SURAT: 21BY72 Season 5 | From Ashneer Grover and Pratik Gandhi to Parul Gulati, investors, founders and startup enablers, the two-day summit transformed Surat into a powerhouse of entrepreneurship, innovation and opportunity.
For two days, Surat wasn’t talking about “locho.”
It was talking about term sheets.
The city’s entrepreneurs, investors, operators, creators and dreamers converged under one roof as 21BY72 Season 5 transformed Avadh Utopia into a high-voltage marketplace of ideas, ambition and opportunity. Money was moving. Connections were forming. Founders were pitching. Investors were listening. And everywhere you looked, somebody was building something.
If startup ecosystems had a heartbeat, Surat’s was impossible to ignore on June 13 and 14.
21BY72 Season 5 arrived with a bold promise. One Event. Thousands of Connections.
By the time the final conversations wrapped up and the last business cards exchanged hands, that promise felt less like a slogan and more like an understatement.
The summit brought together founders, venture capitalists, angel investors, family offices, creators, business leaders, chartered accountants, legal advisors, policymakers and startup enablers from across India. Unlike conferences where attendees spend more time staring at presentation slides than speaking to each other, this one felt alive.
- Every corridor had a conversation.
- Every table had a meeting.
- Every coffee break felt suspiciously like a funding round.
- The opening ceremony set the tone.
Led by IVY Growth Associates, the inaugural session featured Mehul Shah, Prateek Tosniwal, Rachit Poddar and Sharad Todi, who welcomed attendees to what would become one of Surat’s most significant entrepreneurial gatherings to date.
Then came Ashneer Grover.
And the energy immediately shifted.
His fireside conversation became one of the early highlights of the summit, drawing founders, investors and startup enthusiasts eager to hear unfiltered perspectives from one of India’s most recognisable entrepreneurial voices.
It was the perfect opening act.
Because the rest of the agenda refused to slow down.
Old Money Was Hunting New Opportunities
One recurring theme dominated conversations throughout the summit.
Capital.
Not theoretical capital.
Actual capital.
The session Old Money, New Playbook explored how family offices are increasingly allocating resources towards the next generation of Indian startups. The discussion reflected a broader shift taking place across Bharat, where traditional wealth is beginning to see innovation as an asset class rather than an experiment.
The message was clear.
India’s startup ecosystem is no longer trying to earn legitimacy.
It already has it.
The discussion Show Me The Money continued that theme, bringing together voices from fintech, healthtech, consumer brands and emerging sectors to examine where investors are placing their bets.
You could feel the interest in the room.
Investors were not attending to be entertained.
They were attending to discover.
Marketing Finally Got Real
The startup world loves talking about products.
The market only rewards products people notice.
Marketing That Sticks tackled that reality head-on, examining how brands are cutting through digital noise in an increasingly crowded marketplace.
Meanwhile, The Algorithm Game focused on visibility, creator influence and the relentless battle for attention across Instagram, YouTube and emerging platforms.
It was one of the most relevant conversations of the weekend.
Because in today’s economy, obscurity is often a bigger threat than competition.
The Global Investor Lens panel pushed the conversation further, examining what startups need to do if they hope to attract international investors and scale beyond domestic boundaries.
Indian founders are no longer thinking city-first.
They’re thinking continent-first.
The conversations reflected that ambition.
Then Came the Pitches
Away from the spotlight of the main stage, another battle was unfolding.
Trailblazer’s Mine became the arena where founders stepped forward and made their case.
- Narola AI.
- Vold Energy.
- Stardour.
- artha.link.
- 3eco.
- Maiora Diamonds.
- Monkis.
- LYIK Technology.
- FixPoint.
- Arthik.AI.
- Nutrezy.
- Send 33.
- Kind Energy.
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One by one, founders stood before investors and stakeholders with a simple objective.
- Convince the room.
- Some sought capital.
- Others sought visibility.
- Most wanted both.
And while not every startup leaves with a cheque, every founder left with something arguably more valuable.
Access.
