Abhishek Sethi and Prateek Behera, both IIM-A and BITS Pilani graduates, have launched a USD one million fund to support and invest in college student-founded startups.

Their venture, gradCapital, based in the city, announced on Wednesday that it would invest USD 25,000 in each of the 20 start-ups it chooses over the next year.

gradCapital is a pan-India student-driven institution that supports daring student entrepreneurs. Their mission is to invest in such crazy folks through capital and advisory support.

GradCapital, based at IIM Ahmedabad and supported by 'CIIE.CO - The Innovation Continuum,' would host an eight-week intensive programme for companies founded and run by college students, according to a statement.

"Apart from building a strong and sustainable structure for their company, these young entrepreneurs will leave with countless tools, crucial knowledge, a network of peers, mentors and investors, and funding of USD 25,000", it said.

In the next three years, gradCapital intends to invest in 100 startups.
It has now begun accepting applications for its first cohort of start-ups.
"We genuinely believe in academic spaces. Entrepreneurship is a way to bring such strong ideas to life and create value for society. We are betting on such ideas," said Sethi.

Sethi and Behera ran a pilot to test their "hypothesis" while conceptualising gradCapital.

They ended up with an eight-company cohort that included KiranaKart, Humit, Codedamn, Valerio Electric, and Neuralastic.

According to Behera, "There is tremendous value waiting to be unlocked by students from Science, Commerce, Arts, and Engineering colleges".

Grand Capital has expanded over the last 14 years to become a holding company that operates in 190 countries and speaks 15 languages. Grand Capital is now a global broker that offers trading and investment services in the foreign exchange and derivatives markets.