1. Aakash Bansal: Building the Next Chapter of India’s Wealth Distribution
India’s wealth ecosystem is entering a new phase, shaped by rising investor participation, expanding financial awareness and rapid advances in technology. At the centre of this transformation is Aakash Bansal, Co-Founder and CEO of MIDASX, who is building technology to help India’s Mutual Fund Distributor community evolve with it.
MIDASX is an AI powered B2B2C multi asset wealth technology platform that brings multiple financial products and technology capabilities into one ecosystem. The platform today works with 2,000+ distributors and serves 7 lakh+ investors, with assets of over ₹2.5 lakh crore across 160+ cities.
Bansal’s vision goes beyond digitising the existing wealth distribution model. He is focused on creating a technology ecosystem that enables MFDs to build stronger businesses, deepen investor relationships and expand their ability to serve clients across products and geographies.
Under his leadership, MIDASX has expanded its capabilities across mutual funds, corporate fixed deposit, loans, MLDs, stocks, bonds, PMS, AIFs and international equities, while building AI powered tools that simplify research and improve distributor productivity. The objective is simple but significant. Give MFDs more intelligence, more efficiency and more capacity to focus on their clients.
Bansal is equally focused on strengthening the larger MFD ecosystem. MIDASX’s association with MF Utilities India, MACG (Association of 50+ MFD associations) and the #AIwalaMFD initiative reflect his belief that sophisticated technology should be accessible to distributors across India, including those serving investors beyond the country’s largest financial centres.
His approach to entrepreneurship is rooted in a clear understanding of India’s wealth landscape. Technology can create scale, but trust remains the foundation of financial relationships. Bansal’s opportunity lies in bringing both together.
As investment participation expands across India, he sees MFDs playing an increasingly important role in connecting households with financial opportunities. His ambition is to equip them with the technology and intelligence required to participate in this growth.
With MIDASX expanding its multi asset platform, AI capabilities and distribution network, Bansal is building more than a wealth technology company. He is working towards creating the technology infrastructure for a more connected, intelligent and scalable wealth distribution ecosystem in India.
2. Puraroma: Redefining Everyday Healthcare Through Scientific Aromatherapy
As consumers increasingly look for alternatives to conventional approaches to everyday wellness, a new generation of entrepreneurs is working to bring greater science, transparency and credibility to natural healthcare. At the forefront of this shift is the founding team behind Puraroma, a wellness brand focused on scientific aromatherapy and therapeutic essential oils.
The idea for Puraroma began with Uday Arora, whose professional exposure in Switzerland and Luxembourg gave him a close understanding of how clinical-grade essential oils were used and trusted within European pharmacies. He saw an opportunity to bring a similar level of scientific rigor and quality to India’s growing natural wellness market. Rather than positioning aromatherapy purely as a lifestyle trend, Uday envisioned creating a platform where plant-based solutions could be developed with strong standards of purity, testing and responsible formulation.
To bring this vision to life, Uday joined hands with Varun Gupta, an IIM Indore alumnus, who oversees technology and supply-chain operations, and Neeti Chokhani, who leads brand architecture and marketing. Their complementary expertise helped transform the initial idea into a structured wellness venture focused on making scientific aromatherapy more accessible to Indian consumers.
The team further strengthened its formulation expertise through its association with Dr. Dominique Baudoux, a Belgian doctor of pharmacy and recognised pioneer in aromatherapy, who serves as co-founder and chief formulator. His experience in aromatherapy and pharmaceutical sciences has contributed to the brand’s focus on formulation quality, chemotyping and evidence-based product development.
Together, the founders have built Puraroma around three core principles: purity, transparency and scientific validation. The brand develops ready-to-use wellness blends and essential oils, with applications across areas such as stress, headaches, respiratory discomfort, allergies and sleep support. Its portfolio has also expanded into gentle child-care products, targeted serums and waterless diffusers.
However, for the founders, Puraroma represents more than a product portfolio. Their larger ambition is to make conversations around natural wellness more informed and responsible by combining traditional botanical knowledge with modern scientific standards.
With their collective experience spanning international exposure, pharmaceutical expertise, technology, supply chains, branding and aromatherapy, the founding team is positioning Puraroma as part of a broader shift towards science-backed, transparent and conscious wellness in India.
3. Beyond the AI Hype: How Nag Dinamani is Building Production-Ready Enterprise Intelligence at Infometry
Artificial intelligence may be the defining technology conversation of our era, but for enterprises, the real challenge lies beyond experimentation: making AI accurate, secure, governed, and economically viable at production scale.
