Biography

Dr. Gourav Aggarwal is an Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship at IDEATE Lab & Family Business Centre, O.P. Jindal Global University. He holds a PhD in Entrepreneurial Ecosystems from the Department of Management Studies, IIT Delhi, where his doctoral research examined how ecosystem dynamics shape startup growth, resilience, and performance across lifecycle stages.

His research has been published in Strategic Change (Wiley), Future Business Journal (Springer), Thunderbird International Business Review, and the International Journal of Business Excellence, spanning entrepreneurial ecosystems, craft-sector business models, and student entrepreneurship. Further manuscripts under review or in preparation address ecosystem dynamics, coping mechanisms of institutional entrepreneurial ecosystems, and a trait-based taxonomy of startups. He serves as a peer reviewer for the Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies (Emerald), Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility (Wiley), and Strategic Change (Wiley).

Before joining JGU, Gourav founded and led two ventures: D&G Academy, an education enterprise built on pedagogy research and exited in 2020, and GrowthVibes Advisors, a startup mentorship and consultancy practice. As Head of Academics & Ecosystem Strategy at ThinkStartup Learning, he led national entrepreneurship education programs. Having mentored and advised 250+ startups, he is now developing a Startup Intelligence Engine, a researchanchored framework that turns mentoring, evaluation, and ecosystem insight into structured, evidence-informed decision support for founders, investors, and incubators.

His work bridges rigorous scholarship and grounded ecosystem practice to understand how entrepreneurial ecosystems shape venture outcomes.