December 23, 2025: The Foundery, a new venture-building programme aimed at helping early-stage founders turn ideas into real businesses by Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath and Future Group CEO Kishore Biyani is hitting the sweet spot that startups are looking out for today .
The new venture combines hands-on learning, company building, and early funding support. Instead of classroom sessions, participants will work directly with mentors and operators to build startups from the ground up.
Selected founders will spend 90 days inside the programme, working closely with The Foundery team to validate ideas, test products, and prepare companies for investment. Participants can retain up to 25% equity in the ventures they help create. Startups that meet internal milestones can receive seed funding of up to Rs 4 crore, along with ongoing strategic support.
The Foundery: New Programme by Kamath and Biyani Offers Founders Capital, Mentorship, and 90 Days to Build
“This isn’t a classroom or an incubator,” said Biyani. “It’s a live business-building environment where entrepreneurs learn by creating, testing, failing, and evolving. We’re forging founders through experience, not theory.”
The programme ends with a Demo Day, where founders pitch to a curated group of investors. The Foundery says this structure is designed to shorten the gap between an idea and a fundable business.
Kamath said the initiative is built for people who want to build rather than follow fixed career paths. “Most of what we call education was built for a world that doesn’t exist anymore,” he said. “It teaches people to fit in when progress comes from those who don’t. MBAs create managers. We need people who can build, break, fail, and rebuild.”
The Foundery is open to aspiring entrepreneurs, early-stage founders, and mid-career professionals looking to start companies. The selection process at the Foundery focuses on problem-solving skills, clarity of thinking, and resilience rather than formal degrees or polished pitches. Applicants go through multiple rounds, including articulation exercises, problem-solving tasks, and interviews.
Mentors associated with the programme include Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Titan Capital’s Kunal Bahl, investor Aakrit Vaish, Mithun Sacheti, Varun Berry, Rama Bijapurkar, and Haresh Chawla, among others. Mentors will work closely with founders on product decisions, business models, and go-to-market strategy.
Alongside venture building, the programme includes a “School of Life” track focused on decision-making, founder psychology, and resilience, areas The Foundery believes are critical for long-term success.
The Foundery will run as a residential, campus-based programme and plans to host multiple cohorts each year.