Nag Dinamani, Founder and CEO of Infometry, has been working at this intersection long before Generative AI became a boardroom priority. With nearly three decades of experience across data engineering, analytics, and enterprise technology—and 16 years leading Infometry—Nag has built a global Data Analytics and AI company with more than 350 enterprise implementations across 120+ customers.
Nag’s strategy combines consulting depth with proprietary technology. Infometry helps enterprises modernize complex data environments through data warehouse modernization, data orchestration, Master Data Management, data governance, analytics, cloud transformation, and AI enablement.
Infometry is an engineering and services partner for leading cloud, data, integration, and AI platforms, including Snowflake, Google Cloud, Databricks, Informatica, MuleSoft, AWS, Microsoft Azure, OpenAI, Fivetran, and Dell Boomi. Its Centers of Excellence bring extensive implementation expertise across these technologies, helping enterprises modernize legacy environments, strengthen governance, integrate complex data ecosystems, and enable AI at scale.
That consulting experience also fuels Infometry’s product innovation. Infometry has converted recurring enterprise challenges into reusable intellectual property, including Snowflake Native Apps, 22+ enterprise cloud connectors, metadata discovery solutions, and accelerators for cloud migration and automated testing.
Nag’s AI vision is most clearly expressed in INFOFISCUS Conversa, Infometry’s enterprise conversational analytics platform.
Conversa enables business users to interact with enterprise data in natural language while preserving the business context behind the information. It combines business ontology, enterprise metadata, knowledge graphs, federated querying, domain-specific Small Language Models, and frontier AI models to improve accuracy, relevance, and efficiency.
Nag also believes the economics of AI will determine how successfully enterprises move from pilots to production. Conversa’s hybrid architecture is designed to optimize model selection and token consumption while balancing accuracy, latency, and operating cost.
“Enterprise AI has to be more than impressive in a demo,” says Nag. “It has to understand the business, run on trusted data, produce reliable answers, and operate at a cost that makes sense at production scale.”
By combining enterprise consulting expertise with proprietary technology and AI innovation, Nag is positioning Infometry to help organizations move beyond experimentation toward trusted, context-aware intelligence at enterprise scale.
4. Bringing a New Standard of Luxury Babywear to India with KIVIRO
While studying in the UK, Rithika Manoj noticed a striking difference between the children’s fashion markets in the UK and India. Parents overseas had access to beautifully crafted garments made from premium natural fibres such as cashmere, merino wool and organic cotton—products that were largely absent from the Indian market. At the same time, she recognised a shift in the modern Indian consumer, who was becoming increasingly willing to invest in fewer, higher-quality products that offered lasting value over fast fashion.
Inspired by this gap, Rithika founded KIVIRO, a premium babywear brand built on timeless design, exceptional craftsmanship and thoughtfully sourced fabrics. Driven by a lifelong passion for fashion, textiles and garment construction, she set out to create clothing that was as beautiful as it was meaningful.
Today, KIVIRO is the first and only non-fast-fashion babywear brand in India to offer cashmere apparels, introducing a level of luxury previously unavailable in the market. Every collection is designed with longevity in mind, combining understated aesthetics with premium materials to create heirloom-quality pieces that can be treasured beyond a single season.
Looking ahead, Rithika’s vision is to establish KIVIRO as a globally recognised luxury children’s lifestyle brand, proving that Indian brands can stand alongside the world’s finest by creating products that celebrate the quiet beauty of childhood through uncompromising quality and thoughtful design.
5. Ishita Verma: From Curiosity to Creating a Self-Care Brand of Her Own
For Ishita Verma, the decision to become an entrepreneur was not an overnight leap. It was an idea that stayed with her through different chapters of her career, gradually taking shape with each experience along the way. With a Master’s degree from King’s College London and professional experience at Ernst & Young and in her family business, Verma developed a strong foundation in discipline, problem-solving and business. Yet, throughout these experiences, she continued to feel drawn towards building something of her own.
Her relationship with skincare became an unexpected turning point. Having struggled with acne-prone skin through her twenties, Verma spent years trying different products and recommendations. But rather than continuing to search for the next solution, she began asking deeper questions, what exactly was in a product, why certain ingredients were used, how formulations worked and, most importantly, what her own skin actually needed.
Verma realised that the larger problem was not necessarily a lack of products. It was a lack of understanding. Consumers were often being told what to use without being empowered to understand why. That insight resonated with another observation she had made over time. Modern self-care had become increasingly complicated, filled with long routines, new trends and constant instructions. In contrast, the rituals she had grown up seeing were far simpler: consistent care, patience and an intuitive understanding of what worked.
