National Startup Day 2026: Startups and Founders Building India’s Growth Story

National Satrtup Day 2026

New Delhi [India], January 15: As India celebrates National Startup Day 2026, the spotlight turns to the founders shaping the country’s startup-led growth story. Across sectors, these entrepreneurs are translating insight into execution—building companies that solve real problems, scale responsibly, and create lasting economic value. Guided by purpose, resilience, and long-term vision, India’s founders are strengthening industries, generating employment, and positioning the country as a global hub for innovation, leadership, and sustainable growth.

1. Shipra Dawar: Founder of iWill

Shipra Dawar is the Founder of iWill, a pioneering platform focused on empowering women entrepreneurs and professionals across India with financial independence, career growth, and entrepreneurial guidance. With a vision to bridge the gender gap in business and leadership, Shipra has built iWill as a comprehensive ecosystem that combines mentorship, skill development, and access to capital for women-led ventures.

Under her leadership, iWill offers structured programs for business ideation, scaling operations, financial literacy, and market access, enabling women to turn ideas into viable enterprises. The platform emphasizes practical support, community-driven learning, and outcome-oriented initiatives, ensuring participants gain both confidence and competence to thrive in competitive industries.

Shipra’s journey reflects a commitment to social impact, inclusion, and empowerment. Beyond business, she actively engages with policy makers, corporates, and academic institutions to foster systemic change, ensuring women entrepreneurs not only succeed individually but also contribute to India’s broader economic growth. Through iWill, Shipra Dawar is shaping a future where opportunity, mentorship, and resources are accessible to all women, redefining entrepreneurship in India.

2. Vikram Singh Parmar & Alok Gupta: Co-founders of Sushain

Sushain Wellness and Wholeness, founded by Vikram Singh Parmar & Alok Gupta are building one of India’s most integrated digital-first Ayurveda platforms, reimagining traditional healthcare for modern needs. Under Parmar’s leadership, the startup is redefining Ayurvedic treatment through structured reversal programs for chronic conditions such as Hepatitis B, thyroid imbalance, IBS, infertility, diabetes, PCOD, and other lifestyle-related disorders. These programs are designed and led by highly qualified Ayurvedic doctors and follow a holistic, outcome-driven approach focused on long-term healing rather than symptom management.

A key differentiator of Sushain is its integrated care model, which combines personalized Ayurvedic medication with guided nutrition, lifestyle correction, and yoga therapy to ensure treatment completeness and improved outcomes. Leveraging a robust digital platform, the company enables seamless doctor consultations, continuous care monitoring, and access to over 25,000 authentic Ayurvedic products from trusted manufacturers. The duo are blending classical Ayurvedic wisdom with modern technology to make credible, personalized Ayurveda accessible at scale in India and international markets.

3. Priyatham Kumar: Founder of VSNAP Technology Solutions & SITE CRM

Priyatham Kumar is the Founder of VSNAP Technology Solutions and SITE CRM, a well-known figure in AI-first thought leadership and realty tech circles of Bangalore.

A veteran entrepreneur with over two decades of cross-industry leadership across banking, tech, insurance, real estate, and enterprise sales, Priyatham brings rare depth in understanding how high-value transactions are influenced by data, tech systems, and trust. After building Homes247 into one of India’s most recognizable real estate portals and integrating proptech into an industry still in its early stages, he has now pivoted fully into building scalable technology products that solve real operational problems faced by growing businesses.

Through VSNAP Technology Solutions and its flagship product SITE CRM, he is focused on building intelligent growth infrastructure for real estate developers, hospitals, educational institutions, and service-driven enterprises. His platforms integrate CRM, AI automation, lead intelligence, workflow optimization, branding, Web 3.0 solutions, and performance analytics into a single ecosystem that enables businesses to move from manual operations to predictive, data-led decision-making.

