Founders must adhere to highest levels of corporate governance: Ritesh Malik

New Delhi, March 6 At a time when the Indian startup ecosystem is witnessing billions of dollars pouring in like never before, maintaining moral integrity at the very top becomes crucial, according to Ritesh Malik, doctor-turned-entrepreneur, investor, storyteller and philanthropist.

The true character of a startup founder is defined by how she/he manages areas of conflict, especially moral conflict, he said.

"Everything boils down to character and conduct while chasing a mission for impact. In my opinion, startup founders should adhere to the highest levels of corporate governance and idealism when it comes to running their starship," Malik told .

In 2016, Malik had started a co-working platform called Innov8, which was incubated and seed funded by Y-Combinator, a San Francisco based startup accelerator.

In three years, Innov8 became one of the largest co-working companies in India. Innov8 was sold to Softbank-backed OYO in 2019, reportedly for Rs 220 crore in an all-cash deal.

According to Malik, while we build a startup, "there should be training for founders on managing capital and resources".

"Building trust across all stakeholders and valuing resources is of utmost importance. In these times when capital is abundant, founders need to be transparent and take a long-term approach to wealth creation," he emphasised.

Also, wealth creation should be first for the team members, shareholders and last for the founder, he added.

Malik has been one of the most active angel investors in the country, having invested in more than 60 startups in the last six years.

He started his entrepreneurial journey in 2012, while he was in his final year of MBBS and doing his compulsory rotatory residential internship