Mr. Zishaan Hayath runs Toppr.com, an online platform for subject learning which he started in 2013. Toppr.com is backed by India’s leading venture capital firms SAIF Partners and Helion. In a short span of time, it has grown to a 60-member team, most of them alumni of IIT Bombay.
Prior to that, Mr. Hayath co-founded a phone commerce marketplace ‘Chaupaati.com’ in 2008, enabling millions of phone users in India to buy home appliances, electronics, children’s products and books. Chaupaati.com grew to the strength of 40 people and was later acquired by India’s largest retailer Future Group in 2010.
Before venturing into entrepreneurship, Mr. Hayath worked with ITC in 2005 and then worked with consulting firm ‘Opera Solutions’ on strategy projects for Fortune 100 clients in North America, Europe and Asia. He was the first employee in ‘Opera Solutions’ India office and saw the team grow from 1 to 50 before he quit to start a company of his own.
He is also an angel investor in some of India’s hottest start-ups including Olacabs and Housing.com. He has moreover, created a group of angel investors, again most of them IIT Bombay alumni, called the Powai Lake Ventures. So far, this angel group has backed 20 start-ups across Consumer Internet, B2B SaaS, Solar, Wearables and QSR sectors. As many as 14 of these 20 start-ups were started by IIT Bombay alumni. After receiving their first funding cheque from Powai Lake Ventures, many of these companies have gone on to raise close to half a billon dollars in follow-on funding and successfully created 1000s of jobs .Mr. Hayath graduated from IIT Bombay in 2005 with a dual degree in Civil Engineering. For his contribution in organizational and cultural activities during his years at IIT Bombay, he was awarded the Institute Organizational Citation and two Institute Colors.
When he is not working on his start-up, he can be spotted riding his Royal Enfield. Mr. Hayath is an avid traveler and has backpacked to many countries. He also dabbles in photography and frequently updates his travel blog with breathtaking pictures from his trips.