VC fund Lightspeed promotes three execs, including two women, to partners

Mumbai: Lightspeed Venture Partners has elevated Shuvi Shrivastava, Pinn Lawjindakul and Rahul Taneja, to the position of partners in its early-stage investment advisory team.

The fund, which has backed startups like Byju's, ShareChat and Udaan, has an eight-member early-stage team, of which three are women.



Shrivastava started off in 2015 as an associate after moving back from the United States where she had founded a company. She has played an “instrumental role in identifying and accessing multiple exciting opportunities including Darwinbox, Uni, Pixxel, Rattle, Bhanzu and xFlow,” the company said in its blog post.

Lightspeed said Lawjindakul, who joined in 2020, has helped establish its office in Singapore for its Southeast Asia practice. Both Lawjindakul and Shrivastava join Harsha Kumar, the third woman partner.

Lightspeed also said that Taneja, who joined as chief business officer with the responsibility of building a team across marketing and corporate development, had been elevated to a partner in the fund.

“At Lightspeed, diversity of thought, experience, and personality is deeply valued as it enables richer discussion and debate, which results in better decisions,” said Bejul Somaia, partner, Lightspeed India in a statement. "Venture is a people-oriented business, and we believe in fostering an environment where everyone we partner with, inside and outside Lightspeed, grows and thrives,” he added.

There are few women in leadership positions at investment firms, especially the bigger funds.

"Investing in the next generation of entrepreneurs is a huge responsibility and our belief is that a partnership that looks at the world in very different ways and tunes into very different human needs, will support the creation of a more equitable future. It’s no secret that we need more women in leadership across the board and I’m very proud that Lightspeed is leading the charge," said Shrivastava in a statement.

Other early-stage funds like Elevation Capital have an all-male partnership, while Sequoia Capital India has one female managing director – Sakshi Chopra -- in its India team.

“We know there are various benefits in having diverse perspectives... It takes time for people to grow into the partnership...We are strong believers of people getting promoted from within. I think we have made significant improvements in terms of hires,” Deepak Gaur, partner, Elevation Capital had told ET in an interview earlier this month.