LVL Zero Onboards Leading Global & Indian Mentors to Power India’s Next Wave of Game Developers

LVL Zero, India’s first-of-its-kind gaming incubator backed by MIXI Global Investments, Nazara Technologies, and Chimera VC, today announced its mentor network for the inaugural cohort, bringing together Indian & global experts across game development, publishing, product, and growth to support India’s emerging game studios.

This mentor ecosystem will work closely with the 10 selected startups, embedding hands-on guidance into LVL Zero’s 100-day execution-driven program to help founders move from early-stage builds to market-ready products.
A Cross-Functional Mentor Network Built for Execution

The mentor cohort spans a wide range of disciplines critical to building and scaling successful game studios globally.

Key areas of expertise include:

• Game design & player experience
• PC, console, and mobile publishing
• Live-ops, retention, and analytics
• User acquisition, marketing, and growth
• Go-to-market strategy and positioning
• Game production, art, and audio
• Startup operations, pitching, and investment readiness

Mentors include Ankit Garg (Zombie Art School), Dr. Yaraslau Kot (University of Warsaw), Terry Lee (Fusebox), Claire Roazain (RZAIN), Dong Dong (NCSoft), Sophie Vo (Rise & Play), and Taha Tinwala (Gameramp), among others.

The network also brings in specialists such as Vivek Ramachandaran (Gameramp), Shashank Vandarangi (Gameramp), Mariusz Gasiewski (Google), Balaji Vijayan (formerly FRVR), Jia Ling Hoo (ID@Xbox), and Dilpesh Parmar (Investor & Advisor, multiple startups).

Further strengthening the ecosystem are experts including Charu Desodt (INT./Night), Nilesh Mange (Mother Grace Productions), Pratik Jaiswal (Sri Durga Arts), Per-Arne (Amplifier Game Invest), Federico Chichi (ROLI), Matthew Quek (Iterco), and Esteban Grellier (NAGA Publishing).

The mentor network is further supported by Gorkem (LUDUS Ventures), Kirill Akimkin (Polden Publishing), Sushant Kulkarni (24 Track Legends), Ravi Mantena and Deepak Gurijala (1312 Interactive), Anurag Choudhary (Felicity), Sadiq Ahamed (Lysto), Robert Huynh (Reforged Labs), and Imtiaz Hussain (formerly Yesgnome).

From Advice to Execution: Embedded Mentorship Model

Unlike traditional incubators, LVL Zero integrates mentors directly into the product development lifecycle. Each startup is paired with dedicated mentors aligned to their platform and stage, with access to a broader network for specialized inputs. Mentors actively participate in:

• Bi-weekly sprint reviews. 
• Product and design feedback loops. 
• QA & Playtesting data analysis & feedback. 
• Go-to-market and publishing strategy

This ensures that mentorship is not theoretical, but directly contributes to shipping better products within tight timelines.

Global Expertise, Local Execution

The mentor network includes operators and experts with experience across global gaming ecosystems, including platforms such as Xbox and leading international publishers.

By bringing this expertise to Indian founders, LVL Zero aims to bridge long-standing gaps in:

• Access to global publishing pathways
• Understanding of live-service and retention systems. 
• Go-to-market and distribution strategy
• Investor and capital readiness. 
• Aligned to a 100-Day Build–Test–Ship Framework

Mentors play a critical role across all phases of the program:

• Ignition (Days 1–15): Defining milestones, product vision, and execution roadmap
• Core Build (Days 16–70): Supporting rapid iteration, playtesting, and validation. 
• Market Readiness (Days 71–100): Preparing for launch, publishing, and investor engagement

By the end of the program, startups are expected to deliver playable builds, validated product loops, and investor/publisher-ready pitches, shaped through continuous mentor intervention.

Sagar Nair, Head of Incubation, LVL Zero said, “Access to capital is important, but what early-stage game studios in India have lacked most is access to real, hands-on expertise. With this mentor network, we are bringing in operators who have built, shipped, and scaled games globally, and embedding them directly into the founders’ journey. This isn’t advisory in isolation, it’s execution support at every step. Over the next 100 days, our focus is simply to help these teams build better products, faster, and prepare them to compete on a global stage.”

Building India’s Execution Layer for Gaming

With its mentor-led model, LVL Zero is positioning itself as more than just an incubator, acting as an execution layer for India’s gaming ecosystem.

As Indian studios increasingly aim to build globally competitive IP across PC, console, and mobile platforms, access to experienced operators across design, publishing, and growth is expected to be a key differentiator.

The mentor network reinforces LVL Zero’s core belief that the next generation of Indian game studios will not just be defined by ideas, but by their ability to execute, iterate, and s

FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) Launches FMC-FLO Mentorship Cell in Hyderabad

A mentor is someone who looks at the business and gives objective inputs: Prof Ramesh Loganathan, IIIT-H

Good Mentor doesn’t give answers but challenges Mentee: Prof Ramesh Loganathan, Guest Speaker

93 per cent of startups admit mentorship is instrumental to success: Ms Usharani Manne, Chairperson, FLO Hyderabad.

FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) unveiled its ambitious initiative FMC-FLO Mentorship Cell here in the city in a Webinar on Monday evening.

The Mentorship Cell of FLO provides support to existing and new entrepreneurs, to establish a new business or enhance existing ones shared Ms Bindu Sastry, National Head, FMC speaking immediately after launching the initiative. It is a PAN India initiative being introduced across 17 Chapters all over India.

The vision of FMC is to be a self-reliant entrepreneurial ecosystem for FLO members by FLO members, shared Ms Bindu Sastry.

