech? How do you see them evolving in India?
These sectors reflect India’s biggest transformation levers:
Fintech continues to be a foundational pillar for inclusion and access. Credit, payments, and infra are still underpenetrated. If one can identify trends early on, and if we build companies that also understand the regulatory mindset, they are bound to scale sustainably in India—especially with the infusion of tech and AI in financial services.
SaaS is India’s fastest-growing export engine—especially vertical and AI-native SaaS tailored to global SMBs. We back great tech-first companies that may not fall within the traditional fintech space but are built around IP and tech-driven scale.
Deeptech for us, is defined by IP-led innovation— not wrappers or assembly-line imports. Manufacturing and financial infra are key areas of interest.
4. What does “value beyond capital” look like at GrowthCap?
Our differentiation lies in our operator DNA. We go beyond boardroom advice—we help close enterprise contracts, structure credit lines, build GTM strategies, and connect with regulators and partners. We have primarily raised capital from founders and UHNIs who have built large businesses—many from regulatory , financial services and tech. Our professional LPs help us evaluate deals, connect to enterprises and banks, and actively mentor our startup founders. We have passed many deals where the founders only needed money—we seek those who value partnership.
For example, in one of our portfolio companies, we not only led the round but also facilitated strategic partnerships, plugged them into our LP network, and assisted in hiring key leadership. This is value that goes beyond the cheque—and drives outcomes.
5. Which portfolio companies best reflect your thesis?
Advance Mobility – A great example of founder capability and skin in the game. The founder brings relevant operating experience in managing an ops-heavy, capital-intensive business and has shown strong ability to manage margins and structured debt. The company has achieved product-market fit and is scaling profitably—it is already PBT positive with a clear path toward long-term growth and a potential IPO in the future. We are helping them grow organically and inorganically, and leverage our network.
RePut.ai – The founding team has strong domain expertise and industry relationships, with a 2X founder who previously exited successfully. Their new venture is poised to be a category creator in supply chain traceability and circularity solutions for global enterprises—a timely theme in global compliance and ESG. Their product reflects defensibility, regulation-aligned use cases, and India-first innovation with global applicability.
Spense – A standout example of our early-entry conviction. We partnered with the founders at a very early stage, recognizing their exceptional agility and deep domain expertise. The team demonstrated strong tech and product capabilities and went on to close four BFSI clients within ~2.5 years—an impressive feat that validated both the market opportunity and their execution ability. Spense's ability to crack BFSI contracts swiftly underscores our operator thesis in action, where we added value through strategic guidance and network access, amplifying their growth trajectory.
6. How do you balance returns with impact?
We believe they’re not mutually exclusive. Our thesis—“Profits with Purpose”—was coined by one of our LPs, and we take it seriously. We back companies solving real challenges—credit access, productivity gaps, infra deficits—while giving back to the ecosystem for mutual growth through employment, inclusion, and high returns to our investors.
We have institutionalized our social impact efforts through the GrowthCap Foundation, focused on nutrition, education, and healthcare— with purely my personal commitment to the foundation . Every success in the fund helps expand the Foundation’s footprint. It's a flywheel of commercial success enabling grassroots change.
7. What’s next for GrowthCap Ventures?
From Fund I, we have invested in 3 startups with a few more deals in final stages. We aim to build a portfolio of 15–18 high-growth, high-conviction startup founders. Due to early markups and performance, we may expand the fund size. We’re also building a senior management team to shape our next fund and thesis—demonstrating deep alignment with our vision of building a homegrown operator VC firm in India.
Fund II will double down on our operator-first model, with larger cheques and deeper involvement. Themes we’re exploring: embedded finance, AI-first SaaS, climate-fintech, and infra plays. We’re also engaging with global LPs and institutions aligned with our differentiated and proven operator VC model.
8. What’s your one piece of advice to founders in today’s market?
In today’s market, raise from those who understand you, your business, and will stay when it’s hard—not just when it’s hot. Especially in fintech and SaaS, you need partners who understand regulatory cycles, infra gaps, and enterprise GTM complexities. Choose your cap table like you choose your co-founder—with alignment, not just capital.