The co-founder and chief executive officer of food delivery app Zomato, Mr. Deepinder Goyal said on the 23rd of May that his personal fundings in Indian based start-ups has ended up raising the share price of his own company.
He said in an interview that he uses his own money to inject in to start-ups in the country to raise the value of his company. He went on to say that the investments that he does gives him invaluable information and lessons on businesses in the country and the economy which he in turn applies when running his own company.
This revelation comes at a time when founders and the top brass of various Indian based unicorns have been subject to criticism over the past year due to going on a streak of investing in other Indian based start-ups instead of focusing on their own company.
However, Mr. Goyal has said that he has been able to gain a strategic perspective and also, he is able to grow his company and have the backing of the board members and other top brass due to the knowledge he consistently gains.
For the financial year of 2021-22, Mr. Goyal invested in 7 different Indian based start-ups out of which he owns a very small share in only 2 of them.
Some of the companies that he has invested in have gone on to become quite successful in their industry. One such example is Shiprocket, an e-commerce platform that offers logistical solutions. The company was founded 11 years ago back in 2011 and its head office is situated in New Delhi. He put in $ 100,000 USD in to the company, but exited the company after it broke even.
Mr. Goyal has also invested in Grofers which is know knowns as Blinkit. The company is an e-commerce platform where you can get groceries and other essentials delivered to your doorstep. The company was founded 9 years ago back in 2013 and its head office is situated in Gurgaon. He injected $ 94,000 USD in to the company 7 years ago in 2015 and exited the company five months ago.
He went to say that the main thing he has learnt from other companies and founders is that the return on investment is enough as an investor. Any money that he earns from his investment is put back in to other start-ups so he can gain knowledge and educate himself about businesses, and the economy.
