Startup funding in India is increasingly flowing to founders who can build, not just pitch — and Masai School has just launched a programme designed around exactly that. Announced on 14 October 2026, the LEAP Founders' Cohort is an immersive, build-first journey for aspiring founders.
The standout feature: Masai takes 0 per cent equity and 0 per cent revenue share. The programme runs in three phases — three days in person in Goa, six weeks of online building, and two days in Bengaluru, where qualifying teams pitch directly to investors.
Who teaches and who invests
Participants learn from founders who have collectively raised over $2.4 billion, including Farid Ahsan (ShareChat co-founder), Ankush Sachdeva (ShareChat), Amit Agarwal (NoBroker), Harshvardhan Lunia (Lendingkart), Ishendra Agarwal (GIVA), Arpita Aditi (Dil Foods) and Abhishek Goyal (Tracxn). Mentor pods of 10–15 founders work at similar stages. Investors expected at the pitch event include India Quotient, Capria Ventures and Prana Ventures — though funding is explicitly not guaranteed.
Why this model is gaining ground
Admission is selective, with every application reviewed individually. The programme's bet is that India's startup story is shifting from who can raise to who can build — real problems solved in front of real people, judged by founders who have actually built companies.
Why it matters for founders
Zero-equity founder programmes are a genuine new lane in the ecosystem: you keep your cap table clean while getting mentorship from operators worth billions in fundraising experience. If you are pre-idea or pre-revenue, a build-first cohort like LEAP can be worth more than a cheque.