network-procurement
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Connectbase Wants to Turn Telecom's Spreadsheet Swamp Into One Click
The fiber business still runs on stale building lists, email chains and quotes that arrive after the buyer has moved on. Connectbase is betting that location truth, shared APIs and a two-sided network can turn that administrative drag into software - but only if the industry's data and partners show up.
Dennis Thankachan
Dennis Thankachan is the co-founder and CEO of Lightyear, a New York software company that automates how enterprises buy and manage telecom and network services. A former Goldman Sachs banker and hedge fund investor at PointState Capital, he built a thesis around telecom while investing in the sector, then left finance in 2019 to fix an industry he describes as a multi-trillion-dollar market with almost no happy customers. Under his leadership Lightyear has raised roughly $48.6 million, closed a $31 million Series B led by Altos Ventures in 2024, and serves customers including Palo Alto Networks, Five Guys, Pandora Jewelry, and Teladoc.