Founders who were once the protagonists of India's startup ecosystem, have progressed on drastically different paths a decade later. Vijay Shekhar Sharma of Paytm and Zomato's Deepinder Goyal presided over failed IPOs, which made others such as Oyo and boAt push back their own stock market debuts. As funding is drying up and startups have had to shut down segments and fire more than 18,000 people to save costs, ousted BharatPe founder Ashneer Grover has shared a tale from their heydays.
Zomato's stock has dropped as low as Rs 53, and this has prompted Grover to recount how Zomato founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal and Blinkit's Albinder Dhindsa splurged on high-end cars after every funding round. Grover, who is accused of embezzlement by the BharatPe board, said in a podcast that he himself has four cars. He also added that Dhindsa once drove in a Range Rover after securing funds, and they all used to get upset whenever him or Goyal showed off luxury cars.
Grover also mentioned how he bought a used Mercedes-Benz GLS with a VIP number plate, only because the dealer claimed that MS Dhoni once owned it. The author of a book called Doglapan, who was also replaced as a judge on Shark Tank India, owns Mercedes-Maybach S650, a Porche Cayman and an Audi A6 as well.
