Program Manager – Startups, Ecosystems & Investments

Sunera Group; Hyderabad; On-site; INR 3,000,000 - 4,200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Performance bonus

Equity participation

Job summary

Sunera Group is seeking a Program Manager – Startups, Ecosystems & Investments to plan and run our startup and investment programs from day one. You will work closely with the Chairman & CEO and participate in deal discussions, summits and founder-focused moments across the India–US corridor.

This role offers direct access to leadership, exposure to venture investing, and opportunities to build and scale ecosystem programs across Sunera’s platforms.

Qualifications

• 3–7 years in startups, VC, accelerators, consulting or ecosystem roles.
• Founders and ex-founders strongly encouraged.
• Fluent English with strong communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Plan quarterly program calendars with clear targets and budgets.
• Own cohorts, investor clubs, and demo days.
• Drive deal flow for Pavestone VC and Sunera.
• Lead venture-building initiatives in Sunera Founders Studio and Launchpad.
• Manage partnerships with ATA, TiE, IIT Hyderabad and others.
• Host and moderate events; maintain program playbooks and dashboards.

Skills

Program management

Startup ecosystem

Investment knowledge

Deal flow

Event management

Partnerships

Tools

ClickUp

Google Workspace

LinkedIn

Canva

Job description

Most people wait years to sit at the table where startups get built, funded and scaled. This role puts you there on day one.

Sunera Group is on a mission to build a $1B portfolio of ventures by 2030 across the India–US corridor, driven by conscious capitalism: building companies that do well and do good. We back founders through Pavestone VC, build ventures in-house through our founders studio and 10ex.ai, and grow startup ecosystems with partners such as the American Telugu Association (ATA), TiE, Bower School of Entrepreneurship, VentureDock, Silicon Valley Quad and IIT Hyderabad.

We’re looking for a Program Manager to work directly with Ravi Reddy Kaki, Chairman & CEO, to plan and run our startup, ecosystem and investment work. You’ll be in the room for deal discussions, on stage at our summits, and in the founder’s corner when it matters. If you’ve ever wanted to learn venture building from someone who built and exited a 2,500-person global company, this is it.

Role snapshot

• Title: Program Manager – Startups, Ecosystems & Investments
• Reports to: Ravi Reddy Kaki, Chairman & CEO
• Programs: PRISM (Platform for Resourceful Indian Startups) & Investor Club, Pavestone VC deal flow, 10ex.ai Launchpad, Sunera Founders Studio, ATA Innovation & Entrepreneurship Committee, TiE, Bower School, VentureDock, Silicon Valley Quad
• Location: Hyderabad (on-site), with travel to US events and partner hubs
• Experience: 3–7 years in startups, VC, accelerators, consulting or ecosystem roles. Founders and ex-founders strongly encouraged
• Openings: 1, full-time
• Compensation: Competitive salary plus a performance bonus tied to your scorecard; a path to equity participation in ventures you help build, for top performers

We especially encourage women to apply.

Why this role is different

• Direct access to the CEO. You work alongside Ravi every week: strategy, deals, partners, stage. No layers.
• Three careers in one. Program management, venture investing and ecosystem building. Most people pick one; you’ll learn all three.
• A global network from day one. Founders, VCs, CXOs and community leaders across India and the US.
• Real ownership. You’ll run programs end to end and be measured on outcomes, not hours.
• A fast track. Do this well and you grow into a Principal, venture lead or studio operator role. Your next step is earned, not waited for.

What you’ll own

• Strategy & portfolio of programs: Turn Sunera’s ecosystem and investment goals into a quarterly plan with clear targets, owners and budgets. Run the operating rhythm across all programs.
• PRISM cohorts & Investor Club: Own the cohort cycle: sourcing, screening, selection, onboarding and founder support. Grow the investor club that funds them.
• Demo days & summits: Run quarterly demo days and the ATA Innovation & Entrepreneurship Summit: founders, investors, speakers, agenda, run of show and follow-up.
• Deal flow & investments: Build the pipeline for Pavestone VC and Sunera: first screens, investment briefs, diligence support, founder–investor intros and tracking to close.
• Venture building: Help launch and scale ventures from the Sunera Founders Studio and 10ex.ai Launchpad, including the free 90-day startup package for founders under $1M ARR.
• Partners: Own relationships with ATA, TiE, Bower School, VentureDock, Silicon Valley Quad, IIT Hyderabad and campus E-cells. Turn partnerships into joint programs that ship.
• On stage: Host, moderate and present at our events. You become a visible face of Sunera’s ecosystem work.
• Team & ops: Lead a small program team and interns. Keep ClickUp, dashboards, newsletters and the program playbook sharp.

Your scorecard

The big one: a pipeline of great founders matched with the right capital, and programs delivered on date. Targets are agreed with Ravi in week 1; each month is scored out of 100.

• Quarterly ecosystem & investment plan (15%): Day 30 approved · Day 60 in motion · Day 90 reviewed and reset
• Demo day / summit delivered (20%): Day 30 plan approved · Day 60 founders & investors confirmed · Day 90 held, follow-ups done in a week
• Qualified startups in pipeline, screened (20%): 25 · 60 · 100
• Investment briefs to Pavestone / Sunera (15%): 2 · 5 · 10
• Founders onboarded to 10ex.ai Launchpad / Studio (10%): 3 · 7 · 10
• Weekly CEO note and dashboard (10%): 4 of 4 every month

Your first 90 days

• Days 1–30: Learn and plan. Meet the partners, portfolio and founders. Map every program and its numbers. Present the quarterly plan to Ravi. Dashboard live in ClickUp.
• Days 31–60: Build momentum. Cohort and pipeline running. First investment briefs delivered. Partner calendar set. Host your first session on stage.
• Days 61–90: Deliver and scale. Demo day delivered. First founders through Launchpad. Playbook updated. Your proposal for what we should double down on next quarter.

Who you are

• Entrepreneurial at heart. You’ve built something: a startup, a side venture, a community, an E-cell, a program from zero. You act like an owner.
• Ambitious, in a good way. You want to be a venture leader in 5 years, and you’re ready to work for it.
• A strong operator. You turn big ideas into plans, plans into deadlines, and deadlines into results. You follow up without being chased.
• Fluent in startups and money. You understand business models, unit economics and how rounds work, or you learn them fast.
• Great with people. Confident with founders, investors and CXOs; clear in English, spoken and written. Telugu or Hindi is a plus.
• AI-native. You use AI daily and know how to make it do real work.
• Values-driven. Our work is about conscious capitalism. You care about impact, not just outcomes.

How AI fits this role

• Screening: AI summaries and scoring of cohort applications and pitch decks, so founders hear back fast.
• Investment research: market maps, competitor scans and first-draft investment briefs.
• Intros and events: founder and investor briefs before every meeting.
• Comms: first drafts of invites, follow-ups, posts and newsletters with Claude or ChatGPT.
• Ops: ClickUp AI and note takers for meetings and action items; a shared prompt library the whole team uses.

Tools: ClickUp, Google Workspace, LinkedIn, WhatsApp communities, Canva, Claude or ChatGPT.

Come build the companies, communities and capital that shape the next decade of the India–US startup corridor.