Ragini Das, acclaimed co-founder of the Leap.club and former Zomato executive, has taken on a new role as Head of Google for Startups, India. Das shared her journey on social media—a story that comes “full circle”: in 2013 she was rejected from a Google interview, but over a decade later, after transformative stints at Zomato and her own entrepreneurial ride with Leap.club, she now leads Google’s flagship startup initiative in the country.
The Road to Google for Startups
Das’s career reflects the evolution of India’s startup landscape. Her time at Zomato gave her a “career moat,” rapid learning, and inspired the creation of Leap.club in 2020, a platform for women to connect, grow, and access curated professional opportunities. Leap.club ran for five years, growing to thousands of active members and delivering meaningful peer mentorship, job opportunities, and interest-based communities. It paused operations in June 2025 after positively impacting countless careers—a chapter Das called her “most defining life experience”.
When uncertainty followed Leap.club’s closure, Das spent time on passion projects and recharging. By August 2025, a leadership role at Google for Startups appeared as a perfect fit—aligning early-stage founder support with her own journey of building, scaling, and learning from zero to one. After months of interviews and team conversations, she formally joined Google to empower the next generation of Indian founders.
What is Google for Startups—and What Does it Do?
Google for Startups is the tech giant’s global platform to nurture, accelerate, and connect high-potential startups, with programs running in over 40 countries. In India, Google for Startups runs the prominent Accelerator program, which offers:
- Three-month, equity-free accelerator for Seed to Series A startups: Startups receive technical mentorship, deep dives on AI/ML, cloud, product strategy, and customer growth, along with invites to exclusive Google bootcamps and up to $350,000 in cloud credits.
- AI-First Accelerator 2025: The latest cohort will support 20 Indian AI/Generative AI startups with hands-on access to Google teams, Gemini models, cloud infrastructure, and technical partnerships aligned to the national IndiaAI Mission.
- Mentorship, network, and Demo Day access: Startups get matched to world-class mentors, alumni and VC networks, and exposure at graduation Demo Days, creating direct connections for growth and funding.
- No equity, no fees: The program is entirely free, focusing on founder development, product-market fit, and helping startups scale with the best practices from Google’s global playbook.
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Leap.club: A Platform that Changed Lives
Before joining Google, Ragini Das’s Leap.club was one of India’s most active and meaningful professional communities dedicated to women. It provided:
- Networking, mentorship, and career guidance for thousands of women, democratizing access to leadership roles.
- Curated job boards, member-only events, peer learning circles, and company deep-dives for upskilling.
- An inclusive and supportive space that, according to Das, “changed lives for thousands of women” and catalyzed many careers in tech, management, and entrepreneurship.
Leap.club’s story is seen as a case study in building communities with mission-driven leadership, empathy, and strategic partnerships.
In summary: Ragini Das’s new role at Google for Startups brings her journey of empowering entrepreneurs full circle. Her Leap.club legacy—building community, enabling careers, and learning from the ground up—uniquely positions her to drive the next wave of startup innovation in India. Google for Startups, with its equity-free accelerators, AI/ML mentorship, and vast network, continues to be a critical launchpad for early-stage Indian startups aiming to solve world-class problems and scale globally.
