Three years ago, we were among the first few investors to back Akash Gupta, and today I am proud to see him emerge as one of my rockstar founders, supported by Abhinav Roy and Ankit Joshi. He is now backed by marquee investors—pi Ventures, Info Edge Ventures, Kalaari Capital, and Lok Capital.
Akash graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University), Varanasi, in 2017, where he was already hands-on with projects in the EV ecosystem. He then spent three years at JSW Energy Ltd, gaining valuable industry experience before taking the leap in his mid-20s to launch Clean Electric. Along the way, the company has filed multiple patents and pioneered unique battery technologies that are now beginning to deliver results.
Yesterday, at DLF Golf Club, we caught up over an unplanned but deeply meaningful conversation, and I had the joy of gifting him my book Dil Se Dost. True to his curious spirit, Akash came with thoughtful questions about breakeven, contribution margins, and return on capital employed.
I shared my perspective:
• Breakeven in manufacturing should align with a rolling runway of at least 12 months.
• Contribution margins in single digits can be much higher given a strong and distinctive value proposition.
• Capital efficiency across fixed assets and working capital matters as much as profit margins, because real value is measured by ROCE.
Akash received these thoughts with his trademark openness and left energised to push harder. Watching him and Clean Electric grow from early dreams into a company with cutting-edge technology and global ambition has been a privilege.
For both Ishani and me at Sarcha Advisors, this is the essence of impact investing—backing founders early, walking alongside them, and celebrating their milestones with pride.
Blessings and best wishes to the team, and happy to assist always.