how much does build3 invest?

up to ₹25 lakh in pre-seed per startup, through demo day.

what stage do you back?

impact startups from -1 to 1, meaning idea stage through early revenue.

no. any sector, as long as you push progress on a un sdg or benefit people and the planet.

what does the program cost?

₹39,900 for the 10 week program, plus ₹5,900 per additional co-founder. select startups go on to receive up to ₹25 lakh from build3 after the program.

when does cohort 10 start?

applications close 30 july. cohort 10 starts 24 august 2026.

do i have to be in goa?

no. sessions run daily from 6 to 8pm, online. there is an optional camp in candolim, goa if you want the in-person week.

how are demo day startups selected?

the 4c framework: capability, compatibility, commitment and commercial viability.

what support comes after?

investor network access, ongoing mentorship, potential follow-on investment.

can international founders apply?

we focus on india but are open to aligned international founders.

yes, especially after meaningful progress or a pivot.

what if my startup fails?

we treat it as learning and support you through pivots or a soft landing.

[ about us ]

why build3

why do we exist?

most of us know there's something wrong with how the world operates today.

the growth-at-all-costs model has left a trail of destruction in its wake. we buy stuff we don't need and overeat, our mental health is in shambles, and our time spent socializing with each other is often spent staring at our phone screens.

our economic engine leaves us on a perpetual hedonistic treadmill, and we never seem to get satiated. we have lost the ability to reflect on how much is enough since the businesses we build constantly focus on fulfilling our desires rather than just meeting our needs (physical, social, psychological, spiritual etc)

we are operating like the proverbial man who cuts the same branch of a tree that he sits on. if he succeeds in cutting it, he fails!

we created build3 as an antidote to today's mainstream growth model. we clubbed together people who are passionate and formidable at building scalable businesses. we exist to help build impact startups creatively, conscientiously, and through the power of communities.

we help founders at every step of their journey. from achieving product-market fit to scaling your startup, our community has got you covered :)

our community-powered model

venture capital has moved beyond just investing. it is now about business creation. through our team, products, and network of leaders and feeders (check startup communities by brad feld), we support founders with strategy, funding, follow-on investors, vendors, operational expertise, and a supportive community to plug into.

what is an impact driven business?

an impact-driven business strives to do good for the mind, body, and earth. to be impact-driven is to see something missing or wrong in the world, and to take action to fix that. it is the intersection of profit and purpose, of doing well and doing good.

how do we know we are making a difference?

impact for us means creating a kinder and more joyful society while considering the needs of the planet. this is done either directly through the product or service offered, or indirectly, by means of the business operations.

the un sustainable development goals (sdgs) are useful for tracking a company's potential impact. every startup that we work with ticks off at least one sdg. also, we ensure that the stakeholders we work with (investors, mentors, vendors, etc) are as value aligned as possible.

we are a b corp-certified business as well :)

[ b corp certified ][ teal organisation ][ un sdg aligned ]

our bhag

our bhag (big hairy audacious goal) is what helps us think big and create a plan for long-term success. here it goes…

to create several community modules (startup studio, online forum, founders circle, eco-living, etc) that will empower 100k founders to build impactful startups benefiting the mind, body, and earth. build3 will be the go-to community for founders looking to bring about positive outcomes in the domains of sustainability and impact.

stages of evolution

startup studio

a venture builder in goa that works towards building startups that create positive social impact.

eco-living community

a small living community built with like-minded people that creates impact startups. the goal of the community will be to unlock human potential at the deepest level possible while taking care of the environment.

open source playbook

make freely available all of our principles and learnings so that value-aligned communities can emerge everywhere.

values that guide us

from the beginning, build3 set out to be a different kind of company. one that not only celebrates profits but also purpose. a space where like-minded people come together to share their existence around minimalism, sustainability, wellness, and self-reliance.

we don't push culture. despite differences, we build communities that can adapt, evolve, and blend together. we strongly believe we're better together and raise our glasses to each person's unique talents, experiences, and passions.

a forest does not require maintenance; only manicured gardens do. that's the guiding principle we use when we build community.

with the hunger to build a sustainable future at our core, we live these values:

we are teal

teal organisations want their members to show up as their real selves. here, individuals are encouraged to 'drop the mask' (no matter how uncomfortable it may be at first). we believe this facilitates positive relationships, increased productivity, and job satisfaction. you are not here to impress your superiors or put down your colleagues for promotions. we are transparent with each other and we aspire to be trusted unfalteringly. to know more about what inspired us, read 'reinventing organisations' by frédéric laloux.

we don't settle, we set high targets and keep at it!

approach influences outcome. instead of saying, 'can we do it?' we say 'how can we do it?' be bold, take big swings, challenge the status quo, and back your ideas with passion, data, and logic. from time to time, we like to remind ourselves that disagreements can be good. they lead to discussions, new ideas, and better solutions. naturally, there will be times when the outcome isn't what we were gunning for. but we don't let setbacks bring us down. instead, we view them as turning points in our story that pave the way for triumph.

