# Surga Thilakan

> Surga Thilakan is the Bengaluru-based co-founder and CEO of Salesken, which provides AI assistance during sales conversations. A chartered accountant and IIM Ahmedabad graduate, she previously worked at EY, Goldman Sachs and Ujjivan before co-founding iSTAR Skill Development with Sreeraman Vaidyanathan. Her public creative work includes paintings, poetry and film reviews.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Salesken
- **Organizations:** Salesken, iSTAR Skill Development, Ujjivan Financial Services, Goldman Sachs, Ernst & Young
- **Education:** Post Graduate Programme in Management; finance, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Chartered Accountant, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India
- **Known for:** Co-founded iSTAR and Salesken with Sreeraman Vaidyanathan., Business Standard reported in June 2015 that iSTAR had worked across 150 colleges, with around 17,000 students trained over five years., Recognised by Business Today in its 2018 Most Powerful Women in Business coverage.

## Career timeline

- **Early career** — Worked in indirect tax advisory at Ernst & Young in India.
- **2003-2005** — Attended the postgraduate management programme at IIM Ahmedabad.
- **After IIM Ahmedabad** — Worked at Goldman Sachs in private equity and structured finance, including London and US assignments.
- **Before iSTAR** — Worked at Ujjivan Financial Services, designing livelihood-oriented financial products and leading marketing.
- **2009-2010** — Co-founded iSTAR Skill Development with Sreeraman Vaidyanathan; public accounts differ on the exact founding year.
- **2015** — iSTAR raised a Series A from Unitus Seed Fund; Business Standard reported training activity across 150 colleges.
- **2018** — Included in Business Today’s Most Powerful Women in Business recognition.
- **2020** — Salesken announced an $8 million Series A led by Sequoia India; its mobile application launched in June.
- **2021** — Salesken announced a $22 million Series B led by M12, with Sequoia India participating.
- **2023** — Included in Crunchbase’s Influential Women in Sales list.

## Achievements

- Co-founded iSTAR and Salesken with Sreeraman Vaidyanathan.
- Business Standard reported in June 2015 that iSTAR had worked across 150 colleges, with around 17,000 students trained over five years.
- Recognised by Business Today in its 2018 Most Powerful Women in Business coverage.
- Led Salesken through its $8 million Series A and $22 million Series B funding milestones.
- Named to Crunchbase’s 2023 Influential Women in Sales list.
- Public biographies describe her as a gold medallist at board, university and chartered accountancy levels.

## Latest updates

- **2022-02** — Discussed Salesken’s product ambitions, hiring challenges and her creative motivation in The Fund’s founder interview.
- **2022-03** — Shared a Vi Business India International Women’s Day video interview about her career on LinkedIn.

## Links

- Website: https://surgathilakan.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/surga-thilakan-0196994/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/surga_thilakan

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/surga-thilakan
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-26