Published
Jan 7, 2019
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Flipkart’s founders’ exit illustrates greater trend in Indian big business

Published
Jan 7, 2019

The exit of Flipkart’s two co-founders after Walmart acquired 77 percent of the business last year has forced start-ups to consider better protecting their autonomy from investors and illustrated a wider trend.


Indian business owners are working out how to balance fundraising with retaining their autonomy - Flipkart- Facebook


Flipkart’s co-founder Sachin Bansal left the business amid the Walmart takeover and the business’ other co-founder, Binny Bansal, left a few months later after failing to disclose “personal misconduct”. According to TNN, the duo’s exit from the company has launched a chain reaction of start-ups reevaluating how they handle investments.

The Bansals, who started Flipkart in 2007, were edged out of their own business as the US-based Walmart took over operations with a markedly different set of goals. Harshil Mathur, the co-founder and CEO of the merchant payments platform Razorpay, told TNN that the situation prompted his business’ founders to discuss how to fundraise whilst also retaining control of decision making in the business. “Not just Binny but also Sachin’s exit has sparked that debate,” said Mathur. Other business founders that recently had to fight to retain autonomy include Ola’s co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal and Car Dekho’s co-founder Amit Jain. 

As business founders try to balance raising capital with maintaining their autonomy, IndiaTech has been campaigning for creating different classes of shares with different voting rights. The domestic start-up think tank believes that voting rights for business founders with only a small stake in their business should be maintained. 

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