Vani Kola, founder of Kalaari Capital tweeted on Sunday, “Yesterday it came as a shock to me when I found out that @pankhuri16 is no more. I remember her as a vivacious bright woman full of ideas and full of life. She was confident. That was something you noticed about her immediately.” Kola added, “ My heart reaches out to her family at this untimely tragedy. Her demise is a loss for our startup ecosystem. We lost a bright and young founder, but I know her legacy will live on. It was truly a privilege to know Pankhuri. Rest in peace, Pankhuri.”
3/ She was proud of these girls and how much they could do if only given an opportunity. I saw in Pankhuri a young… https://t.co/9h3EHlzf5t
— Vani Kola (@VaniKola) 1640493609000
Shrivastava is remembered by those who worked with her for being a courageous entrepreneur. “It is a shocking piece of news. Pankhuri was full of energy. How many founders have the courage to name their company after them,” said Anand Lunia, founder of India Quotient, an early-stage fund, who was an investor in Shrivastava’s startup. Lunia first met Shrivastava in 2013 during the fund’s boot camp and has been an investor in both her ventures.
Shrivastava started Pankhuri in 2019, and had raised $3.2 million from Sequoia Capital India’s Surge programme alongside India Quotient and Taurus Ventures. Pankhuri is a platform for women in India to network, learn and shop through live streaming, chat, and cohort-based sessions, enabling them to be active participants in beauty and lifestyle conversations online instead of being passive consumers.
Shrivastava’s earlier venture, Grabhouse was founded in 2012 backed by Sequoia Capital, Kalaari Capital, and India Quotient.
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Having completed her engineering degree in computer science from Rajiv Gandhi Technical University, Shrivastava went on to complete a fellowship at Teach for India, according to her LinkedIn profile. She also did a year-long stints at ZestMoney and Quikr before she founded her current venture.
“Take risks in life to be able to experience something new and different. Increase your risk appetite by stepping outside the norms. Take risks and people will follow!” were the words Shrivastava shared with Kola during their recent interaction, Kola wrote on LinkedIn on Sunday.