4. Ayush Dewan Khurana: Founder of Modello Domani

Ayush Dewan Khurana is an Indian entrepreneur and creative thinker best known as the founder of Modello Domani, a premium men’s footwear brand established in 2015. The venture emerged from his sharp observation of global brands manufacturing in India, inspiring him to build a homegrown label that blends traditional craftsmanship with modern design sensibilities.

Under Ayush’s leadership, Modello Domani has evolved into a one-stop destination for handmade men’s footwear, offering collections across wedding, ethnic, formal, and contemporary styles. The brand has built a strong reputation for quality, comfort, and accessibility while maintaining a distinctly premium positioning. Its growth and design-led approach have earned features in leading publications such as Forbes, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and the Times Group.

Beyond entrepreneurship, Ayush is also the author of The Reality Check, a book noted for its observations on modern life, identity, and ambition. His journey reflects a balanced approach to creativity, entrepreneurship, and purpose-driven brand building, aligning with India’s evolving startup landscape.

5. Aditya Aggarwal: Founder & CEO, Spaceman Spirits Lab Pvt. Ltd.

Aditya Aggarwal is reimagining India’s craft spirits landscape with global ambition and a strong cultural lens. As Founder and CEO of Spaceman Spirits Lab (SSL), he has built one of India’s fastest-growing independent alcobev houses, home to award-winning premium brands including SAṂSĀRA Gin, SĪTÄRĀ Rum, and ÄMĀRĀ Vodka.

A graduate of UCLA in Business Economics and Entrepreneurship, Aditya began his career at PwC Los Angeles, advising global entertainment and technology clients such as Sony Pictures, Warner Bros., and Snapchat. In 2020, he returned to India to pursue entrepreneurship, blending Indian craftsmanship with global luxury standards.

Under his leadership, SSL has expanded across 12 Indian states and into international markets including the UAE, Canada, the UK, Germany, and Poland, with listings in retailers like Waitrose. Today, the company operates at ₹65 crore GMV, selling over 360,000 bottles annually, backed by Tilaknagar Industries Ltd. Beyond products, Aditya positions spirits as cultural storytelling vehicles, while actively engaging young founders through authentic, narrative-led thought leadership—reflecting a new generation of globally rooted Indian entrepreneurs.

6. Rishab Ilwadi: Entrepreneur and CEO of Where U Elevate

Rishab Ilwadi is a forward-thinking entrepreneur reshaping India’s talent ecosystem as the CEO of Where U Elevate, a platform redefining collaboration between talent, academia, and industry. Guided by innovation-led execution, Rishab has built frameworks that move beyond conventional hiring and learning models, focusing on real-world readiness rather than credentials alone.

Under his leadership, Where U Elevate has emerged as a catalyst for change, connecting classrooms with industry through hackathons, live case studies, hiring challenges, and skill-validation programs. This approach enables startups and enterprises to access execution-ready talent, while empowering academic institutions to align education with evolving industry needs.

What distinguishes Rishab’s vision is its dual impact—creating value for employers while transforming how students learn and prepare for careers. By integrating capability-based assessment with collaborative problem-solving, the platform is quietly reshaping hiring, learning, and innovation at scale. Beyond business outcomes, Rishab remains committed to building a merit-driven, inclusive ecosystem where opportunity is earned through skill, collaboration, and continuous learning, setting a new benchmark for India’s future-ready workforce.

7. Mahi Mohan: Founder of Sawsee Athleisure

Mahi Mohan, entrepreneur and wellness professional, is the founder of Sawsee Athleisure, a digital-first, premium women’s athleisure startup built around a strong fabric-first philosophy. After more than eighteen months of research, fabric development, and ethical manufacturing setup, Mahi launched Sawsee to address a clear gap in everyday clothing for Indian women balancing fitness, work, travel, and home.

