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# From Student Entrepreneur To Venture Capitalist: Richa Bajpai's Unconventional Career Journey
- URL: https://newsanek.com/from-student-entrepreneur-to-venture-capitalist-richa-bajpai-s-unconventional-ca/
- Published: 2026-11-05T19:12:53.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-05T19:20:14.000Z
- Description: Richa Bajpai started her first business while still in engineering college. Years later, she runs Campus Fund, a venture capital platform that backs students, recent graduates and dropouts. She believes hunger and resilience matter more than credentials when judging a founder.
- Author: Kumar Ujjwal
- Tags: Startup Story, Startups, #sub-startup-stories, #sub-business-stories, #national-desk

Richa Bajpai was still an engineering student when she decided to start her first company.

There was no clear career path to follow.

She had little experience to fall back on, and no certainty that the venture would work.

Her journey since then has been anything but conventional.

Today she is the founder and chief executive of Campus Fund, a venture capital platform that focuses on young entrepreneurs.

### Key points

- She started NextGen during her final year of engineering.
- She co-founded Goodera, a company focused on corporate social impact and volunteering.
- She studied for an MBA at London Business School before moving into investing.
- Campus Fund backs student entrepreneurs, recent graduates and dropouts.

## So where did it all begin?

While still at engineering college, Richa started NextGen. It was a small start with an uncertain future.

She was learning by doing, with no safety net.

That early choice to build something of her own shaped how she thinks about business.

It also shaped how she would later judge other founders.

## What made the early years so difficult?

![A cartoon woman investor sitting across a wooden table from a group of young founders, papers and a laptop spread out between them.](https://newsanek.com/content/images/2026/11/from-student-entrepreneur-to-venture-cap-scene-2.jpg)

AI illustration

Building a company as a student means balancing study, money and doubt.

The path had no map.

Her work in the years that followed kept moving between building and advising.

Each step gave her a new view of what young founders face.

## What was the turning point in her career?

![A cartoon woman in a bright office shaking hands with a young founder while a growing startup team applauds behind them.](https://newsanek.com/content/images/2026/11/from-student-entrepreneur-to-venture-cap-scene-3.jpg)

AI illustration

The turning point came when she moved from building companies to backing them.

She served on an investment committee in the UK and Europe.

She also advised a London private equity firm before starting Campus Fund.

Now she sits on the other side of the table. She meets young entrepreneurs at the same stage she once was.

## Where is she today, and what does she believe?

![A cartoon woman founder in a modern Indian office, mentoring a group of young entrepreneurs around a whiteboard with colourful sticky notes.](https://newsanek.com/content/images/2026/11/from-student-entrepreneur-to-venture-cap-scene-4.jpg)

AI illustration

Richa believes that entrepreneurial potential is better measured by hunger, resilience, risk-taking and a willingness to challenge convention.

Academic credentials alone do not tell the full story.

She also notes that women remain underrepresented in India's venture capital leadership.

Her own path is a reminder that different routes can lead to meaningful work.

Outlook India first reported this journey.

Startup Story

### 3 lessons from this journey

1. Start small while you are still studying, because experience comes faster when you build something real.
2. Build your career with patience, moving between building and backing businesses as you learn what works.
3. Judge potential by hunger, resilience and willingness to challenge convention, not only by degrees or titles.

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### Sources

- [Outlook India: From Student Entrepreneur To Venture Capitalist: Richa Bajpai's Unconventional Career Journey](https://www.outlookindia.com/hub4business/from-student-entrepreneur-to-venture-capitalist-richa-bajpais-unconventional-career-journey?ref=newsanek.com)