Zishaan Hayath Is Backing Startups With a Founder’s Perspective

Zishaan Hayath is best known as the founder and CEO of Toppr, a learning platform that focused on personalised education for students across India. His journey in building an edtech company has shaped much of how he approaches investing today.

Before Toppr, Hayath worked across companies like Futurebazaar, Opera Solutions, and ITC—experiences that gave him exposure to both consumer internet and data-driven businesses. But it’s his time as a founder that stands out the most.

As an angel investor, Hayath has backed close to 20 startups across edtech and SaaS. His portfolio includes names like Ola, Housing.com, Shadowfax, AdPushup, and Flyrobe—companies that have scaled in very different ways but share strong execution at their core.

What defines his approach is his founder-first mindset. Having built a company himself, he understands the uncertainty and complexity that come with early-stage decisions. This often reflects in the way he evaluates startups—looking beyond just metrics to the people building them.

He also tends to focus on sectors he understands well, especially education and software. This allows him to go deeper into product thinking and long-term potential rather than surface-level trends.

With multiple exits and a steady investment track record, Hayath’s journey reflects thoughtful participation in the startup ecosystem.

Zishaan Hayath’s story is a reminder that experience as a builder often translates into sharper instincts as an investor.

Because sometimes, the best way to back founders is to have been one yourself.