An alumnus of Stanford University, Paula Mariwala is Managing Director of Seedfund Advisors, a venture capital firm which invests in early-stage companies in India, and Co-Founder & President of Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs India. She is also Promoter Director of Hinditron Group of Companies, one of India’s oldest technology companies. Paula is an active impact investor from her family office and also runs Hinditron Foundation which supports tech-enabled innovations to promote a 'Better Life' through technology. Paula brings over 25 years of entrepreneurial and operational experience with technology companies in the USA and in India and more than 12 years of early-stage investing. In her role as Managing Director since inception in 2006, Paula has been actively involved with the entrepreneurial ecosystem in India to source, evaluate and mentor start-up companies. Seedfund has a portfolio of 30 early-stage companies across sectors, where she has led investments in education, healthcare, deep technology and rural/social impact sectors. She works closely with portfolio companies to take them to their next stage of growth. As an angel investor, she has now invested in almost a dozen companies with Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs India and in her individual capacity through her family office and foundation. Paula is actively engaged with entrepreneurship through her association with professional bodies like The Indus Entrepreneur TiE (Charter Member), TiE Stree Shakti (Core Team), Indian Merchants Chamber(Chair/Managing Committee), IEEE (Life Member), Computer Society of India, Stanford University Alumni Association, Dell Women’s Entrepreneurship Network and is a frequent speaker and judge at entrepreneurship events. Paula holds an MS in Applied Physics from Stanford University, USA and BSc (Hons) in Physics from St. Xavier’s college, Mumbai. She is the Co-President of Stanford University Alumni Association India, a Member of the Board of Advisors of St. Xavier’s College and a Member of the Governing Board of K.J. Somaiya College of Engineering and is involved in various capacities with many academic institutions and technology incubators. Deeply engaged with philanthropy, she supports several foundations working in environmental conservation, sustainability, education and women empowerment. A strong believer in mentoring and leadership, she has mentored many young women and supports organizations like The Gender Lab, Avanti Young Women Leaders Program, Katalyst and Chandani Mentor Network. She is an advisor to the SDG philanthropy platform, Social Impact platform iDoBro, and Massive Fund Incubator. She is part of the founding team of the newly launched KREA University, a liberal arts university in Chennai, India.