Rishabh Mariwala
Founding and Managing Partner
Rishabh, is a second-generation family business entrepreneur. He is a graduate from the Zarb School of Business, Hofstra University, New York, USA. His first brush with startups was being part of the core team who developed Kaya life. In 2010, he launched his mother's hobby 'Soap Opera' which started with a line of handmade soaps. While working here Rishabh founded Sharrp Ventures - the Mariwala Family Office and presently is the Managing Partner.
Chaitanya Deshpande
Partner
Chaitanya has been part of the Sharrp team since inception in 2014. After having focused on creating the portfolio of direct start-up and fund investments, he now oversees Sharrp’s investments in listed equities and structuring of the firm. Prior to Sharrp, Chaitanya had a 24-year stint at Marico where he headed mergers and acquisitions and investor relations and was part of the Group Executive Committee.
Anand Shankar
Vice President
Anand has been a part of the Sharrp team since 2019 and is is involved in deal origination, evaluation, investment execution, and in post investment monitoring of portfolio companies. Anand has previously been a PE/VC investor with Incofin Investment Management, GVFL, and at Axilor Ventures. Prior to entering the venture capital industry Anand has served as an Audit Associate at boutique accounting advisory firms.
Arzaan Patel
Vice President
Arzaan is involved in in deal origination, evaluation, investment execution, post investment monitoring and value add for portfolio companies. Prior to joining Sharrp Ventures, Arzaan gained corporate development and operational experience in a Singapore based startup which helped him understand the nuances of an early-stage venture. Arzaan was also part of the investment team at Fireside Ventures. Prior to Fireside, Arzaan gained valuation and deal advisory experience at Duff & Phelps (Kroll) and has audit and financial due diligence experience at KPMG. By education, Arzaan is a Chartered Accountant and holds a bachelor’s in commerce degree from University of Pune.
Ria Gupte
Investment Analyst
Ria has a Masters Degree in Economics and Finance from Boston University with over 7 years of academic research experience. After graduation, her experience involved M&A due diligence, private equity and venture capital valuations across a wide range of sectors like healthcare, consumer, consumer tech, logistics, enterprise Saas. She also worked on the acquisitions and integrations team at a thrasio-based startup that focused on consumer brands before joining the Sharrp Ventures team.
Shimoli Toshniwal
Investment Analyst
Shimoli is an IT & Management graduate from University College London and worked in Mergers & Acquisitions for Accord Healthcare in the UK before moving back to India. She founded her own cheesecake brand and has hands-on entrepreneurial experience, which serves her well in relating to consumer entrepreneurs. She has also worked at her family office and made investments in consumer brands, consumer tech and SaaS, before joining the Sharrp Ventures team.
Abishek Laxminarayan
Strategic Advisor
Abishek Laxminarayan, with degrees in Computer Science and Economics from Cornell University, started his career at Lehman Brothers in Mergers & Acquisitions. He founded Indavest, focusing on tech and healthcare, before becoming Chief Investment Officer at Catamaran, managing over USD 1Bn. At Catamaran, he expanded U.S. operations, investing in ventures like Paperboat and Acko, and forming joint ventures with Amazon and Aon. Currently, he advises firms like Sharrp Ventures and Nexplay, and is a founding trustee of GoSports Foundation. Abishek, a squash player and wildlife enthusiast, lives in Bangalore with his family.