As the Founder of Valence Growth Partners, Kartik’s vision is to enable businesses to unlock growth by creating long-lasting bonds.


Before this, Kartik was part of the global investing team at Omidyar Network, where he sourced, evaluated and invested in ventures across FinTech, SaaS, Blockchain and Digital Infrastructure. He also helped drive Omidyar’s efforts towards fostering innovation by creating a platform in partnership with CIIE.CO (a start-up incubator established by IIM Ahmedabad) to incubate and accelerate entrepreneurship in India.


During his time at The London School of Economics, Kartik led their in-house consulting arm to help start-ups chart their zero-to-one journeys – from assessing product-market-fit to developing a go-to-market strategy. Among them was Circuit Mind, an AI-enabled circuit board design company, which was recognised and funded by Google for Start-ups as the most impactful companies in Europe led by black founders.


The entrepreneurial bug bit well before any of this, when Kartik was part of building India’s first D2C artisanal ice-cream brand. Several roadblocks, pivots, and iterations later – he learnt why ideas are a dime a dozen and it’s the execution that counts. His core values remain agility, grit and humility.

After clearing the CFA Level III exam, most people assume his job is just crunching numbers and building models. While that does happen, a lot of the real work is far more relationship-driven. At Valence, Manav works with founders, funds and family offices across fundraising, strategy and capital allocation respectively, often helping connect the right people and ideas to get deals over the line.

A graduate of the University of Illinois, he brings an unusual mix of psychology, philosophy and data science to the table. While that combination sounds academic on paper, in practice it shows up as a balance of analytical thinking, structured problem-solving and a strong read on people.



He started investing early in his career, finding his footing in venture capital through stints at Merak Ventures and Rukam Capital, where he built a unique outlook on both investing and operating. At Valence, Trishaant works across mandates with founders, funders and families, combining data, logic and instinct to support execution while building long-term, trusted relationships.

Ateesh’s work today sits at the intersection of technology and capital, where he advises companies on transactions that are as much about timing and positioning as they are about numbers. As Managing Director at Ciesco, he leads corporate finance advisory for the technology sector, working closely with businesses navigating M&A and capital raises across global markets.He began his career at Morgan Stanley in London, advising public and private technology clients, before moving on to roles at DC Advisory and Arma Partners. Over time, he has developed a deep focus on software and the broader technology ecosystem, combining transaction experience with a nuanced understanding of how tech businesses scale and evolve.

Dr. Niranjan Rajadhyaksha has spent over three decades observing and interpreting the Indian economy, not just through data, but through the lens of policy, institutions and long-term structural shifts. As CEO and Senior Fellow at Artha India Research Advisors, his work spans research, advisory and public discourse, often shaping how complex economic ideas are understood more widely.

His career has moved fluidly across journalism, research and policy, with leadership roles at Business World, Mint and IDFC Institute. Alongside this, he continues to engage with academia and public policy through board roles at institutions such as Meghnad Desai Academy of Economics, Indian School of Public Policy and Center for Civil Society, bringing together ideas from across disciplines into a more cohesive view of India’s economic trajectory.