The man behind OakNorth
Rishi Khosla is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and investor. He is the CEO and co-founder of OakNorth, the digital bank for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs. Rishi is a champion of entrepreneurs, who he feels are the real drivers of innovation, social progress, and economic growth. He believes that everyone can prosper by adopting an entrepreneurial mindset. This vision led Rishi to build his first business, Copal Partners (which later became Copal Amba) in 2002 with his business partner, Joel Perlman.
Together, they grew the business to 3,000 employees across 11 markets, before selling it to Moody’s Corporation in 2014. In 2015, they launched OakNorth with the aim of empowering the lower mid-market (businesses with $5m-$100m turnover), providing them with the fast, flexible debt finance and bespoke banking services they need to succeed and scale. Since then, OakNorth has lent c.$15bn to businesses across the UK and US, directly supporting the creation of tens of thousands of new jobs and homes, as well as adding billions of dollars of GDP to these economies.
Rishi is dedicated to promoting a culture of entrepreneurialism and empowering the entrepreneurial mindset in others. He does so personally through his involvement in initiatives such as OakNorth’s ‘Mentorpreneurship’ Programme, in partnership with the London School of Economics. Its partnership with Founders4Schools aims to support 100,000 secondary school students (11-16 year-olds) – including 40,000 from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds – with maths education, mentorship and career inspiration.