Dr Ramesh Kuruva is Assistant Professor at the Desai Sethi School of Entrepreneurship at IIT Bombay, teaching and researching Entrepreneurial Finance, Startup Ecosystem and Venture Funding.

Ramesh comes with a great background of both academia and having been an entrepreneur himself. He holds a PhD in Entrepreneurial Finance from IIT Madras, where his research explored into venture capital (VC) contracts, valuation, and exits. A gold medalist in both his Bachelor's and Master's degrees—the latter in Accounting and Finance—Ramesh also received multiple prestigious fellowships from the Central Government during his academic journey. As Co-founder and former CEO of YNOS Venture Engine (founded in 2017) an IIT Madras-incubated startup, he was instrumental in building India's largest early-stage entrepreneurial ecosystem platform, connecting startups, investors, and incubators. YNOS raised significant funding from angels and VCs, amplifying its influence across India's startup landscape.
 
At IIT Madras, Ramesh played a key role in establishing the Centre for Research on Startups (CREST), collaborating with government bodies such as the Ministries of Textiles, Education, and Agriculture. He contributed to the India Venture Capital and Private Equity Reports (2016–2017) as a research team member and served as a sub-editor for the 2018 edition. His research has produced reports and case studies on India's VC/PE landscape, state ecosystems, and angel networks. Ramesh's research interests focus on VC/PE and startup ecosystems. With his rich experience mentoring startups and working with the ecosystem at YNOS, he is eager to guide entrepreneurs, collaborate with incubators, and engage with researchers on cutting-edge topics in Venture Capital, Entrepreneurship, Finance and Innovation, aiming to further strengthen India's startup ecosystem.