No businessman has an easy journey, especially for the ones who set out on a path that is new to them. Today, we will tell you about one such entrepreneur who went on to make India proud by securing one of the top spots in the Hurun India 40 & Under Self-Made Rich List.
This entrepreneur not only changed the way of life for many Indians but also paved the way for future businessmen. We are talking about none other than Ola founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal.
Born in Ludhiana, Punjab, Bhavish Aggarwal's parents were both doctors. He grew up in Afghanistan and the UK before returning to India to study at the prestigious IIT Bombay. He graduated in Computer Science from IIT Bombay (2004-2008) and then took up an internship with Microsoft Research India and bagged a job there in 2008.
Bhavish Aggarwal quit his job in two years and then decided to start his company with his IITian friend Ankit Bhati from Jodhpur. The two friends began their entrepreneurial journey by launching Olatrips.com to book cabs for outstation trips.
Once Bhavish Aggarwal rented a car for a weekend trip with friends from Bengaluru to Bandipur. The driver stopped the car in Mysore and asked for more money which led to Bhavish Aggarwal and his friends travelling the rest of the distance by bus. This personal experience led to the idea of Ola which is now India’s leading cab-hailing platform.
In 2011, Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati started Ola from a 1 BHK office in Mumbai's Powai area.
Soon, they launched their app and bagged a $5 million investment from Tiger Global Management.
Bhavish Aggarwal managed to take Ola to new heights despite coming from a small town and humble background. Bhavish Aggarwal, today, has an estimated net worth of Rs 11,700 crore.
He also recently announced severing ties with Microsoft Azure. He said that Ola is now all set to move its entire workload to the company’s own AI firm Krutrim.
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