In 2007, two twenty something IIT, Delhi graduates quit their cushy jobs at Amazon to turn entrepreneurs. The duo, Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal,
weathered fierce parental opposition to start up on their own, first
attempting to build an online shopping comparison engine, before turning
their attention to ecommerce and Flipkart.
In the months—and many sleepless nights they agonised over the decision—the unrelated Bansals discovered that they had to write and rewrite many rules of the game. Back in 2007, e-commerce was a fledgling opportunity—it has just crossed the billion dollar mark in India—and back then companies were struggling with poor internet penetration, limited engineering skills and scratchy customer experience.
Beginning with book delivery and relying on creaky logistics of India Posts and private courier companies, Flipkart has grossed some $500 million in merchandise shipped and wants to double that in, hold your breath, just two years. Along the way, Flipkart has gone from an investor pariah to darling, raising some $381 million in funding and today is turning eager risk capital away.
The Bansals tell CD how they drew and redrew the rules of the game to catalyse Flipkart's breathless growth.
In the months—and many sleepless nights they agonised over the decision—the unrelated Bansals discovered that they had to write and rewrite many rules of the game. Back in 2007, e-commerce was a fledgling opportunity—it has just crossed the billion dollar mark in India—and back then companies were struggling with poor internet penetration, limited engineering skills and scratchy customer experience.
Beginning with book delivery and relying on creaky logistics of India Posts and private courier companies, Flipkart has grossed some $500 million in merchandise shipped and wants to double that in, hold your breath, just two years. Along the way, Flipkart has gone from an investor pariah to darling, raising some $381 million in funding and today is turning eager risk capital away.
The Bansals tell CD how they drew and redrew the rules of the game to catalyse Flipkart's breathless growth.
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