Matrix Partners India

Key staff

• Avnish Bajaj (Founder & MD) – Avnish attended the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, where he graduated with a degree in Computer Science and Engineering. He then completed a Masters degree in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in the U.S. and joined Apple Computer as a Software Engineer. During his three and-a-half years at Apple (during which time the company had four CEOs), Avnish developed an interest in management and left Apple to complete a Masters in Business Administration from Harvard Business School. While at Harvard, Avnish interned with McKinsey and Co. After graduating from Harvard, Avnish joined Goldman Sachs in their investment banking team during the dot com bubble days where he was exposed to a number of compelling business ideas that ultimately led to the formation of Bazee.Then founded Matrix in 2006.

• Rajat Agarwal (Director) – From a young age, Rajat has always been determined to pursue excellence. A Gold Medalist in school, a Silver Medalist at IIT, and, again, a Gold Medalist at Indian School of Business, Rajat’s academic record speaks for itself. Post IIT, Rajat joined McKinsey as a management consultant, where over a five-year stint he worked on developing insights for multiple sectors, specializing in telecom and IT services. During his stint at McKinsey, Rajat worked on several topics that are relevant for start-ups – for example, setting up a lean organization, institutionalizing a strong performance management system, leveraging technology to drive sales force effectiveness, maximizing marketing RoI, fundamentally achieving a lower cost base and many more.

• Vikram Vaidyanatham (MD) – Vikram attended the Rashtriya Vidyalaya College of Engineering (RVCE) Bangalore, where he graduated with a degree in Electronics and Communication engineering and played basketball for the state university. He worked for short stints with Samsung and then IBM Global Services, where he realised that he revels in more entrepreneurial environments and joined a small team in a News Corp company, NDS. At NDS, while living in Jerusalem and Bangalore, Vikram learnt how to work as part of a global team to take ideas from whiteboard to wide-spread rollout for millions of TV viewers across the world. In a couple of years, itching to be part of a start-up, Vikram joined the founders of Sensact Applications, a wireless sensor networks company.Vikram earned his MBA from IIM Bangalore. Joined McKinsey & Co. after his MBA and worked across a variety of sectors including mobile media, TV, retail, engineering construction and manufacturing. Working alongside the top management of India’s leading companies, Vikram understood the mix of entrepreneurial chaos and operational discipline needed to grow businesses in India.

• Sanuj Shah (Analyst) – Sanuj’s interest towards technology driven businesses germinated during his undergraduate days at SRCC. To pursue the same, post graduation he worked with Deutsche Bank’s investment banking team to evaluate high growth FinTech firms across Europe. Post his stint with Deutsche Bank, Sanuj’s love for personal experiments took him to the Young India Fellowship (YIF) at Ashoka University, where he spent a year studying a plethora of subjects including Military strategy, Indian elections, and Shakespearean literature. Sanuj then joined Bain & Company, where he consulted top global hedge funds and private equity clients to diligence fast-growing startups and mature businesses on their market potential, competitive landscaping and customer perception. Sanuj brings in his versatile experience across banking and consulting, and his multi-disciplinary education to help founders build robust and sustainable businesses.