collaboration makes us better

the recipe for guaranteed startup success is still unwritten. in fact, chances are that it will always be this way. however, we strongly believe in the power of communities, and it shows. we lean on our peers, friends, as well as professionals outside the organisation to maximise success rate. don't think of the world in purely transactional or win-or-lose terms when collaborating. share freely and ask freely, good stuff happens to those that do.

be conscientious, the world needs more of it

we believe that conscientiousness is a prerequisite for doing good things. we yearn to innovate and invest in products, technologies, and processes that promote the well-being of society and the planet. we hold ourselves accountable, while also being kind to ourselves. owing to the known fact that we are all different, conflict in the workplace is inevitable. but strength lies in treating each other warmly and fairly, even when we're wronged. additionally, we consider the earth a stakeholder in our company and are always working towards reducing our carbon footprint.

we have our own language

you know you're at build3 when you hear the following:

[ l10 ]

level 10 meeting, a weekly collaborative check-in featuring a segue, updates, and time to raise and discuss any questions/concerns. at the end, participants rate the meeting on a scale of 1 to 10 so we can focus on raising the standard each time.

[ teal ]

an organisational system that distributes ownership, is devoid of managers, promotes wholeness, and enables everybody to contribute to the organisation's evolving mission.

[ 6 pager ]

a document that serves as the why, what, and how for any major undertaking in the organisation. an excellent alternative to powerpoint presentations that often serve to confuse rather than clarify at team meetings. if a project passes through the 6 pager phase, it's off to the races (inspired by amazon).

[ press release (pr) ]

a document that mimics a press release and helps us reality check whether a certain product or service is valuable. if we get excited reading a project's future press release, we know it's the right project to execute.

[ bar raiser ]

a meeting with additional experts apart from our team to facilitate quality discussions and eliminate blindspots whenever we're following a pipeline format (eg. hiring, establishing fit with startup founders).

[ the villa ]

our office, our home, where we work. sometimes called the beach villa or our villa in candolim; definitely where all the magic happens.

[ leaders and feeders ]

all entrepreneurial communities have two sets of individuals that play a specific role; leaders and feeders. at build3, the leaders are impact founders and the feeders include everyone who contributes to their work, lawyers, accountants, investors, academia, corporates, community organisations, and the government.

[ proactive / reactive ]

in our minds, there are two types of tasks, one that you are leading, proactive, and the kind somebody else is leading but requests your support in, reactive. the former takes up active mindshare and if you don't plan and act, nothing will happen. the latter will come across your desk from time to time and will need to be actioned at the time, you don't need to be thinking about it all the time.

[ ikigai ]

a japanese concept that means your 'reason for being'. success for us has much to do with doing meaningful work that aligns with our purpose.

meet the builders

abhimanyu

abhimanyu is a social entrepreneur who is extremely passionate about bringing social transformation via collective discourse and innovation. in 2015, he founded slii, a government-recognised water purification and renewable energy startup. abhimanyu's expertise lies in areas such as research and development, innovation and implementation, project consulting, and fostering sustainable development goals (sdgs), to name a few. he has bagged research grants from the government, a gold medal in engineering, and was chosen for a program by google, along with being selected as one of india's top 10 social entrepreneurs (2019 by afi). one of his current passion projects is writing a book on the science, adaptation and mitigation of climate change. abhimanyu holds degrees in chemical engineering, environmental law and policy, and political science. he comes with a great deal of experience in trials, errors, and failures, which offers a ton of value for the build3 community.

aditya

aditya is the director of pennar industries. he has grown the company to become an inr 2500 crore/year revenue business. he has also led pennar's overseas expansion to markets like the united states, and currently manages 13 business verticals, from engineered buildings, to bio-toilets, to warehouses, and automotive parts. over the years, he has mastered the art of building new businesses. some of them are publicly listed and focused on pre-engineered buildings and water and environmental infrastructure. aditya graduated from cornell university and is an avid investor in new ideas and startups. so, it is not too surprising that he's a crucial part of build3.

varun

varun is the co-founder of 91springboard, one of the biggest coworking communities in india. he conceptualized 91springboard in 2013, a time when the term 'coworking' was alien to india. varun is a seasoned builder of new ideas and has founded multiple startups in the fields of real estate, data and finance. one of his startups, myguesthouse, a budget accommodation aggregator, was acquired by makemytrip. prior to his foray into entrepreneurship, varun worked with goldman sachs in equity research for over five years in the u.s. and india, playing a key role in setting up their operations in bangalore and mumbai. he graduated in b.s. applied economics & management from cornell university, holds a project management certification for executives from xlri, and an honorary doctorate for excellence in management from the young scientist university.

everything else

ready to build for profit and purpose? apply to cohort 10.

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