Anish Anthony’s Inspiring Journey from Air Force Pilot to Entrepreneur

Anish Anthony has a remarkable journey from being a helicopter pilot of the Indian Air Force to becoming a pathbreaking entrepreneur and mentor. His is a story of constant reimagination, transformation, resilience, and innovation. Being a Kargil veteran, he has learned the toughness and precision required to work under pressure. Today, that quality has made him successful in the fast-paced world of startups and business leadership.

Anish Anthony’s Inspiring Journey from Air Force Pilot to Entrepreneur

From the Skies to the Battlefield

Anish Anthony was selected into the National Defence Academy through UPSC and took the first step into his career by getting commissioned as a helicopter pilot in the Indian Air Force. He participated in the Kargil War and the Siachen conflict by flying missions in one of the toughest terrains and areas of conflict. The burden of flying in life-and-death situations required entirely focused, pressure-laden decision-making. Those years of experience equipped him with a peculiar frame of mind. He then grew to become an instructor in the Airforce Academy and The Helicopter Training School. Such an ability to strategize, adapt, and execute became a priceless tool that later facilitated his transition into the entrepreneurial world.

Pivoting to the World of Startups
After his 20 years of service in the armed forces, Anish Anthony found his second calling in innovation and entrepreneurship. His transformation from defense to entrepreneurship was along with the Co-Founders of MyGate as a founding team member. MyGate - a tech-driven security and community management platform has raised several rounds of angel and VC funding of USD 80+M. The experience honed his skills in leadership, strategy development, and execution in a dynamically innovative environment.

His major contribution as a key resource was in scaling the company in terms of strategy, operations, business development, and compliance. Within Mygate, he also raised their largest business monetization vertical from zero to $10 million in ARR within one year.

Leading Innovation at T-Hub
The next challenge for Anish Anthony and his entrepreneurial zeal awaited him at Hyderabad where he served as Chief Operations Officer of T-Hub, one of the world’s largest startup incubators. During his 2 years tenure, T-Hub scaled up to support more than 2000 startups from its campus into a sprawling six-lakh-square-foot hub for startups, corporates, academia, and governments. He also established a dedicated specialized sub-incubator for AI/ML, sustainability, Healthcare, mobility, and Semiconductors. T-Hub achieved national fame during his tenure by winning the Best Incubator award for two successive years.

A Mentor and Visionary
However, apart from these organizational responsibilities, Anish Anthony also plays a vital role in the mentoring of new generations of entrepreneurs through organizations like T-Hub, TSIC, and IIT E-Cells, and gives exposure from real start-up journeys to these budding entrepreneurs in dealing with everyday challenges in scaling their businesses.

He is also on the board of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI), and thus a unique start-up ecosystem perspective will be cast for governance and compliance initiatives.

A Legacy of Leadership
This journey of Anish Anthony from an Air Force pilot to a successful businessman and now a venture consultant really is a testament to the fact that adaptability and perseverance can really make a difference. His journey from Kargil's skies to boardrooms across India's top startups testifies to the fact that, ultimately, executive leadership transcends boundaries and industries.