Akshay Chalikwar profile photo 1 on Tal

Akshay Chalikwar

Strategy & Innovation | Operating Model | Venture Capital | HBS | IIT Kharagpur

Mumbai Metropolitan Region

3+ years of work experience

Kuku
May 20265 mosPresent

Food Seed Tech VC
Mar 20251 yr 3 mosMay 2026

Supporting in building this much-needed seed to pre-Series A fund for the Food, Agriculture, and Technology sectors in India. Focused on strengthening the bedrock of India’s economy, serving a billion people.
Matchbox Shots
Jan 20251 yr 3 mosMar 2026

One of the leading instution in our country, behind defining films like Andhadhun, Monica-O-My-Darling and shows like IC 814, Scoop etc. Catalysing it to unlock and mobilise the much needed powerhouse of India's film industry.
Harvard Business School
Jan 20259 mosSep 2025

An advanced residential leadership program for high-potential leaders, focused on organizational build-&-transformation, global macroeconomics, purpose-driven leadership, and complex financial architectures across M&A, equity, and debt.
The Viral Fever
Aug 20242 mosSep 2024

The Viral Fever
Aug 20222 yrs 1 moAug 2024

Building the new, Soaring new. Stories are enlightened product that which has lost its gravitas in the ages of social history. A society which is rich in its stories and inspiring characters, is a society which will thrive and live through the wisdom of life. On this canvas of life, we paint stories and envision to reinstate the flame of stories that move life. While truly building an institution which will play its social responsibility in bringing stories that have shaped the culture and society!

Akshay’s AI Stack

claude
claude
elevenlabs
elevenlabs
openai
openai

Education

Harvard Business School

Senior Executives Leadership Program

Harvard Business School

20252025
Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur

Bachelor of Architecture

Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur

20095 yrs2014

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Headline

Strategy & Innovation | Operating Model | Venture Capital | HBS | IIT Kharagpur

About

Over the past decade, I have worked at the intersection of Investments, Strategy, and Operations, helping build and scale ventures across sectors. My experience spans the full spectrum of investing and operating. I was part of deploying ~US$70M into marquee unicorns/ soonicors companies such as Eruditus, Lendingkart, and Shiprocket at Bertelsmann India Investments (today a portfolio valued at ~US$4B), and was involved in the exit sale of Indiaproperty.com. Earlier, I was an early team member at an affordable housing–focused investment platform, working on capital deployment, land acquisitions, and the turnaround of large-scale townships and housing projects. More recently, I have headed strategy for ventures such as TVF and BuildNext, shaping short- and long-term strategic roadmaps, building cross-functional capabilities, driving technology transformation, and designing operating models that connect strategy to execution. I was also nominated for “Intrapreneur of the Year 2023” by Entrepreneur Magazine for my operating and turnaround work. To know more, here is a glimpse into my story: https://entrepreneurstoday.in/akshay-navigating-the-intersection-of-investments-entrepreneurship-and-creative-innovation/

Location

Mumbai Metropolitan Region

AI stack

claude

elevenlabs

openai

Work experience

Building KuKu at Kuku, May 2026 - Present · 5 mos

Strategic Partner at Food Seed Tech VC, Mar 2025 - May 2026 · 1 yr 3 mos, Supporting in building this much-needed seed to pre-Series A fund for the Food, Agriculture, and Technology sectors in India. Focused on strengthening the bedrock of India’s economy, serving a billion people.

Strategy & Operations at Matchbox Shots, Jan 2025 - Mar 2026 · 1 yr 3 mos, One of the leading instution in our country, behind defining films like Andhadhun, Monica-O-My-Darling and shows like IC 814, Scoop etc. Catalysing it to unlock and mobilise the much needed powerhouse of India's film industry.

Senior Executives Leadership Program at Harvard Business School, Jan 2025 - Sep 2025 · 9 mos, An advanced residential leadership program for high-potential leaders, focused on organizational build-&-transformation, global macroeconomics, purpose-driven leadership, and complex financial architectures across M&A, equity, and debt.

Advisor at The Viral Fever, Aug 2024 - Sep 2024 · 2 mos

Vice President, Strategy & New Initiatives at The Viral Fever, Aug 2022 - Aug 2024 · 2 yrs 1 mo, Building the new, Soaring new. Stories are enlightened product that which has lost its gravitas in the ages of social history. A society which is rich in its stories and inspiring characters, is a society which will thrive and live through the wisdom of life. On this canvas of life, we paint stories and envision to reinstate the flame of stories that move life. While truly building an institution which will play its social responsibility in bringing stories that have shaped the culture and society!

Education

Senior Executives Leadership Program, Harvard Business School

Bachelor of Architecture, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur