Kunal Sood — Social Entrepreneur and Founder of The Novus Summit and X Fellows
Kunal Sood is a social entrepreneur known for building platforms that connect education, innovation, and entrepreneurship. He is the founder of The Novus Summit and X Fellows and serves as a partner at the X-Impact Group. His career focuses on fostering high-impact initiatives that accelerate learning, support entrepreneurs, and create measurable social change.
Sood’s work spans multiple roles: he launches and supports high-tech startups, curates dynamic flagship summits that bring together global leaders, and advises organizations focused on education and entrepreneurship. He has served in advisory and board capacities with initiatives such as MIT Solve, Edcast, and Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, helping shape programs that scale solutions and empower changemakers.
Mission and Approach
Sood’s declared purpose is to transform and impact one billion lives—a guiding vision he adopted during his time at Singularity University. This ambition drives his approach to building ecosystems that combine technology, education, mentorship, and capital. Rather than focusing on isolated efforts, he emphasizes systems-level thinking and exponential potential: how small, well-designed interventions can lead to large-scale, sustainable impact.
In practice, that means curating experiences and networks where entrepreneurs and social innovators can accelerate their growth. Through summits and fellowship programs, Sood connects seasoned leaders with emerging talent, enabling knowledge transfer, collaboration, and access to resources that are often the difference between early promise and lasting outcomes.
Background and Resilience
Sood’s trajectory reflects persistence and resilience. As a child he faced multiple learning challenges, including dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). He also struggled with weight challenges and experienced bullying from an early age. Growing up in India, he often encountered low expectations from teachers and others who did not see his potential.
Rather than accepting those limits, Sood used these experiences to fuel his drive. He learned that grit, persistence, and a commitment to continuous learning can be as powerful as innate talent. His education and real-world apprenticeships became the tools with which he unlocked his potential and pursued entrepreneurship that blends market opportunity with social purpose.
Work and Impact
At the core of Sood’s work is the belief that education and entrepreneurship must be integrated to achieve meaningful, scalable impact. The Novus Summit and X Fellows are designed to accelerate leaders who are solving complex problems, while X-Impact Group focuses on partnerships and ventures that amplify social outcomes. He is often involved in shaping programs, mentoring founders, and helping organizations design strategies that are both ambitious and pragmatic.
His advisory roles with established initiatives reflect a pragmatic commitment to collaboration. By aligning with organizations that share complementary strengths, Sood works to remove barriers for innovators—whether that means access to knowledge, networks, or funding. This collaborative mindset reinforces the idea that large-scale social change requires many actors working together with shared purpose.
Philosophy and Future Focus
Sood’s philosophy centers on exponential thinking: identifying interventions and building platforms that can grow rapidly and sustainably. He prioritizes practical education, mentorship, and real-world opportunities that prepare leaders to tackle urgent global challenges. While his mission is ambitious, the focus remains grounded in tangible activities—creating summits, designing fellowships, advising startups, and shaping partnerships that multiply impact.
By blending personal experience with strategic action, Kunal Sood aims to model how resilient leadership and thoughtful design can produce scalable social good. His ongoing work continues to connect innovators, educators, and entrepreneurs to improve outcomes for communities around the world.
Read more about this profile in Forbes (source reference).