GenXYZ Nominees Thrive: Kishen Mangat (2013) — Where is He Now?

Everyone was right when they predicted bright futures for these executives, entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders. Ten-plus years after ColoradoBiz profiled these Top Young Professionals of Colorado, we revisited several to see where their career paths led them and what they are doing now.

Some are with the same companies; others have moved on to different businesses and new roles.

For some, change was inevitable as their companies were acquired or merged with other entities. For still others, the desire to start something new was irresistible. All are continuing to meet and exceed their own career goals and engage with their communities.

The Gen XYZ Awards are open to those who are under 40 and live and work in Colorado.

Kishen Mangat

2013: 39, Director of Product Management, Cisco Systems

2024: General Partner, Boulder Ventures

Until two years ago, Kishen Mangat was always a founder or an executive. Now he helps other companies grow their businesses. He says he does not miss being an entrepreneur.

“It’s a young person’s job,” Mangat says. “Your incentives change after you’ve done it.”

Mangat is a general partner at Boulder Ventures, which provides venture capital for IT and biotech companies in Colorado and the mid-Atlantic. Instead of enduring the grind that is the life of the business owner, he gets to select companies to invest in. “I still get a lot of the benefits of being in the entrepreneur and innovation arena,” he says. “But the employees don’t answer to me. They answer to their CEO.”

In 2003 Mangat founded BroadHop, which provided next-generation policy control and service management for carrier networks worldwide. Cisco acquired BroadHop in 2013, and Mangat remained as a vice president and general manager until 2022. “I had a lot to learn about operating at scale,”he says. “All my experience was operational, and being able to steer a much bigger ship was compelling. It significantly added to my experience and the people there were amazing.”

When BroadHop was acquired, Mangat says, it was a $10 million product line. By the time he exited nine years to the day of the Cisco acquisition, BroadHop was a $150 million product line. “The overall business responsibility I had was approaching one billion because of all the product lines,” he says. “I never expected I would have such a rich experience there.”

Before BroadHop, Mangat founded Amigo Systems, which was sold to POST, and he was co-founder of STS Hotel Net, which was sold to CAIS Internet, a KKR Company. “My motivation was always to achieve some level of success that would result in a high degree of freedom in how I spend my time,” he says. “I am a climbing and skiing bum, and I wanted that flexibility.”

At Boulder Ventures, Mangat leads the firm’s enterprise 5G investment strategy. His experience helps him discern which entrepreneurs are truly passionate about their businesses.

“You can just tell when it keeps them awake at night trying to figure out how to get ahead on what they’re doing,” he says. “Little things they say or do kind of register.”

Passion is not enough to make a business succeed, as the business owners also must have skill, ability and intellect. Boulder Ventures invests in Series A technology and life-science companies that have $1 million to $5 million in revenue and are working on scaling up. “The funding amount could be $2 million to $7 million,” Mangat says. “It’s not two guys in their garage with a dog.”

As part of the process, Boulder Ventures partners take the business owners hiking, snowcat skiing or rock climbing, if they are so inclined. Usually the prospects want to participate in these activities, as the personalities of tech company founders often match the traits of outdoor enthusiasts. “I think it’s risk taking and freedom and a characteristic of individualism and wanting to express yourself in a way that’s authentic,” Mangat says.

He explains that there is also a similarity in the trust issue.

When Boulder Ventures invests in companies, it typically aims to exit those companies within 10 years. “So for investors entrusting their capital, the capital is tied up for 10 years,” Mangat says. “It is a trust-based endeavor, and there lies another climbing motif, that someone is holding the rope.”

READ: Exit Planning — Study Shows Most Colorado Business Owners Are Not Ready to Sell Their Businesses

The climbing theme continues in Mangat’s community work. He is on the board of directors for Access Fund, a national advocacy organization that works for sustainable access and conservation of the climbing environment. “We work with land managers to make sure the crags are taken care of and accessible,” he says.

Nora Caley is a freelance writer specializing in business and food topics.