Viraj Phanse

Commander
DISC Type : D

Investor at Digitalapi.ai

San Francisco Bay Area, United States

Overview

Viraj is a Partner at Arka Venture Labs, investing in cross-border, enterprise AI startups in the US-India corridor. A former entrepreneur with a successful exit, he has a deep operational background in product management and GTM strategy from his time at AWS, Oracle, and Aerospike. He holds an MBA from UC Berkeley and an MS in Computer Science from UCLA.

Outside of his venture capital role, Viraj is an astute observer of economic and cultural trends in India. His social commentary touches on everything from the business realities of gig economy drivers in Pune to the shifting social habits of Gen-Z, showing a keen interest in ground-level market dynamics.

Unique fact: Viraj holds a patent for a location and content-based search system for mobile devices.

Personality Overview

Very Quick

Impact-Driven

Strong-Willed

They do not care very much about building rapport or relationships.  They are less concerned about the product and more about its potential impact. They like to stay in control of the negotiation or defining of the terms.

Topics They Care About

Enterprise AI Startups
As a Partner at Arka Venture Labs, he focuses on investing in pre-seed/seed, enterprise AI companies.
US-India Tech Corridor
His investment thesis centers on cross-border companies headquartered in the US with development and operations in India.
SaaS Pricing Evolution
He authored a publication analyzing the shift in SaaS pricing from subscription and usage-based models to outcome-based models.

Media Appearances

Viraj has no verified media appearances

Work History

2026
Investor at Digitalapi.ai
2026
Investor at AiRANACULUS
2026
Investor at AgntID.ai
2025
Charter Member at TiE Silicon Valley
2025
Investor at PitCrew

Education

Master of Business Administration - MBA from University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business
Master of Science (MS) from UCLA

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : N/A Location : San Francisco Bay Area, United States Job Level : N/A Designation : Investor at Digitalapi.ai
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Insights For Selling To Viraj

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • When negotiating terms, help them build an impression that they are the ones calling the shots
  • Use phrases like ‘it’s your decision’, ‘strategic impact’ etc.
  • Speak about competitive differentiation that your product offers

DONT's

  • Do not back off when challenged, respond with a confident, objective answer instead
  • Do not hesitate from asking counter questions, just avoid challenging their authority
  • Don’t be in a rush to invite them for a social meet and greet

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Viraj is

  • Conviction around the impact matters the most to them, followed by a sense of achievement and ROI.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Viraj

  • If they decide not to use your product, they will say no clearly.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Viraj move?

  • If convinced, they can reach decisions quite fast.
  • Can Viraj take some risk or not?

  • They do not shy away from taking risks, but can be quite binary about them.

You And Viraj

Personality Compatibility


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