On Independence Day, a striking pattern emerges among India’s startup founders and executives: many once wore military uniforms. These former service members now lead companies, manage venture funds, and build technology platforms, carrying battlefield discipline into boardrooms.
Their transition highlights a broader shift. Veterans increasingly shape India’s innovation economy, applying operational precision honed over decades in uniform. The skills translate unexpectedly well.
Anthony Anish left the Indian Air Force a decade ago and described civilian entrepreneurship as “intense.” He warned his wife he might remain unavailable for three years.
Anish served as a founding team member at MyGate, the apartment security and management platform. He credits military experience for the product’s core strength. Security systems, he said, came naturally because that work defined his service career.
Later, Anish became chief operating officer at T-Hub, Telangana’s startup incubator. He now co-founded Factoryal, a consulting firm for startups and SMEs, and sits on the investment committee of Jamwant Ventures, which backs deeptech defence companies.
Meanwhile, Col Sanjeev Govila retired voluntarily in 2010 after 27 years in the Army. He had become the unofficial finance advisor for fellow officers. That role inspired Hum Fauji Initiatives, a fintech firm he launched with his wife, who serves as co-founder and COO.
The company exclusively serves armed forces personnel and their immediate families. Govila argues this community remains financially excluded because most members live in remote border regions. His firm has onboarded 3,500 families and conducts financial literacy lectures in cantonments nationwide.
Elsewhere, former IAF pilot Chandan Singh Rathore founded Coreshield in 2023. During his flying career, he observed how emergencies overwhelmed response systems. Sensors, command centres, ground personnel, and decision-makers operated in silos. Similar gaps existed across refineries, airports, and power plants.
CoreShield, based at IIT Delhi, builds an AI platform called Pulse. It ingests data from cameras, seismic detectors, thermal systems, and audio sensors, then flags anomalies in real time.
Teja Manakame represents another trajectory. She joined the IAF’s second batch of women officers in the early 1990s. After six years, the IT boom lured her away. She joined TCS as a developer, then spent nearly 19 years at Dell Technologies, rising to vice president of IT. She now heads technology for Curriculum Associates in India.
Manakame remains invested in leadership development, running sessions for women and new graduates. She frames success as a personal choice, not peer pressure.
These stories signal a growing pipeline of military talent rebooting Indian industry.
