New Delhi – SwiftSeed Ventures successfully hosted the second edition of Build & Beyond on 28 February 2026 at the Taj Mansingh (Taj Mahal), New Delhi – an invite-only, closed-door gathering created for candid, high-signal discussions among growth-stage founders and select investors.
The event was opened by Prof. (Dr.) Tejpavan Gandhok, Director of IDEATE Lab. Prof. Gandhok set the tone for the day by emphasising the importance of fostering innovation, entrepreneurial mindset, and strategic experimentation in India’s evolving startup landscape.
Approximately 30 carefully curated growth-stage founders participated, representing startups such as Grest, Barosi, Prowrrap, Xley AI, Boingg, Duds, Sychedelic, and others. Investors in attendance included representatives from InfoEdge Ventures, M Venture Partners (MVP), Brand Capital, MeritX Ventures, MountTech Growth Fund, Womennovator, RK Global, and more.
The initiative was organized in collaboration with IDEATE Lab (O.P. Jindal Global University) and supported by Legacy Growth Partners, YI Gurugram, CII, and Recklabs (as AI Acceleration Partner). This edition was built on the success of Edition I (featuring Nitin Jain of OfBusiness, Tej Kapoor of ICICI Ventures, and others) by delivering raw, actionable conversations on post-Series A realities.
Build & Beyond Edition II included three focused sessions:
- Capital Efficiency in Growth-Stage Startups – An unfiltered dialogue with Ankit Agarwal, Co-Founder & CEO, InsuranceDekho. Agarwal stressed long-term ambition: “There is no luxury of work-life balance – founders are focused on doing in 10 years what others did in 100.” He advocated for aligned incentives: “Reward your employees with stock options so that when you grow rich, they grow too.” On personal discipline, he noted, “All business leaders have good fitness. So focus on health first!”
Session was moderated in part by Ishkaran Chhabra, Founding Partner & Chief Investment Counsellor at Centricity WealthTech and Co-Chair, Innovation, YI Member Gurgaon.
- Is There Really a Moat in India? – A deep conversation with Shashank Kumar, Co-Founder & CEO, DeHaat, hosted by Sidharth Bansal (Co-Founder, Magicrete). Kumar recounted DeHaat’s disciplined path: bootstrapped until 2019 with revenue around ₹45 crore, the team first built strong operational fundamentals before pursuing significant capital. This approach has propelled DeHaat to a topline exceeding ₹3,000 crore in FY25 (with an annualised run rate nearing ₹4,000 crore), proving that true moats in price-sensitive markets stem from execution and farmer-first fundamentals.
- Who Actually Controls the Company? – A thoughtful exploration with Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Founder, Info Edge (NAUKRI.com). Bikhchandani highlighted founder priorities: “Founders get to eat most. But they will get to eat last!” – underscoring the personal sacrifice and delayed rewards inherent in building lasting enterprises.
Amar Dixit and Suraj Malik, Founding Partners at SwiftSeed Ventures and Legacy Growth Partners, respectively, spearheaded the event. “Build & Beyond creates spaces for genuine compounding through honest dialogue – away from the spotlight,” Dixit said. Malik added, “The insights shared reinforce that enduring growth in India requires health focus, team alignment, fundamentals-first building, and founder resilience.”
Build & Beyond gathering highlighted recurring themes for India’s scaling ecosystem: prioritising founder and team health, equitable wealth creation, operational moats in competitive markets, and clarity on control amid growth pressures.
SwiftSeed Ventures intends to continue the Build & Beyond series, with plans for Edition III underway.