The idea of bringing those two worlds together eventually became ÈSĀH- Everything Skin and Hair. Launched in 2026, the brand combines modern skin science with an Indian approach to self-care, focusing on high-performance essentials and a philosophy of simpler, more intentional care.
ÈSĀH is designed for consumers who want effective formulations without the overwhelm of complicated routines or constantly changing beauty trends. The brand’s initial range comprises four carefully considered essentials, created to form the foundation of a thoughtful, everyday self-care ritual. Each product is designed with Indian skin in mind, bringing together evidence-led actives, thoughtful formulation and a contemporary luxury experience.
6. Dr. Vivek Joshi: Bringing Real Ayurveda Back to Everyday Life
Dr. Vivek Joshi has spent over a decade practicing Ayurveda with one core belief: real wellness starts from the inside, not the outside. Most people come to him worried about their skin or hair. But he looks deeper at digestion, daily habits, sleep, and mental health because in Ayurveda, these are never separate problems. They're connected.
In his clinical practice, Dr. Vivek sticks to classical Ayurvedic methods. He doesn't believe in overnight fixes. His approach is built on patience: correcting lifestyle habits, restoring balance, and treating the root cause, not just the symptom on the surface.
This same philosophy shaped his work online. Today, Dr. Vivek educates over 3.4 million followers on YouTube and 8 million across social media, helping people understand what authentic Ayurveda actually looks like. He doesn't sell miracle results. He talks about realistic timelines, traditional principles, and why fixing what's happening inside the body matters more than any quick external fix.
That same clinical philosophy led him to start We Herbal - Honest Ayurveda. The brand makes skincare, haircare, and wellness products the traditional way, no artificial colours, no synthetic fragrances, no harsh chemicals. But for Dr. Vivek, We Herbal isn't just a business. It's a way to make real Ayurveda accessible to a generation tired of quick fixes and looking for something they can actually trust.
Going forward, his mission stays the same, helping people see the link between how they live, how they feel, and how they look. Through his clinic, his content, and his brand, Dr. Vivek Joshi continues to stand for one thing: Ayurveda that is honest, patient, and built for long-term health, not short-term results.
7. Pranshul Aggarwal: Building a Science-Backed Approach to Better Gut Health with LivLively
Pranshul Aggarwal is the Founder of LivLively, the gut health and microbiome-focused wellness brand from Purobien Lifesciences built around science-backed formulations that support digestive health and overall wellness. With experience across the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical ecosystem, Pranshul brings expertise in product development, business strategy, and building healthcare-focused ventures. Beyond LivLively, Pranshul also plays an active leadership role at Medicef Pharma, an EU-GMP certified pharmaceutical manufacturing company, reflecting his broader experience across the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical ecosystem.
Under his leadership, LivLively has been built around a microbiome-first approach, focusing on the importance of gut health as a foundation for overall wellness. The brand aims to address evolving consumer needs by offering clinically tested formulations designed to support digestive health and the body’s natural balance. Through its focus on research-backed ingredients and preventive wellness, LivLively is working to make gut health conversations more accessible and informed. The brand’s approach focuses on working with the existing microbiome rather than simply adding external bacteria, with formulations designed to support gut balance and long-term digestive health. LivLively also highlights the wider role of gut health in areas including immunity, energy levels, metabolism, mental health, skin and sleep.
The brand’s growing portfolio includes LivLively Gut Restore, alongside its recently launched Apple Cider Vinegar Effervescent Tablets. The ACV tablets reflect LivLively’s focus on bringing gut and wellness solutions into convenient formats suited to everyday use. Across its offerings, the brand places emphasis on clinically tested formulations and human clinical evidence, while positioning its products as solutions designed for daily use and long-term gut health support.
Pranshul’s vision extends beyond developing individual wellness products; he aims to create a trusted platform that encourages greater awareness around the role of gut health in everyday life. With a focus on science, responsible product development, and consumer-centric wellness solutions, he continues to shape LivLively’s journey as it expands its portfolio and strengthens its presence in India’s growing preventive healthcare landscape. The brand’s wider educational focus, including its resources around the gut microbiome and digestive conditions such as IBS, further reflects its effort to make conversations around gut health more accessible and informed.
8. Aakash Jugraj: Building the Future of Media Through Intelligence, Technology and Strategic Communication
Aakash Jugraj, Founder and CEO of Shivaksh Media Group, is a media entrepreneur and strategic communications professional with over 15 years of experience across journalism, media and communication. His work focuses on building strategic media narratives, strengthening founder authority and helping businesses turn visibility into long-term credibility.
