# Nakul Mandan

> Nakul Mandan is the founder and managing partner of Audacious Ventures, a $250M pre-seed and seed-stage venture capital firm based in San Francisco. A graduate of IIT Kanpur and IIM Lucknow, he arrived in the US in 2009 on an H-1B visa and spent a decade investing at Battery Ventures and Lightspeed before launching Audacious in April 2020 — during COVID lockdowns. His firm's unconventional edge: embedding a full recruiting operation inside a VC fund, with technical recruiters actively running executive and engineering searches for portfolio companies. He has backed companies including WorkOS, Tome, FalconX, and Multiverse, and is known for his framework of five founder traits: high IQ, outsized ambition, the ability to make people believe, grit, and velocity.

- **Role:** Founder & Managing Partner at Audacious Ventures
- **Organizations:** Audacious Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Battery Ventures, Blue River Capital, Deutsche Bank
- **From:** India
- **Nationality:** American (Indian-born)
- **Education:** B.Tech., Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, MBA, Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Lucknow
- **Known for:** Founded Audacious Ventures ($250M AUM across two funds) from scratch during COVID-19 lockdowns, Raised Fund 1 ($90M) in 12 months on H-1B visa; Fund 2 ($150M) closed in 3 months, Early backer of Marketo (Battery), Gainsight, People.ai, BuildingConnected, Multiverse (Lightspeed)

## Career timeline

- **2005-2006** — Analyst at Deutsche Bank
- **2006-2009** — Associate at Blue River Capital (India-focused growth-stage investor, Mumbai)
- **2009** — Arrived in the US for the first time on H-1B visa to join Battery Ventures
- **2009-2014** — Vice President at Battery Ventures, backing Marketo, BlueJeans, Intacct, 6Sense, Yesware
- **2014-2020** — Partner (then Venture Partner) at Lightspeed Venture Partners, leading SaaS investments including Gainsight, People.ai, BuildingConnected, Multiverse
- **2020** — Founded Audacious Ventures in April 2020, raising Fund 1 ($90M) during COVID lockdowns
- **2024** — Closed Audacious Fund 2 at $150M in just three months; became a US citizen
- **2025** — Spoke at SXSW London alongside Euan Blair (Multiverse); IO Podcast appearance on building winning teams

## Achievements

- Founded Audacious Ventures ($250M AUM across two funds) from scratch during COVID-19 lockdowns
- Raised Fund 1 ($90M) in 12 months on H-1B visa; Fund 2 ($150M) closed in 3 months
- Early backer of Marketo (Battery), Gainsight, People.ai, BuildingConnected, Multiverse (Lightspeed)
- Built a unique VC+recruiting hybrid model, placing 72-75 candidates across 24 portfolio companies
- Backed WorkOS, Tome, FalconX, Vartana, Tezi as seed investor at Audacious
- Independent board member of Multiverse (Euan Blair's $1B+ alternative education company)
- Grew from IIT/IIM graduate to managing $250M as an immigrant without family connections in Silicon Valley

## Latest updates

- **2026-02** — Publishing active blog posts: 'Unlearn Everything Now!', 'The Hardest Thing', 'Don't Be A Dinosaur'
- **2025-07** — Posted on X recruiting for an early-career VC associate at Audacious Ventures
- **2025-06** — Spoke at SXSW London alongside Euan Blair (Multiverse CEO) on AI ROI for business leaders
- **2025-04** — Appeared on the IO Podcast discussing building winning teams and recognizing top talent
- **2024-04** — Closed Audacious Fund 2 at $150M in three months

## Links

- Website: https://www.nakulmandan.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nakulmandan
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/nakul
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nakulmandan/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/nakul-mandan
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-04-27