The story of Venture Spark begins with three visionaries, Ankit, Sivach, and Ted, whose personal journeys and passion for fostering innovation laid the foundation for this transformative accelerator program.
Ankit’s journey has spanned continents, industries, and entrepreneurial ecosystems. From his beginnings in California, where he closely observed the thriving Silicon Valley startup scene, to his transition to Asia, Ankit has worked across diverse sectors. His career includes time in management consulting at McKinsey & Co., pioneering roles in e-commerce at Shopee (part of SEA Group), and innovation in advanced semiconductor technologies.
As a seasoned investor, Ankit has actively participated in the Silicon Valley and India’s booming startup ecosystem, gaining firsthand experience in identifying and nurturing high-potential ventures. Recognizing the untapped opportunities in Southeast Asia, he brought his expertise to the region, where he saw immense potential in championing local startups.
Sivach’s entrepreneurial spirit is deeply rooted in his upbringing in Thailand, as a second-generation leader in a family business. After studying in the United Kingdom, Sivach embarked on a career that included serving as an executive at Triumph Motorcycles, where his strategic leadership drove global digital transformation initiatives.
Beyond the corporate world, Sivach has made numerous strategic angel investments in startups across the United Kingdom and Thailand, gaining valuable insights into what it takes to build and scale promising ventures. Upon returning to Thailand, he found himself inspired by the country’s burgeoning startup ecosystem and the potential to bring in more investments to help local founders succeed.
Fueled by their shared vision of empowering SEA entrepreneurs, Ankit and Sivach joined forces to create A2D Ventures, a platform dedicated to building Southeast Asia’s largest angel investing network and syndicate. A2D provides visionary investors the opportunity to co-invest in the next generation of game-changing startups.
With Ankit’s 8+ years of experience living in Thailand and investing globally, Sivach’s deep connections to Thailand, and the A2D core team primarily based in Thailand, they felt a profound connection to the local startup ecosystem.
In its first and a half years, 40% of all A2D investments have gone to Thai startups. Yet, they recognized that funding alone wasn’t enough to truly uplift the local startup ecosystem.
Ankit and Sivach saw a clear need for an accelerator program in Thailand that would fulfill the three critical gaps of early-stage founders to make an impact within the local startup ecosystem:
Their vision was to create an accelerator program that would not only provide these essentials but also as a platform for startups to access a global network of investors and industry experts.
Ted came to Thailand as an immigrant, living here for over 16 years. Thailand gave him the opportunity to start his own business: a hotel supply chain management software, based on his firsthand experiences working in the industry.
While learning to scale up his business such as attending programs like YC Startup School, Ted understood the need for a community of founders, mentors, and investors to gain access to professional guidance and fundraising opportunities. He started organizing YC Startup School meetups in Bangkok, which eventually grew into the Bangkok Startup Association, Thailand’s largest startup community with over 1,000 within 2 years.
Despite making big impacts from building the largest startup community in Thailand, to make a more meaningful impact to fellow founders, he strongly believes that creating a world-class accelerator program that provides the capital, mentorship, global network, and knowledge is the key to turn their visions into reality, and in turn, create the flywheel effect in the local startup ecosystem.
At Venture Spark, we believe that Thailand has the talent, creativity, and potential to become a global hub for startups. By combining the expertise of successful entrepreneurs, global investors, industry experts, and ecosystem builders, we are creating an accelerator program that equips early-stage founders with everything they need to thrive.
With the collective efforts of Ankit, Sivach, Ted, and InnoSpace, Venture Spark is more than just an accelerator program — it’s a movement to uplift Thailand’s startup ecosystem to new heights.
The vision of Venture Spark became a reality with the support of InnoSpace (Thailand), a key partner that shares the same vision: to empower Thai startups and create a lasting impact on the local startup ecosystem.
InnoSpace aligns perfectly with the goals of Venture Spark. Their focus isn’t just on returns, but on providing startups the platform to achieve their full potential through capital, aspiration, and mentorship. Together, A2D Ventures and InnoSpace are pioneering a new era of entrepreneurship in Thailand, helping founders unlock opportunities and scale their businesses globally.