What sets Aakash’s approach apart is his view of media as more than a visibility platform. He brings together media intelligence, technology and communication to help brands, institutions and leaders build stronger public positioning and meaningful connections with their audiences.
Under his leadership, Shivaksh Media Group has developed a broader media ecosystem spanning communication, brand building, digital platforms and technology-led solutions. One of its notable initiatives is Nex News Network, a digital news platform designed around emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Blockchain, Web3 and the Metaverse. The platform aims to make news more interactive while also focusing on authenticity, traceability and personalised content experiences.
Aakash’s experience in journalism also gives him a strong understanding of how stories are developed and communicated across media platforms. This enables him to look at brand communication from both the business and media perspective.
Through Shivaksh Media Group, his larger focus remains on creating a structured and intelligence-led approach to media and communication. His work reflects a belief that consistent storytelling, strategic positioning and credible media presence can play an important role in building lasting brand authority in an increasingly competitive digital environment.
9. Rustic Turquoise: Where Furniture Becomes a Reflection of Identity
For Manisha Pandey, furniture was never meant to simply fill a room. Coming from a fashion design background, she has always viewed design as a language of self-expression, a way of reflecting personality, emotion and individuality. This perspective became the foundation of Rustic Turquoise, a furniture brand built around a simple yet distinctive belief: a sofa should feel chosen, not generic.
Fashion taught Pandey that what we wear can tell a story without saying a word. She began to see the same possibility in the spaces we inhabit. Why should furniture always blend quietly into its surroundings when it can become an expression of the person living with it?
This thinking led Rustic Turquoise beyond conventional furniture choices. While neutral sofas have long dominated interiors, Pandey explores prints, patterns, textures, colours and silhouettes that give everyday furniture a stronger sense of identity. Yet the philosophy is not about being loud. Personality can exist in a subtle colour, an unusual silhouette, a distinctive fabric or a carefully considered detail.
At the heart of this approach is another defining philosophy: Every Sofa Begins With a Story. Rustic Turquoise draws inspiration from art, culture, landscapes and design traditions, transforming those influences into contemporary furniture.
Its Indian Art Collection reinterprets artistic traditions such as Madhubani, Warli and Gond through modern fabrics, colours, scale and silhouettes. Rather than simply reproducing traditional motifs, the brand seeks to translate their visual language into pieces suited to contemporary homes. Its Global Art-inspired collections similarly explore English checks, European-inspired stripes, botanical motifs and other international influences through the brand’s own design vocabulary.
For Pandey, the creative journey is therefore not simply about designing a beautiful sofa. It is about discovering the story behind a pattern, understanding the culture or artistic tradition that inspired it, and giving that story a new physical form.
Through Rustic Turquoise, she is creating furniture that carries art and individuality into everyday spaces - pieces that do more than occupy a room, but become part of the story of the people who live there.
10. Soumya Vilekar: Driving India’s Advancement in Advanced Materials and Powder Metallurgy
Soumya Vilekar, CEO & Founder of Involute Metal Powder Technologies, is building a distinctive entrepreneurial journey in the specialized field of advanced materials and powder metallurgy. As a second-generation entrepreneur, she is carrying forward a legacy of technological innovation while focusing on indigenous capabilities, advanced manufacturing, and technology-driven industrial solutions.
Vilekar’s experience spans entrepreneurship, business strategy, technology, and product development, with a strong focus on translating industrial innovation into practical applications. Her work reflects a broader vision of strengthening India’s capabilities in specialized manufacturing and reducing dependence on imported technologies and materials.
A key part of her leadership journey is her contribution to the development and commercialization of indigenous technologies. She is a co-holder of an Indian patent related to partially alloyed bronze powder production and actively advocates research, intellectual property creation, and technology commercialization. Her vision also extends to developing skilled talent in powder metallurgy and emerging industrial technologies.
Under her leadership, Involute Metal Powder Technologies develops technologies for producing ferrous and non-ferrous metal powders through reduction processes. The company works with materials including iron, copper, bronze, nickel, and cobalt, while also exploring ways to convert industrial scrap, low-grade iron oxides, and mining waste into value-added materials. This approach brings together advanced manufacturing, resource efficiency, and sustainability.
Beyond her professional work, Vilekar is also an author and poet, reflecting interests that extend across technology, literature, media, and business. Her diverse perspective continues to shape her approach to innovation and leadership.
With strategic collaborations aimed at establishing metal powder manufacturing capabilities across India, Vilekar and Involute are working toward expanding the country’s advanced materials ecosystem and contributing to its evolving manufacturing landscape.
