Growth-Stage IPO Advisory in India

Deepank is the Founder of S45, an AI native investment bank focused on closing the capital markets gap for India's best emerging businesses. He works with founders who have built real, scalable companies and helps them access structured capital and public markets with clear, disciplined execution.He brings over 14 years of experience across investment banking, private equity, quick commerce, fintech, supply chain and actuarial sciences, with operating and investing roles at Blinkit, 1mg, BNP Paribas and Alcazar Capital. Before S45, he built a fintech platform that raised 5 million dollars in seed funding and grew into a meaningful wealth tech and structured finance business, which ultimately evolved into the S45 mission.Having scaled one of his ventures 10x to 60 million dollars in ARR, he has seen how strong fundamentals can still be held back by a lack of fit with traditional capital. Too operational for new age venture capital, too early for large institutions and unwilling to over dilute for private equity. Those constraints shaped his view on how capital should work for founders, not the other way around. At S45, his focus is on empowering 1,000 entrepreneurs over the next few years with the capital, strategic guidance and operating support they need to grow into India's next generation of resilient, high growth, blue chip companies.

Pankaj is the Co-founder of S45, bringing over two decades of experience in capital markets, merchant banking and corporate advisory. A Company Secretary by training, he began his career at Dolphin Laboratories before moving into merchant banking at Microsec India Limited in 2003, where he developed a deep specialization in public markets and corporate transactions. Over his 22 year career, he has helped lead more than 16 main board IPOs, executed over 25 takeovers and managed rights issues, buybacks, mergers and demergers across multiple sectors. He has worked closely with some of East India's most prominent listed companies, including Ramkrishna Forgings, Rupa, Emami, Haldia Petrochemicals and Centuryply, guiding them through key phases of growth and market expansion. In his most recent role, Pankaj was part of the investor relations team at Shyam Metallics and Energy Limited, gaining firsthand insight into how large corporates think about strategy, capital allocation and sustained market performance. Having seen both the decisions that create lasting value and the missteps that hold companies back, he has built a strong track record in advising mid sized businesses on capital raising, M&A and long term value creation. At S45, he focuses on guiding founders through strategic growth initiatives, identifying acquisition opportunities and opening access to India's public markets. He brings a deep belief in empowering high potential entrepreneurs and is committed to reshaping the capital markets journey for India's small and mid sized enterprises.

Aman is the Co-founder of S45, where he focuses on investing in and scaling high growth businesses. His work sits at the intersection of capital, strategy and operations, helping founders move from early traction to durable, compounding growth. He began his entrepreneurial journey while still at IIT Delhi, founding SayF in his pre final year and growing it into a venture backed company with a multi million dollar business footprint. After SayF, he worked directly with the founders of a Bay Area SaaS startup backed by Khosla Ventures, leading strategic and growth initiatives across product, sales and operations. His experience spans fintech, consumer technology and enterprise SaaS, with a focus on building from zero to one and then scaling with discipline. Having built and advised companies through fundraising cycles, product pivots and execution challenges, Aman has developed a clear understanding of capital efficiency, growth levers and what it takes to build resilient businesses. Growing up in an Indian Army household shaped his approach to work, with a strong bias for action, adaptability and resilience. At S45, he works closely with founders to refine strategy, unlock new growth opportunities and navigate fundraising with confidence. With firsthand experience as a founder, he focuses on helping entrepreneurs build enduring, purposeful companies with long term value. Outside of work, he enjoys travelling, meeting interesting people and spending time with long form essays and non fiction.