Obituary: Remembering Neeraj Tyagi of We Founder Circle

On Saturday, August 16, 2025, the startup community lost a visionary investor and dear friend — Neeraj Tyagi, Co-founder of We Founder Circle, Avinya Ventures, and Invstt. His passing leaves a deep void in the entrepreneurial ecosystem and in the lives of those who knew him closely.

To many, Neeraj was an investor and mentor. To me, and to countless others, he was more — a companion on the journey of building, someone who believed in people before numbers, and a constant pillar of support for founders chasing impossible dreams.

A Community Builder

When Neeraj co-founded We Founder Circle in 2020, it wasn’t just another angel network. It was a community built on trust, belief, and collaboration. In just a few years, WFC backed more than a hundred startups — but for Neeraj, the real success was in the relationships he nurtured and the founders who felt less lonely after meeting him.

With Invstt, he expanded this mission globally, connecting investors across 60+ countries. Later, with Avinya Ventures, he sought to bring scale and discipline to early-stage investing, showing that angel capital could also be institutional and enduring.

Visionary Investor

Neeraj had an eye for the future. He was an early backer of BluSmart, Rooter, Zypp Electric, and many others — long before they became well known. His portfolio reflected his conviction that startups could solve India’s biggest challenges, from sustainable mobility to rural fintech.

Yet what set him apart was humility. Titles never mattered to him. He listened more than he spoke, and every founder who interacted with him felt heard, valued, and encouraged.

A Personal Friend

For me, Neeraj was not just a colleague. We worked together, invested together, and often spoke about far more than businesses — about life, resilience, and the fragility of dreams.

Even at his busiest, he always made time for people. A short message, a quick call, a word of encouragement — he knew exactly when it was needed. His sudden absence feels unreal because he was such a steady presence in our lives.

His Legacy

Neeraj’s legacy is not confined to deal sheets or startups funded. It lives in the mindset he shaped: that capital can be compassionate, and trust is the true currency of the ecosystem.

Through his work at Venture Catalysts, WFC, Avinya, and Invstt, he touched the journeys of hundreds of founders and built institutions that will continue to serve the community for years to come.

A Goodbye

It is hard to imagine the ecosystem without him. For those of us who knew him personally, the loss is profound. Neeraj was not only a co-founder or investor — he was a friend, a guide, and someone who stood by us when belief was all we had.

I will miss his wisdom, his laughter, and the rare gift he had of making people feel their dreams mattered. His light may have dimmed too soon, but it will live on in every founder he backed, every community he nurtured, and every friendship he built.

Rest in peace, Neeraj. You will always remain in our work, in our hopes, and in the ecosystem you helped shape.

-By Alok Patnia, Founder and Managing Partner, TMG