Richa joined Elevar in 2020 and manages the Marketing & Communications function.
Richa has 19 years of varied and rich work experience, which includes a long stint as an entrepreneur. She started her career as an ERP consultant with Infosys, handling client roles in the USA and managing large offshore teams. She moved to brand strategy consulting in 2005 and worked with clients and organisations in diverse industries. Deeply touched by the economic circumstances of artisans, she founded GiftPiper, in 2011, which she actively managed until joining Elevar in 2020.
Richa has an MBA in Marketing & Systems from XLRI Jamshedpur, and an Engineering degree in Electronics & Communication from MANIT, Bhopal. An avid musician, she sings as a part of the XLRI alumni band and conducts pro bono music appreciation workshops for kids. She also enjoys working out, reading, traveling and telling stories to her daughter.
Why did you join Elevar?
A common friend introduced me to Elevar. They had been looking for someone to handle the marketing function for sometime, and he felt that I may be the right fit. I knew nothing about the PE/VC world at that time, but what I did gather through the Elevar website and my interactions with first Sandeep, and then the rest of the team was that there was something very different here – the right mix of purpose and pragmatism, combined with depth of thought, authenticity and a great sense of humour.
I am a person who is very finicky about most things in life – the company I keep, the type of work I want to do, the kind of workplace I can thrive at, etc. With Elevar, everything somehow seemed to come together like magic. I felt that I had found my tribe!
What are the most and least favourite parts of your job?
I love the fact that I get to interact with some of the smartest minds in the world, as part of my job. There is a general perception about investors that they are great with numbers. People at Elevar are that, and much more. They are creative, open minded, and always ready for a conversation on how to make an idea better. There are no least favourite parts of my job, but what working at Elevar has forced me to confront and get better at is learning about the world of finance and investing, which was never a strong suit for me.
What makes for a good Elevarian?
I feel that Elevarians straddle many paradoxes. We hold strong opinions and know when to stand our ground, yet are open to new ideas and endlessly curious about the world. We are highly demanding of each other in terms of standards, but are also equally supportive in order to make sure that each of us brings our best version to work.
We share a sense of fun and a deep love for life. But most importantly, we all have a chip on the shoulder about inequity in the world.