Agna – Genesis to Life 

“Wishing everyone a very Happy and Prosperous New Year 2024!” – Team Agna

“Seeds of Agna were sown in early 2009 when I discovered yoga and aspired to make it my life. I embarked on a journey of deep inner work after someone who used to mentor me called me a spiritual sponge. For me, this was it, and there was no active desire for materialistic pursuit. Beyond the numerous health benefits and mystical experiences, yoga opened my mind to ‘open thinking.’  That stayed with me in the corporate world as a backbone for new and uncharted spaces in financial services across businesses. When I discovered Bitcoin in mid-2016, thanks to “open-thinking” it led me down the rabbit hole of deciphering “open technologies”. Macro was always my active area of interest in education and professional pursuit. I took a stab at it and drew the four circles – technology, economics, social, and ecology – and further went into each of these rabbit holes. The simple insight that stayed with me was “As open thinking and open technologies collide, we will see us stepping into a technological renaissance”. To put into practice this journey first took me to personal investments in fintech & Web 3.0, advising a few startups, and then finally setting up Woodstock in 2019. In short, Agna was too broad a mandate with no prior fund management experience. Agna stitches together my deep exposure to precision engineering, renewable energy, financial services, and fund management. This is also perfect timing as we are amidst a technological renaissance led by data & engineering, a period of monumental shifts and boundless possibilities in a multi-polar world where the action is sustainably shifting from the West to the East.

As we step into 2024, with almost 14 years since the seeding of Open-thinking, 8 years since the discovery of Open technologies (à la Bitcoin), and 5 years of Fund Management – the time has come for Agna to finally rise – a foray dedicated to supporting extraordinary founders, across the East-West Corridor, on their quest to forge innovations that reshape our world.”
 

Germination of the seeds – Visit to Kashi as a team – Sankalpam of Agna

Our journey began with a passionate team of individuals who came together with a deep desire, similar aspirations, and shared value systems to bring this vision to life a few months ago, addressing the vacuum of a dedicated frontier tech fund in the Middle East region bridging the East-West corridor.

The first and foremost thing that occupied our minds was seeking an identity that could define us for decades to come. With this in mind, we embarked on a quest to identify potential names and eventually settled on what we now call ‘Agna.’ The brand logo, colors, and every minor aspect that goes into defining who we are demanded our careful consideration and thoughtful deliberation.

To infuse divinity into our vision and mission, as a team, we visited Kashi – the abode of Shri Kashi Vishwanath – seeking his blessings to guide us on our journey at Agna.

The Essence of Agna – The ‘Brand’

Agna – a name rich in symbolism and energy. In India, names are believed to attract specific energies, and Agna is no exception. Functionally and symbolically, it defines our brand, colored in mystic purple and radiant gold. Purple, representing intuition and the mystical ability to organize elements for supernormal outcomes. Gold symbolizes purity and the life-giving energy of the sun – aspects of purity are reflected in our values “integrity & inclusive”.

Agna is more than just a name; it’s a mantra for inspiration and resilience. In a world where not everything goes as planned, staying focused on our purpose is essential. Our name is a reminder of our commitment to navigate challenges and harness our collective superpowers to fulfill our promises to stakeholders and the world.

Core Values that drive us and how they are connected to Agna 

#1 Integrity – LP first mindset, Transparency

• Arabic and Bosnian interpretation: Resonating with the essence of being ‘Real and Original’, we as a brand, aspire to be the trusted partner for our Limited Partners, the founders, and other stakeholders we would work with.
• Ancient Greek and Latin roots: Being a variation of ‘Agnes’, which signifies ‘Holy and Pure’, we at Agna are rooted in the purity of intent and action – a direct reflection of how we operate with utmost transparency, ensuring that all actions and decisions are made with clarity and honesty.

#2 Inclusive – Creating win-win transactions

• Diverse cultural references: The very essence of Agna with its diverse cultural connections, champions inclusivity. This is a direct reflection of our commitment to creating win-win transactions. 

#3 Intuitive – Perceiving beyond numbers

• Agna Chakra & Eastern Philosophy: Agna Chakra, representing the Third Eye, is the very embodiment of intuition. This chakra is believed to be the source of inner wisdom, foresight, and ability to perceive things beyond ordinary sight. We are living in a world where chaos pervades everything, be it in a business or an individual’s life and there is a dire need to perceive the future and make superior decisions today.

• Icelandic meaning of Agna, relating to a tiny particle, underscores the importance of strong attention to detail and strong governance and compliance practices we follow, to ensure that every aspect no matter how minor is taken into account for comprehensive decision-making.

To summarize, although the seeds for Agna were sown 14 years ago, it is now blossoming into a brand whose values embody our ethos and serve as a constant source of inspiration. Our journey has commenced with a bold stride forward, and there is no looking back.