This article covers India’s top five engineer-turned-entrepreneurs who became unicorn entrepreneurs. Their career transitions and innovative ideas set them apart. Engineers create job opportunities for others. These giants hire numerous engineering graduates annually, benefiting both themselves and skilled freshers. Read on to find out about the top 5 entrepreneurs in our country.
5) Bhavish Agarwal – Ola
Bhavish Aggarwal, an engineer-turned-entrepreneur, co-founded Ola with Ankit Bhati in 2010. He graduated in Computer Science and Engineering from IIT Bombay. Aggarwal started Ola to revolutionize urban mobility using technology. As CEO, he expanded Ola to include affordable rides, premium cars, and electric vehicles. Ola under his leadership has transformed urban commuting across cities.
4) Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal – Snapdeal
Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, two former engineers who turned entrepreneurs, opened Snapdeal in 2010, and this is where they stepped into the crowded e-commerce market of India. Kunal Bahl, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, and Rohit Bansal, from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi), founded Snapdeal. They pioneered online engineering, initially launching as a daily deals platform that evolved into a comprehensive online marketplace. Their journey began with a business model aimed at popularizing online shopping in India, offering a diverse range of products at competitive prices to consumers nationwide.
3) Vijay Shekhar Sharma – Paytm
Vijay Shekhar Sharma is an engineer-turned-entrepreneur and the founder of Paytm. It is a leading digital payment and financial services platform in the country. Born in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, he did his graduation in Electronics and Communications Engineering from Delhi College of Engineering, now known as Delhi Technological University.
His entrepreneurial journey started way back in 2000 when he founded One97 Communications, which initially offered mobile content and services. People widely recognized that digital payments were poised for a significant leap in India. Shareholders, in 2010, came up with Paytm. Mobile technology for millions across the world would change the way financial transactions run.
Under the leadership of Sharma, Paytm has ventured into a lot of services such as digital wallets, payment gateways, banking services, and e-commerce. His vision and zeal to innovate have made Paytm a household name in India’s fintech industry.
2) Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal – Flipkart
In 2007, Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal founded Flipkart—two engineers turned entrepreneurs. Sachin Bansal did his studies in engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, while Binny Bansal did his studies from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. Thus, these two great engineering brains together brought out a product which would become a household term in India with regard to online shopping. Their journey began with Flipkart as an online bookstore, fulfilling nationwide book needs. Flipkart expanded into electronics, fashion, and more, becoming India’s largest marketplace. Under their leadership, Flipkart innovated with cash-on-delivery, robust logistics, and customer-centricity. The Bansals’ strategic vision and customer focus drove rapid growth at Flipkart. Their success attracted substantial investments, transforming Flipkart into a unicorn startup.
1) Nandan Nilekani – Infosys, Aadhar India
Nandan Nilekani is an engineer turned entrepreneur, more famous as the cofounder of Infosys, which has grown to be one of India’s largest IT services and consulting companies. Born in Bangalore, Karnataka, Nilekani did his graduation in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.
His entrepreneurial journey began in 1981 when he was one of the seven cofounders who established Infosys. It was a company dedicated to the provision of software development and consulting services. Under his stewardship between the years 2002 and 2007 as the CEO, Infosys expanded and grew to become one of the leading global technology services and consulting firms. The visionary leadership of Nilekani is reflected through the strategy developed in Infosys, very much linked to innovation, and global expansion.
He led Infosys’s IPO in 1993, proving to be a real milestone in India’s IT industry. Much beyond Infosys, however, Nilekani’s contributions went into his being a guiding force for India’s technology and governance sectors. Having chaired the initiative to implement Aadhaar—the biometric identity system of India—WithValue Addition aimed at giving each resident a unique digital identity.
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