Addressing the online gathering, Guest Speaker Prof. Ramesh Loganathan, the veteran in this space shared his wisdom. He covered areas such as women representation in startup space, an overview of mentorship, what it takes to be a good mentor, mentor overload etc.

A good mentor shouldn’t give answers. Instead, he or she must challenge mentee. The Mentor shouldn’t share opinions, Mr Ramesh Loganathan, Professor Co-Innovation/ Outreach at IIIT-Hyderabad said.

Make sure the need of the community or society is understood well and served. Your solution should be a differentiator. The customers must be able to derive value from your solution, said Mr Ramesh, former HYSEA President

There is more to pivoting than many entrepreneurs understand. Pivoting in the startup space means shifting to a new strategy as marketing conditions, corporate environment, a pandemic like the current one may force. Sometimes it entails to drastically change the whole company and its plans, strategies. The mentor can bring in his experience in such scenario and help the best way to pivot, he shared.

Speaking about Mentor Overload, the Professor who heads Innovation at IIIT-H said in your entrepreneurial journey some of you may encounter Mentor Overload. In such a scenario, stay cool even if you get conflicting views and make an informed choice.

Concluding his talk, he observed that a mentor is someone who looks at the business and gives objective inputs

He also answered many questions facilitated by Ms Pooja Mitra asked by the participants and answered them and clarified their doubts.

According to Ms Bindu, FMC is a 1-on-1 Mentorship program, lasts for 3 to 6 months. It will facilitate Workshops in Entrepreneurial Areas. It is a voluntary based initiative. It will have two levels both at Chapter and National level. Mentors who volunteer will be trained formally and Certification will be provided. We will have useful collaborations and programs with premier organizations both national and international level.

The Mentorship cell will be a facilitation platform, connecting women entrepreneurs to experts who can guide, mentor and assist them in taking their business to the next level, added Ms Bindu.

Adding further she stated that this initiative is only for FLO women-women with an idea wanting to convert it into a business, existing women entrepreneurs wanting to grow their business, women who have been thrown into business due to unforeseen circumstances.

Welcoming the virtual gathering, Ms Usharani Manne Chairperson of FLO Hyderabad Chapter said we didn’t have such a luxury of Mentorship when I first ventured into my business 25 years ago. Today it is different. Mentorship is an organized service available on tap for entrepreneurs at every stage of their lifecycle.

And I have no hesitation in accepting, Ms. Usharani added that any degree of success one achieved during those times was through trial and error and sheer persistence.

Research and surveys prove that while growth matters, over 70% of startups fail because of premature scaling. Mentored startups grow 3.5 times faster and raise 7 times more money. 80 per cent of successful CEOs said that they had relied on some form of mentorship. In another research by Sage, 93 per cent of startups admit that mentorship is instrumental to success, the FLO Hyderabad Chairperson shared.

The FMC Hyderabad Chapter is comprised of three members -Ms. Nanda Rao, Uma Chigurupati and Pooja Mitra. Sharing the plan to take the initiative forward Ms. Nanda Rao said it will cover areas such as Marketing, Branding, Sales, Legal, Cyber Security, Finance, Digitization etc others. Several Biz Talks related to the subjects will be organized such as this one every month first Wednesday, she shared.

Mentoring Turns Business For Startups

Having a spectacular idea and a zeal to achieve success are the perfect ingredients to build a successful startup. But, often sometimes during the process we lose track and need expert help to guide us through the troubling times.

Most of the startups nowadays have big names from the industry as their official mentors as they understand the need of a sound and experienced mind in the initial years of building their businesses. But, the catch that most of the startups face is finding these mentors who will hold their hands from the setting up stage to the traction stage and finally, the funding stage.

Currently holding the third largest startup hub position in the world, the Indian startup industry is churning unique startups at an unprecedented rate, the only problem being, only a few of them are able to survive the initial litmus test and go all the way to become a success. This failure rate is mainly high among startups lacking any expert backing whatsoever.

Startups are now preferring successful people for mentoring rather than mere consultants. Those training include National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN), TiE, and Nasscom.

This high rise in the demand for mentorship in the startup industry has also given birth to private mentoring firms like AskMentor and Instaura Consulting etc.

The mentors are known to actively help the entrepreneurs with various tasks like planning, getting traction and also getting in touch with various investors for funding purposes. Some of them even help the entrepreneurs in getting the perfect co-founder for their startups.

Mentoring Turns Business For Startups

Having a spectacular idea and a zeal to achieve success are the perfect ingredients to build a successful startup. But, often sometimes during the process we lose track and need expert help to guide us through the troubling times.

Most of the startups nowadays have big names from the industry as their official mentors as they understand the need of a sound and experienced mind in the initial years of building their businesses. But, the catch that most of the startups face is finding these mentors who will hold their hands from the setting up stage to the traction stage and finally, the funding stage.

Currently holding the third largest startup hub position in the world, the Indian startup industry is churning unique startups at an unprecedented rate, the only problem being, only a few of them are able to survive the initial litmus test and go all the way to become a success. This failure rate is mainly high among startups lacking any expert backing whatsoever.

Startups are now preferring successful people for mentoring rather than mere consultants. Those training include National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN), TiE, and Nasscom.

This high rise in the demand for mentorship in the startup industry has also given birth to private mentoring firms like AskMentor and Instaura Consulting etc.

The mentors are known to actively help the entrepreneurs with various tasks like planning, getting traction and also getting in touch with various investors for funding purposes. Some of them even help the entrepreneurs in getting the perfect co-founder for their startups.