Bengaluru, Sep 8 (IANS): Sequoia India & Southeast Asia on Thursday announced the launch of Pathfinders, a platform to connect early-stage founders from India and Southeast Asia with global operators.
Pathfinders will leverage the power of the international network that Sequoia has built over 50 years to give companies they partner with a head start in their global ambitions.
"Over the past year, we have on-boarded 25 Pathfinders to the platform to include exceptional executives from unicorns to large tech companies across domains such as sales, marketing, product management and engineering," said said Harshjit Sethi, Managing Director, Sequoia India.
"Six of our companies have already received investments and mentorship from our Pathfinders and feedback has been unanimously glowing. We intend to scale the platform significantly over the next year by onboarding more Pathfinders and portfolio companies," Sethi added.
The platform connects founders with seasoned business leaders who can help them accelerate their company-building journey and shape their go-to-market strategy.
"The pathfinders I've partnered with have had a meaningful impact on the company so far, adding value on areas such as product marketing, customer connections, analyst relations, hiring and other core pillars of our US GTM," said Nishant Modak, co-founder of Last9.
Pathfinders are founders/CXOs from some of Silicon Valley's more innovative technology companies, including Amit Singh (President, Palo Alto Networks), Oliver Jay (ex CRO, Asana), Param Kalhon (CPO, UIPath), Prasanna Sankar (Cofounder, Rippling), Pratyus Pattnaik (Senior Director of Engineering, Okta), Sandeep Johri (former CEO, Tricentis) and more.
"To succeed, Indian disruptors need to understand the western buyers, their needs and their user's expectations clearly, and design products that fit them effectively. Pathfinders connects entrepreneurs with experienced operators living in these countries, who have built expertise over decades understanding western buyers," said Amit Singh, President, Palo Alto Networks.
Pathfinders will leverage the experience and wisdom of the broader Sequoia and startup ecosystem to help build the enduring companies of tomorrow, said the company.