Sunali Aggarwal
Serial Entrepreneur Startup Coach Co-founder, MobiKwik
My job is not to give you the answer. My job is to make you unable to avoid the question.
Where it started
My entrepreneurial journey began in the most unexpected place — the corporate corridors of Bharti Airtel in 2003. Starting my career there, I learned the importance of scale and systems in a fast-paced, tech-driven environment. Little did I know that this foundation would become the bedrock for a series of ventures that would define my entrepreneurial path over the next two decades.
The design awakening
In 2005, I took my first leap into entrepreneurship with East Village Interactives (later renamed Beon Systems), a design agency that opened my eyes to the world of creative problem-solving. This wasn't just about aesthetics — it was about understanding human behaviour, designing experiences that matter, and solving real problems through thoughtful design. My formal training at the National Institute of Design and later at the New York Film Academy gave me the storytelling lens I carry into every business venture today.
The fintech revolution
The real game-changer came in 2009 when I co-founded MobiKwik, diving headfirst into India's nascent fintech landscape. Building a digital wallet when most people were skeptical about digital payments was like trying to convince people to fly before airplanes were widely accepted. I experienced firsthand the challenges of scaling a fintech platform — regulatory hurdles, customer education, technology infrastructure, and the constant battle to build trust in a cash-dominant economy. Watching MobiKwik grow from a startup to a publicly listed company has been one of the most rewarding journeys of my career.
Innovation across verticals
My entrepreneurial appetite didn't stop there. In 2016, I co-founded Trabug, a travel tech product designed to solve critical pain points for foreign travellers in India — SIM card access, navigation, and local experiences. The intersection of technology and human experience has always fascinated me.
Building with purpose
In 2019, the legalisation of homosexuality in India inspired me to create As You Are, a dating app for the LGBTQ+ community. This wasn't just another dating app — it was about creating safe spaces and fostering authentic connections. Despite raising $250K in funding, we faced the harsh reality of the funding winter. This experience taught me that passion and purpose, while essential, must be balanced with market timing and economic realities.
The athletic foundation
What many people don't know is that my entrepreneurial resilience was forged on sports fields long before I entered boardrooms. As a lifelong athlete excelling across multiple sports, I learned early that failure isn't the opposite of success — it's a stepping stone to it. Whether missing a crucial shot or watching a startup struggle, sports taught me that the game isn't over until you decide it's over.
20+ years of building
Each venture taught something the previous one couldn't. Here's the full arc.
2003
Bharti Airtel
Started career in one of India's largest telecom companies. Learned scale, systems, and what it takes to operate at national level.
2005
East Village Interactives / Beon Systems
First entrepreneurial leap — a design agency focused on human-centred problem solving. Combined NID training with real-world business building.
2009
MobiKwik — Co-founder
Co-founded one of India's leading fintech platforms when digital payments were barely a concept. Scaled through regulatory challenges, customer education, and a cash-dominant economy. Now publicly listed on NSE.
2016
Trabug — Co-founder
Travel tech product solving critical pain points for foreign travellers in India — SIM access, navigation, local experiences.
2019
As You Are — Founder
A dating app for the LGBTQ+ community, created following the legalisation of homosexuality in India. Raised $250K in funding. Learned hard lessons about market timing and the funding environment.
Now
Start Strong — Founder
Bringing 20+ years of building, failing, and succeeding to founders who are figuring it out alone. Coaching, training, and courses to help you move from idea to launch — lean, validated, and clear.
The philosophy behind Start Strong
Each venture — from design agencies to fintech platforms, from travel tech to social impact apps — taught me one thing above all: entrepreneurship isn't about building businesses. It's about solving human problems with sustainable solutions.
Adaptability over perfection
Every failed venture taught me more than every success. The ability to adapt — to pivot, to learn, to keep moving — is the only strategy that actually works over the long term.
Deep customer understanding
From NID design training to fintech at scale — every lesson points back to the same truth. You cannot build what people want until you deeply understand how they live, what they fear, and what they're actually trying to do.
Resilience as a skill
Forged on sports fields before boardrooms. The athletic mindset — train hard, strategise well, compete fully, and never decide the game is over until it actually is — runs through everything I do and teach.
The question behind the question
In coaching, the most valuable thing I do is surface what the founder is actually avoiding — not the question they arrived with, but the one underneath it. That's where the real work begins.
Teaching as learning
Faculty roles at MICA, IILM, and JKLU Design School, combined with the General Management Programme from IIM Ahmedabad, shaped how I think about frameworks — and how to make complex ideas simple enough to act on.
Lean over loud
The biggest mistake most founders make is building too much, too soon. Every course and coaching engagement I run is designed around one principle: do the minimum necessary to learn the maximum possible.
20+ years of building.
Now in your corner.
Book a free 30-minute session. No pitch, no pressure — just an honest conversation about where you are and whether coaching is the right next step.