PNN
New Delhi [India], August 28: Renowned startup accelerator PedalStart has announced the third, and biggest edition of its flagship event, Hustler Mela – an exclusive, outcome-driven, invite-only live pitching event scheduled to take place in Bengaluru in the last week of September 2025. Building on the success of its previous two editions, Hustler Mela 3.0 will see the active participation of 300+ investors – including over 250 angel investors and HNIs and around 50 VC Funds and Family Offices – along with over 30 carefully-selected, high-potential start-ups for a single day of high-impact networking, pitching and funds deployment. Notably, the expected deployment of equity investments across several start-ups at Hustler Mela 3.0 has been pegged to be at around ₹15 Crores (over US$1.8 Million) – making it one of the most outcome-driven upcoming start-up funding endeavours in India.
What sets this year’s Hustler Mela apart is not just its scale but its structure too – at Hustler Mela 3.0, PedalStart itself will be deploying a substantial amount of funds in at least 10 start-ups through a multi-crore corpus earmarked for the day, underscoring its commitment to creating outcome-driven opportunities. Furthermore, every selected start-up invited to Hustler Mela 3.0 will get the opportunity to pitch directly in front of a curated panel.
For angel investors and HNIs, this event presents an unprecedented opportunity to evaluate and interact in real-time with several high-potential start-ups wherein PedalStart has already committed capital. Hustler Mela 3.0 is not just providing them the confidence of investing alongside PedalStart in pre-vetted startups that have passed multiple layers of due diligence, but also allowing them to participate in real-time evaluations of start-ups, network meaningfully with peers and experts, and explore collaborations with/via PedalStart’s PedalInvest Club.
Hustler Mela 3.0 is more than a pitching stage – it’s been designed as an immersive platform for investors who seek to combine learning with active participation in India’s thriving early-stage ecosystem. The event will feature exclusive sessions and workshops enabling angel investors to understand the nuances of optimal start-up evaluation, learn from PedalStart’s deal-making playbook, and connect with a growing community.
Manas Pal and Aditya Darolia, Co-Founders of PedalStart, commented, “We are thrilled to announce Hustler Mela 3.0 – our biggest and boldest bet yet as one of India’s most trusted and dynamic start-up ecosystem enablers. At this invite-only event, we at PedalStart are committing a substantial corpus, thus ensuring that funds deployment for select start-ups is not left to chance, but backed by intent and structure. Besides, we’re also ensuring that Hustler Mela 3.0 showcases the country’s most promising, investable start-ups, alongside leading angels, HNIs, and VCs. For investors, this would be a golden opportunity to learn the art and science of start-up investing, gain access to the country’s most promising start-ups handpicked and backed by PedalStart, build confidence by co-investing with us, and be part of a highly curated network. Our mission is to create an ecosystem where learning and action converge, and where founders get accelerated access to capital and investors get meaningful exposure to quality deals.”
Notably, over the past few years, Hustler Mela by PedalStart has already made its mark in India’s start-up ecosystem, with the presence of 250+ start-ups and 100+ investors and mentors, and enabling funding transactions to the tune of ₹4 Crores. In its previous editions, several start-up founders from tier-2 and tier-3 cities got their first-ever direct exposure to pitch to prominent investors and mentors. This year, PedalStart is gearing up to take this event’s impact several notches higher – aiming to make it bigger and better, while placing an emphasis on backing domain-agnostic early-stage start-ups across India.
Hustler Mela 3.0 will not only strive to facilitate founder-investor matchmaking in real time, but also aim to create a high-trust network that continues to thrive after the event is over, encouraging collaborations, partnerships, and mentorships and beyond.
Investors willing to join can join the waitlist from here: https://forms.gle/UgaVU63D3bc3UbuLA
Founders willing to join can join the wishlist from here: https://forms.gle/A3nJzQvA7Jdp15nP6
About PedalStart
PedalStart is India’s fastest-growing, operator-led start-up accelerator, designed to empower early-stage founders with hands-on guidance, execution support, and strategic growth. Through a rigorous 3-month filtration process, we carefully select many high-potential startups each year. As an accelerator, we go beyond mentorship by actively investing in these startups, leveraging our deep industry expertise to help them scale, expand market presence, and build a strong foundation for long-term success. Backed by a strong ecosystem of experienced operators, mentors and investors, we are committed to transforming early-stage ventures into high-growth companies.
Website: http://pedalstart.com/
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