After a warm breakfast, the session began with Pramod sharing his heartfelt journey, rich with insights and lessons in resilience and entrepreneurship. Growing up in the 1970s in a modest home on the outskirts of Mangalore, Pramod experienced early hardships that shaped his grit and determination.

While still in school, he helped his father run a small soda business, delivering bottles by cycle to nearby shops for nearly three years during Class X and PUC. This early exposure sparked his interest in business, though his father encouraged him to focus on higher education.

Pramod went on to study at two premier institutions — Manipal Institute of Technology and KREC Surathkal (now NIT Karnataka). During his Master’s, he earned a respectable stipend by securing an All India Rank of 465 in GATE (Computer Science), which helped support his education.

His professional journey began at Controlnet, Goa, followed by a major milestone — landing a job at Microsoft. This gave him the opportunity to work in Seattle, USA for nearly three years, expanding his technical skills and global exposure. In 2004, he returned to India and joined Intel, Bangalore, gaining further corporate experience and a valuable professional network.

In 2007, he enrolled in the General Management Program at IIM Bangalore, which he self-funded. This course deepened his understanding of business, finance, and startup dynamics. Around the same time, he joined Facetime Communications (later Actiance), a U.S.-based startup, which gave him a close-up view of the startup ecosystem.

Over six years, he built a solid career and earned significant Employee Stock Options (ESOPs). Rather than forfeiting them on exit, he took the bold step of buying out all his vested shares — a decision that paid off in 2017 when the company was acquired, yielding a 4.5x return.

Pramod began angel investing in 2016 with a small stake in his classmate’s venture, Netanalytiks. In 2017, he invested in Travelspice and helped them raise additional funds, leading to the formal launch of Eagle10 Ventures. Since then, Eagle10 has built a network of over 200 angel investors, evaluated 600+ startups, and invested in 21 companies — with two successful exits and performance surpassing typical VC benchmarks.

A member of Kanara Entrepreneurs since 2017, Pramod credited the platform for nurturing his leadership and mentoring spirit. He expressed gratitude to KE Global Chairman Ivan Fernandes, Peter Anil Rego, and others who encouraged his journey.

Today, Pramod actively advises startups, offering strategic guidance on business models, scaling, and building valuation-ready companies. He is also a certified Independent Director, accredited by the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs.

His philosophy is simple: “Give first, without expecting in return.” He humbly shared some of his missteps, emphasizing that failure is part of the journey — what matters is learning fast and moving on.

Pramod concluded by announcing his new venture, Geni5.com, an AI transformation company aimed at helping businesses embrace artificial intelligence for smarter decision-making and operational excellence.

The event concluded with a memento presented by KE Bangalore’s former president Robinson D’Souza, and a vote of thanks to Fr. Olvin Veigas and Philip D’Souza of SJIM. Eugene Mathias moderated the session, setting an inspiring tone for the day.