# Neel Popat

> Neel Popat is the CEO and co-founder of Popcorn, a software-first 'next-gen telco' that sells one global eSIM phone plan with unlimited talk, text, and data across 180+ countries and no roaming fees. A British-Indian former finance professional turned serial founder, he coded a viral message board at 13, studied mathematics at LSE, spent a decade inside investment funds, then built the crypto-investing app Donut through Entrepreneur First. When Donut's custody partner Genesis went bankrupt, Popat fought through the wind-down and returned 100% of user funds before channeling the lessons into Popcorn.

- **Role:** CEO & Co-Founder at Popcorn
- **Organizations:** Popcorn, Donut, Entrepreneur First, Rothschild, Graphite Capital, European Capital (Ares), Studio VC
- **From:** Pinner, North London, United Kingdom
- **Nationality:** British
- **Education:** BSc Mathematics & Statistics (First Class Honours), London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
- **Known for:** Founded and leads Popcorn, a global eSIM telco offering one plan across 180+ countries with no roaming fees., Built Donut, a consumer crypto-investing app, through Entrepreneur First and into a venture-backed company., Returned 100% of Donut customer funds after the Genesis bankruptcy threatened them.

## Career timeline

- **~2007** — Pre-university internship at Rothschild during the boom; later joins as an analyst after LSE - 'fell into finance.'
- **2008-2017** — Roughly a decade as an investment professional across funds including Graphite Capital and European/American Capital (later Ares).
- **2017** — Friends ask his advice on crypto during the bull run; meets an emoji-sticker entrepreneur who sparks a reckoning about his own potential.
- **2018** — Joins Entrepreneur First's Berlin cohort, meets co-founder, and launches Donut, a gamified crypto investing app.
- **2021** — Donut raises a seed round (investors include Redalpine, Heartcore Capital, Possible Ventures); named in Bessemer's first web3 cohort.
- **2024** — After the Genesis bankruptcy, winds down Donut and returns 100% of user funds; begins his next venture.
- **2024-2025** — Builds and launches Popcorn, a global eSIM 'next-gen telco,' from New York with co-founder Lukas Kairys.

## Achievements

- Founded and leads Popcorn, a global eSIM telco offering one plan across 180+ countries with no roaming fees.
- Built Donut, a consumer crypto-investing app, through Entrepreneur First and into a venture-backed company.
- Returned 100% of Donut customer funds after the Genesis bankruptcy threatened them.
- Earned First Class Honours in Mathematics from LSE.
- Spent a decade as an investment professional before becoming a founder.
- Coded a viral message board as a teenager that earned coverage in The Guardian.

## Latest updates

- **2024-08** — Announced every Donut user would receive 100% of their funds back from Genesis, closing the Donut chapter.
- **2025** — Scaling Popcorn's global eSIM plan and AI-powered call features from New York.

## Links

- Website: https://popcorn.space
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/neel-popat-7a6b233b
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/theneelpopat
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVOiorWdMXyo00tzBORvLLg
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneelpopat/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/neel-popat
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-22