The Music of Money Was Everywhere
The easiest way to describe the atmosphere at 21BY72 Season 5 is this.
The music of money was playing.
Not loudly.
But constantly.
Investor conversations happened in networking lounges.
Funding discussions surfaced between sessions.
Introductions led to follow-up meetings.
And founders walked around with a level of optimism usually reserved for IPO day.
No one was recklessly throwing capital around.
This wasn’t fantasy.
It was better.
It was opportunity.
And opportunity was everywhere.
What Made the Networking Different
The real stories weren’t always happening on stage.
Some of the most valuable conversations happened around coffee counters, exhibition booths, hallway introductions and impromptu networking circles where entrepreneurs exchanged ideas without an audience.
Business cards moved quickly.
Among those actively contributing to the ecosystem conversations were Azeem Hussain of Flexype, Ishan Attra of Financys Consulting, CA Muskaan Jain of IKO Build, Shashi Singh of Stratefix, Arti Kothari from MUFG and entrepreneur Priyank Gurnani of Trueearth Jewels.
Different industries.
Different expertise.
Same objective.
Helping businesses grow.
This reflected one of the summit’s greatest strengths.
Founders weren’t merely meeting investors.
They were meeting the people who help businesses survive after the investment arrives.
The right accountant.
The right compliance expert.
The right strategist.
The right mentor.
The right introduction.
That’s where ecosystems are built.
Not on stage.
In conversations.
Where Business Met Bollywood
21BY72 Season 5 understood something many startup events miss.
People like business.
People also like stories.
The celebrity lineup delivered both.
Angad Bedi brought perspective beyond entrepreneurship.
Zaheer Iqbal connected with audiences through candid conversations.
Then came Pratik Gandhi.
21BY72 Season 5 – Pratik Gandhi – Scam 1992 – ironaadmi news
One of the most memorable sessions of the summit.
His conversation effortlessly moved between risk, conviction, ambition and the curious similarities between entrepreneurship, trading and matters of the heart.
The audience responded instantly.
Because every founder understands uncertainty.
Whether it’s investing.
Launching a startup.
Or falling in love.
The emotional mathematics aren’t all that different.
Parul Gulati arrived not as a celebrity.
But as a founder.
21BY72 Season 5 – Parul Gulati – ironaadmi news
And she pitched like one.
Her discussion around entrepreneurship, brand building and Malkin Hostels drew significant attention, demonstrating that she was thinking less like an actor and more like an operator.
Founders noticed.
Investors noticed.
Everyone noticed.
And that made the session one of the most talked-about moments of the event.
The People Building Startups Behind the Scenes
While founders occupied the spotlight, a different group quietly influenced many of the most valuable conversations taking place throughout the summit.
Chartered accountants.
Lawyers.
Fundraising advisors.
Compliance specialists.
Growth mentors.
The people founders often ignore until they desperately need them.
Sessions such as Get It Right, Get It Early broke down startup law and compliance into practical language. Discussions around fundraising readiness, governance and investor expectations provided founders with something increasingly rare in today’s startup ecosystem.
Useful advice.
Not motivation.
Not buzzwords.
Not recycled LinkedIn quotes.
Actual advice.
And judging by the packed sessions and post-event conversations, attendees appreciated it.
Arjun Vaidya Delivered Founder Perspective
One of the strongest keynote sessions came from Arjun Vaidya, Co-founder of V3 Ventures.
Unlike many keynote speakers who arrive armed with polished theories, Vaidya brought practical experience.
His conversation centred around entrepreneurship, growth, brand building and navigating the realities of scaling a business.
Founders listened carefully.
The difference between advice and experience is easy to spot.
This was experience.
The eChai-Led panel followed with an equally honest discussion on the unglamorous realities of building businesses.
No vanity metrics.
No startup mythology.
Just the messy reality of entrepreneurship.
The audience seemed to appreciate that honesty.
Day Two Shifted Into a Higher Gear
If Day One focused heavily on opportunity, Day Two focused on execution.
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