You have founded companies across sectors – energy, telecom, finance, life sciences. What shaped your instinct to build rather than purely invest?
I actually started building long before I ever invested. My first business was at age 16, with my brother. At that age, I was motivated to create something of my own rather than follow a traditional early-career path. So, we put a business together, which met with a reasonable degree of success and set the tone. I’ve gone back and forth since then. I built three telecom companies in the late 90s and then invested in several others.
In 2010, I decided I wanted to do something big in renewables. I set up and later owned an IPP (Independent Power Producer) and an EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) to develop and execute projects, respectively.
That hands-on learning helped me see that solar racking structures were overpriced and poorly engineered. That insight led to starting GameChange Solar in 2012. It grew quickly, and I chose to focus fully on building the company rather than investing elsewhere.
You founded GameChange with the mission to ‘repower the planet’. What did that mean to you then, and how has it evolved?
When I started, the conversation around solar was largely about subsidies and climate messaging. My view was simpler. Solar would only become mainstream if it could compete on cost without support. That became the real focus for us.
Panels were getting cheaper, but structures were not. With our background in metals, high-strength steel, engineering, and understanding what owners and EPCs needed, we focused on reducing total cost of ownership. That meant looking beyond equipment pricing to installation time, civil work, grading, reliability, and long-term performance. We pioneered solutions like TopoSmart for hilly terrains. And today, solar is widely recognised as one of the most cost-effective sources of power generation in many markets.
What’s your view on other emerging energy sources – nuclear, wind, hydrogen?
The world needs everything – solar, wind, nuclear, gas – because demand from AI, EVs and electrification is exploding. Nuclear will make a comeback, but it’s extremely costly and 10 years further out. Solar plus storage is already incredibly cost-effective. Hybrid systems – solar, wind and storage – are becoming the norm. Hydrogen is interesting but still expensive; costs need to reduce for greater offtake. What we see globally, in Brazil, Spain, the US, is that big solar projects increasingly need their own demand on-site, like data centres or hydrogen production, because curtailment is killing project economics. India is not yet facing that issue at scale
GameChange is a top global tracker company and rapidly scaling transformers. What’s driving this growth?
Three things. First, listening to customers. All our EPC and IPP meetings begin with: “What do you need to improve ROI?” And we actually execute based on the answer to that question. Second, lower total cost of ownership. Great pricing, fast installation, high power output and world-class reliability. Our trackers have uptime of 99.85-99.89 per cent. Lastly, algorithms that boost energy production. On cloudy or windy days, our systems generate more energy than competitors.
These three attributes have especially helped us in concentrated markets, including India. The solar tracking segment in India has few players and the top three dominate the market share with 95 per cent, out of which we hold 60 per cent.
You have stayed private and profitable. How does that shape your risk appetite?
We have managed to stay lean and nimble, which has helped us move fast. When we saw the opportunity in transformers, we did not need investor approvals or board delays. We leased land, built a factory, bought equipment – quickly. And before the first one fully ramped up, we had already begun building a much larger second facility. We can overlap expansions because we self-fund growth.
In solar infrastructure, what’s the next big thing?
For greater acceptance, solar needs to deliver steady and round-the-clock power. It will require storage, battery energy storage systems (BESS), to deliver reliable, 24/7 energy. Any country with high renewable penetration eventually needs massive BESS capacity. Hybrid systems, wind, solar, storage, are extremely effective. India will move in that direction too.
India is now your second-largest market. Why such deep commitment – and what have you learned here?
India has tremendous solar growth and very supportive policy. Grid interconnects are easy. We have talent and people here are hard-working. Land acquisition remains a challenge. Site control is extremely hard – antiquated documentation, unclear titles, overlapping claims. But the industry is figuring it out. Despite the challenges, the opportunity is huge. That’s why we’re all-in.
You recently expanded into balance-of-systems manufacturing with a new facility in Taloja. Why Mumbai?
Talent. Mumbai has an entrepreneurial, hard-working talent pool. Transport is not a major cost factor for us. We looked around the country and felt that the quality of professionals here far outweighs any other demerits, including logistic costs. And our targets are the global markets, primarily the US, then Europe and India.
You operate in two very different industries – renewables and life sciences. What’s the common thread?
Doing good and making great businesses. Renewables help the planet. Life sciences extend healthy human life. Both improve lives dramatically, and both are scalable, profitable ventures. That combination, impact plus strong business fundamentals, is essential for me.
What shaped your entrepreneurial instinct so early in life?
We had very little money growing up. We bought old bread, used clothes: my parents were extremely frugal. It was embarrassing sometimes, and it taught me the value of money. Starting a business at 16 was the only way to earn more than a minimum wage. My parents also pushed us hard academically – four of us went to Harvard, one to MIT, one to Georgia Tech. My mother was an environmental scientist, and her passion deeply influenced my move into solar.
And finally – your legacy. What do you hope it will be?
In renewables, we have helped drive down the cost of solar globally. AI, EV – you name it and it needs energy. I believe renewables can be cost-effective and power the world without burning fossil fuels. Growth with clean energy is possible if we focus on renewables, especially solar. So, I want to continue enabling large-scale electrification.
In life sciences, our portfolio companies are developing therapies that could reverse aspects of ageing, rejuvenate the immune system, and treat cancers and chronic diseases. Ageing is the root cause of most diseases. If we can treat the mechanisms of ageing, we can change human health forever.
So, you can say, improving lives through energy and health is the legacy that I wish to leave behind, and I’m working towards it, one tracker, transformer, and intervention at a time.