About SMB Catalyst

The Business Transformation Partner that doesn't leave a deck.

SMB Catalyst designs, installs and runs the operating system that takes founder-led businesses to their next zero — without losing what makes them special.

The firm

We work with owner-led businesses between ₹20 Cr and ₹500 Cr — the segment that no MBB firm serves with embedded delivery and no boutique serves with this depth of consulting, AI and technology under one roof.

Our four pods — Knowledge and Services, Product, AI Technology and a curated Ecosystem — operate as one team. We come in for twelve months. We work with your team, not over them. We earn our place every month.

The firm

One brand. One promise. Four pods. One team.

Founded in 2014 with a simple bet: ambitious owner-led businesses have the ambition, the market and the ownership — they're just missing the operating layer that lets ambition compound.

Twelve years and 120+ engagements later, that bet has held up. The firm now spans consulting, AI, technology and a curated SMB Ecosystem under one roof — built specifically for the ₹20-500 Cr owner-led business segment that no MBB or Big 4 firm serves with embedded delivery at this scale.

The team is curated, not hired. Each pod runs its own P&L. Each Partner has lived the work they advise on — not learned it on a deck.

Founded: 2014

Engagements: 120+ businesses, 200+ transformation programs

Footprint: Mumbai (HQ) · Aurangabad · Pune · pan-India

Speaking & thought leadership: Industry events, founder roundtables, B-school programs.

Leadership team

The Partners you'll actually work with.

First meetings are with the Partner who will lead your engagement. The team you meet at the pitch is the team that delivers.

MS
Founder & Managing Partner

Mihir Shah

Founded SMB Catalyst in 2014. Twelve-year operator across owner-led business transformation. Personally owns sales (jointly with Manoj), the SMB Ecosystem curation, and strategic direction. Charter for the next decade: build SMB Catalyst into the operating partner of choice for ambitious next-generation business owners.

G
Partner · Leads Product · Mentor to AI Technology

Gaurav

Partner at SMB Catalyst. Leads the Product transformation pod — Manufacturing, Construction & EPC, Trading & Distribution. Mentors the AI Technology pod, bringing operating depth to every technology decision. Two decades of shop-floor experience. The voice in every operations conversation that asks "but what does this mean on Monday morning?"

M
Associate Partner · Knowledge and Services · Sales co-owner

Manoj

Associate Partner at SMB Catalyst, working alongside Abhas on the Knowledge and Services transformation pod. Co-owns sales with Mihir — leads first conversations with prospects, sizes the prize, and authors the engagement design. Twenty years of advisory work across professional services and product businesses.

A
Associate Partner · Leads Knowledge and Services

Abhas

Associate Partner. Leads the Knowledge and Services transformation pod — Professional Services, Knowledge & Business Process Outsourcing, Product & Technology, Interior Traders. Specializes in operating-rhythm installation, founder-second-line transitions, and KPI architecture for talent-leveraged, IP-driven businesses.

V
Associate Partner · Leads AI Technology

Vidit

Associate Partner. Leads the AI Technology pod under Gaurav's mentorship. Owns SMBian OS, MIRAS, the AI agent library, and AGKIYA ERP delivery. Technology architect with a builder's bias — every engagement leaves the client with deployed systems, not slideware.

U
Associate Partner · Product

Uday

Associate Partner in the Product pod under Gaurav. Industrial machinery, auto components and capital goods specialist. Owns the methodology for OEE installation, project costing accuracy, and quote-to-cash optimization in manufacturing engagements.

A&K
AI Technology · Delivery

Atul & Karthik

AI agent and platform delivery. Build the agents, integrate with master data, deploy to production, train the client team, monitor weekly. The pair that turns "we want AI" into AI that earns its keep.

P
AI Technology · ERP and AMC

Prashant

Owns the existing AGKIYA ERP partner business and ongoing AMC delivery. Frappe / ERPNext deployment specialist. Long-tenured client relationships from before the AI Technology pod consolidation.

The Catalyst Theme

Clarity is strategy. Discipline is execution.

— SMB Catalyst

Mission · Vision · Code

What we exist for. Where we're going. How we operate.

The foundation that anchors every engagement, every hire, every decision.

Mission

What we exist for.

We exist to unlock the next zero for business owners — without losing what makes their business special — by designing, installing and running the operating system with their teams, with an owner's mindset.

Vision · 2030

Where we're going.

To be the preferred transformation partner for business owners — powered by consulting, AI, technology and a thriving SMB Ecosystem — delivering outcomes at scale.

The Code

How we operate. Non-negotiable. Same answer from every team member.

  1. Client outcomes come first. We're measured on their numbers, not our hours.
  2. One brand, one promise. Business Transformation. Period. Everything else is curated Ecosystem.
  3. Owner's mindset, every decision. We treat every client business as if it were our own.
  4. Platform before practice. Every hour delivered feeds a Vault, a Playbook, an Agent.
  5. Rhythm over heroics. MIRAS · 4×3 · weekly cadence. Firefighting is failure.
  6. Direct, not polite. Tell the client what's broken. Tell each other what's broken. Kindly. Always.
  7. Human in the lead, AI as amplifier. AI speeds us up. It doesn't replace judgment.
  8. No founder dependency by FY28. Pods are self-sustaining P&Ls.
  9. Anything we'd hire 5+ people for, we partner instead — unless it sits inside the four pods.
Talk to the team

Two hours. One conversation. On us.

First meetings at every Catalyst Partner-tier opportunity are with Mihir personally — and the Pod lead who will own your engagement.