Almond Group: Ketan Shete on Building a Multi-Venture Ecosystem to Empower India

Guest: Ketan Shete Date: January 15, 2026 Read Time: 9 mins

Entrepreneurship is often viewed as a singular pursuit, but for Ketan Shete, it is a broad spectrum of impact. As the Founder of Almond Group, Ketan has built a conglomerate of ventures spanning technology training, social media, and automation. An entrepreneur born from a business family but forged through independent bootstrapping, Ketan's journey is a masterclass in leveraging student networks and rural potential to build a self-sustaining ecosystem of innovation.

The 'Impact' Pivot: From Diploma to Disruption

Ketan's entrepreneurial journey didn't start in a boardroom; it started in a classroom. While pursuing his diploma, he realized he didn't want to work under someone or be pressurized by traditional corporate structures. "I wanted to see what I could give back to society," Ketan shares. This motivation led him to start his first venture during his second year of diploma studies, focusing on how student communities could be transformed into entrepreneurial engines.

Today, Almond Group acts as a parent organization for several specialized brands. **Cyber Yoga** (or Cyber Yuva) focuses on technology training and workshops, directly interacting with thousands of students across Maharashtra. **Chitralipi** is his social media venture that promotes advertising through engaging video content, while his other startups focus on the burgeoning field of automation.

"India's next superpower status won't come from cities alone. 70% of our GDP potential lies in rural areas. That is where the real innovation needs to happen." — Ketan Shete

Bootstrapping Without a Single Penny

Despite coming from a business background, Ketan made a personal pact: he would not take a single penny from his family. "I wanted to prove that you can start from zero," he notes. This forced him to be incredibly resourceful, generating initial capital through technical competitions, pocket money savings, and prize winnings.

The Multi-Venture Ecosystem

Cyber Yoga: Technology training hubs in engineering colleges across Maharashtra, bridging the industry-academia gap.
Chitralipi: A digital media company specializing in short-form video advertising and brand promotion.
TheJobwale: A digital portal aimed at simplifying employment and recruitment for the youth.
Automation Ventures: High-end tech solutions focusing on industrial and service-sector automation.

The 'Partner' Philosophy: Friendships as Foundations

Ketan believes that the right co-founder is more important than the right idea. He found most of his partners within his own friend circle and family—people whose "energy levels" and thought processes matched his own. "When your thought process matches, you decide to build the future together," he says. This trust-based hiring has allowed Almond Group to scale quickly while maintaining a lean operational structure.

How to Build a Conglomerate from Scratch

Identify the Gap: Look for what the society or student community is missing. Ketan focused on skill gaps in colleges.
Build the Network: Use localized hubs (like his college clubs) to create direct interaction with your target audience.
Bootstrap Resourcefully: Win competitions and save small amounts to fund your initial digital presence.
Diversify Strategically: Once one venture is stable, look for related gaps (e.g., training leads to jobs, which leads to media).

Rural India: The Real Frontier

A significant part of Ketan's vision is focused on the rural economy. Following Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy that "the soul of India lives in its villages," Ketan is committed to taking his tech and entrepreneurial models to rual areas. "Indian economy's true strength is in its rural part. If we empower them with our ideology and technology, India becomes unstoppable."

Almond Group's Footprint

Student Reach: Direct interaction with students across hundreds of colleges in Maharashtra.
Venture Bundle: Successfully managing 4-5 active ventures under one group.
Self-Sustainable: Entirely bootstrapped without external VC funding or family capital.

Final Message: The Zero-to-One Mindset

Ketan’s final advice to Indian youth is to stop waiting for the "perfect" job or the "perfect" funding. He emphasizes that the era of globalization and digitization has made it possible for anyone to start. "Don't think too much. Just make a move. Even if it's a small step, it's better than standing still."

Ketan Shete continues to lead Almond Group with a focus on upliftment, proving that a bundle of small, impactful ventures can create a massive wave of change in the Indian entrepreneurial landscape.