Under her leadership, Sawsee has introduced a versatile range of activewear, yogawear made from sustainable bamboo fabrics, travel wear, and all-day essentials, positioned between ₹1,000 and ₹3,000. The brand defines its category as “playwear,” reflecting Mahi’s belief that comfort enables freedom, and freedom inspires movement and joy.

What differentiates Sawsee is its proprietary fabric innovation, including FABUL™, PLAYE™, EARTHKIN™, and SERENE™, tested for Indian climates and lifestyles. With over 60% production in Tiruppur, sustainable packaging, and a growing community-led Sawsee Sisterhood, Mahi is building Sawsee as a purpose-driven brand with a revenue target of ₹10 crore by 2026.

8. Himanshu Rustagi: Founder & Managing Director of Pash Investment Solution

Himanshu Rustagi is the Founder & Managing Director of Pash Investment Solution, a premier real estate wealth management and investment advisory firm. With over a decade of experience across Gurgaon and Dubai, Himanshu has guided high-net-worth individuals, investors, and businesses in making strategic real estate decisions that maximize long-term value.

Known for his client-first philosophy, Himanshu emphasizes transparency, deep market intelligence, and result-driven strategies across luxury residential, commercial, and emerging real estate segments. His approach goes beyond transactions, focusing on long-term relationships and customized solutions tailored to each client’s financial objectives.

Expanding his vision, Himanshu founded LeaseLoop Services Pvt. Ltd., a professional leasing platform offering end-to-end, stress-free solutions for asset monetization across India, leveraging his Dubai market expertise. Driven by innovation, integrity, and a commitment to sustainable growth, Himanshu is shaping India’s real estate investment landscape, ensuring clients don’t just invest—they grow intelligently and strategically, setting a benchmark for advisory excellence in the startup ecosystem.

9. Jayant Mallick: Founder & CEO, Sambhav Pay

Jayant Mallick, a first-generation entrepreneur from a small village in Odisha, is the Founder & CEO of Sambhav P ay, a bootstrapped digital payments company incorporated in 2021 in Gurugram. Inspired by the Digital India mission and guided by the spiritual strength of Lord Jagannath of Puri, Jayant’s vision is to bring secure, accessible digital payments to rural and underserved communities across India.

Under his leadership, Sambhav Pay has built a Made-in-India, API-first fintech platform offering high-success payment gateways, automated vendor payouts, and a financial inclusion stack for merchants, vendors, and cooperatives. The company’s focus on rural digitization and last-mile financial empowerment reflects Jayant’s belief that technology must reach every corner of Bharat.

Jayant’s journey from a small village to leading a pioneering fintech venture exemplifies vision, resilience, and purpose-driven entrepreneurship. Through Sambhav Pay, he continues to empower micro-businesses and rural merchants, enabling them to embrace cashless transactions, streamline payments, and participate in India’s digital economy, all while remaining 100% bootstrapped and founder-led.

10. Sangeeta Mohapatra & Sarit Prajna Sahu: Founders of doodledry

Sangeeta Mohapatra and Sarit Prajna Sahu are the co-founders of doodledry, a preventive healthcare platform redefining baby and child care through technology-driven solutions. With a mission to make modern parenting easier and safer, they focus on preventive approaches over reactive measures, developing smart wear and wearable products that ensure comfort, hygiene, and skin safety for infants and children.

An alumna of NIT Rourkela, Sangeeta combines deep technical expertise in textiles and sensors to design high-performance, baby-safe products, while Sarit, with an MBA from Warwick Business School and executive training from IIM Lucknow, drives marketing, positioning, and D2C growth strategies.

Their complementary expertise has earned Sangeeta recognition among India’s Emerging Brands, Top 100 Brands, and Women Achievers, while Sarit has showcased innovations on Shark Tank India and contributed to Amazon Sambhav’s Best Global Small Business Award. Together, they are building doodledry into a technology-first platform that empowers parents, enhances child health, and reimagines everyday baby care for modern families.

Disclaimer: This listicle has been provided by Nandish Communication.