What Nearly 30 Founders Taught Me About Sri Lanka's Next Wave
Oct 19, 2026 · @Yasi
Last weekend I spent two days at AngelX, an invitation-only angel pitch event hosted by TRACE Expert City in Colombo. Over 17 and 18 October, a room of investors heard from nearly 30 early-stage Sri Lankan startups.
I went in wearing two hats: as a consultant who helps businesses get investment-ready, and as a new investor myself. The event was closed, so I won't share company details here. What I can share is what the room taught me about where Sri Lanka's next generation of founders is heading, and where they still need support.
The range alone was striking. In one weekend I heard pitches on quantum computing for materials science, AI-driven drug discovery, desalination for fishing fleets, wearables for high-risk pregnancies and elderly care, functional foods built on Ceylon ingredients, regenerative agriculture and carbon markets, and new ways of learning.
The thinking is what impressed me most
What surprised me was not the technology. It was the quality of the thinking, and how globally these founders think.
Many of the teams were not building for Colombo or even for Sri Lanka alone. They talked about South Asian markets, export buyers and global problems from their very first slide. A local product can still have a global ambition, and these founders understood that instinctively.
One founder I won't forget is still in school. They had identified a problem every Sri Lankan household knows, built a working solution, and stood in front of a room of investors to pitch it. At his age, I wasn't thinking about markets or investors. That kind of initiative is exactly what an ecosystem should be nurturing.
A few that stayed with me
Without naming names, a handful of pitches have stayed on my mind since Saturday:
• A functional wellness brand turning Sri Lankan coastal ingredients into modern, everyday health products. It has clear export potential and a strong brand instinct.
• A maternal health wearable that could change how high-risk pregnancies are monitored across South Asia. It is hard tech with a deeply human purpose.
• A quantum and AI platform for discovering new materials. It is the kind of deep tech we rarely associate with Sri Lanka, and it shouldn't be rare.
• A human development platform that helps people understand how they think and learn, then builds a personal path from there.
These four are very different businesses. What they share is a founder who knows exactly why the problem matters and why they are the right person to solve it.
Where founders can close the gap
If I could change one thing, it would be how well founders understand the funding stage they are actually in.
Pre-seed and seed are not interchangeable labels. Pre-seed money backs a team and a problem, usually before there is much proof. Seed money backs evidence: early customers, repeat usage, revenue, a channel that works. Several founders asked for seed-sized cheques with a pre-seed story. Others undersold real progress because they didn't frame it as traction.
Traction is the language investors listen for. It doesn't have to be large. Paying customers, a pilot with a named partner or a waitlist that converts all count. What matters is showing it plainly, with numbers and dates.
To be fair, some companies were already cash positive. That is no small thing at this stage, and they deserved to lead with it.
The pitches themselves varied widely. Some were outstanding: tight, confident and clear about the ask. Others had a good business underneath but missed the mark in how it was told. The gap between the two was rarely the idea. It was preparation.
What I'd tell the next room of founders
1. Know your stage. Ask for the round your evidence supports, and explain what this money unlocks next.
2. Lead with traction. Put your strongest proof on the first slides: customers, revenue, pilots or growth.
3. Get your numbers in order. Clean accounts and a simple monthly view of the business build trust faster than any slide.
4. Rehearse the story. A great business deserves a pitch that makes its case in minutes.
5. Stay global. Keep the ambition you already have; it is your edge.
Thank you to the TRACE team for building a serious platform for Sri Lanka's next generation of founders, and to every founder who pitched with such openness. I left encouraged, and I'm looking forward to continuing several of the conversations that started this weekend.
Yasisurie Kiribandara is the founder of Vyan Strategic Partners and co-founder of Investorready.io. She helps startups and growing businesses become investment-ready, from go-to-market strategy to the internal structures and processes investors look for, and mentors on the Founders Institute South Asia expert panel.
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