Four businessmen reveal what happens after you sell your start-up

One would think selling the company you cofounded for a whopping 400 million would entitle you to a life of leisure Not if you are Kunal Shah who is now raring to get the adrenaline rush back after launching another startup called Cred just two weeks ago Shah who cofounded Freecharge in 2010 made headlines when he sold the firm to Kunal Bahlowned Snapdeal in 2015 after weeks of negotiations is one of those rare guys in the startup ecosystem without any background in techI did my BA in philosophy from Wilson College in Mumbai later on dropped out of MBA from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management I then ran a BPO company and also did some six to seven business stints within companies So the entrepreneurial streak was always there says Shah who has lived in Mumbai for most part of his lifeKunal ShahFirst time luckyShuttling between Mumbai and Bengaluru where the Cred office is located Shah says We started PaisaBack a cashback promotions company in 2008 PaisaBack was the predecessor of digital payment platform FreeCharge After doing a lot of research we finally launched FreeCharge in 2010 through selffunding In the first few months itself we realised how big the company was becoming When we went to Sequoia Capital in 2011 seeking investment we were asked for the number of transactions being done on our platform We told them wed reached about 15000 transactions per day and they were shocked They readily agreed to invest From there on we found many more investors Not everyone has had it this easy howeverAprameya RadhakrishnaFortyfouryearold Ashish Kashyap says being made the country manager of Google India in 2005 is what gave him the experience needed to launch Ibibo in 2007 The Delhibased serial entrepreneur says Goibibo was built entirely by me However I bought Redbus in 2012 While Goibibo became the largest platform for hotel reservations and the second largest airticketing platform in the country Redbus became the largest bus ticketing companyBut Kashyap faced several challenges as the ecosystem of venture capital and talent had not yet developed The economics graduate from Kirori Mal College adds People wanted to join TCS and other companies so it became difficult I also plunged into becoming an entrepreneur without much research Till 2012 Ibibo was under the radar nobody talked about us So I had to fight my way I then partnered with Naspers a South African group and another investorJiby ThomasBidding adieuConsidering the roil it takes to build up a company from scratch and make it worth millions what does it take to let it go We had an option to either raise more money or sell to Ola or Uber says Aprameya Radhakrishna who started TaxiForSure in 2011 at the age of 29 TaxiForSure happened when Radhakrishna sat with his friend Raghunandan G to strategise on ways to make commute in India easier After doing consumer research and speaking to drivers we founded TaxiForSure in 2011 For a year the company was selffunded From getting three to four bookings per day we reached a point where we had some 30 to 40 bookings And then we got some investors on boardBut by 2015 competition for TaxiForSure which had by then expanded to metropolitan cities became tough In March 2015 TaxiForSure was sold to rival Ola for 200 million It was just a moment in the journey where you had to take a call keeping in mind what is best for all stakeholders in the company We had a good offer on the table and thought of exiting right away says RadhakrishnaBut it wasnt such a clean cut for Shah The sale to Snapdeal the biggestever acquisition in the history of Indias internet industry he says wasnt a distress one We had a 100 million in the bank when we sold the company Shah adds that when FreeCharge merged with Snapdeal things didnt quite pan out as he expected There was no internal conflict but various key decisions such as capital coming to the firm etc were made by Snapdeal So we thought there is no point in staying aroundHow easy is it to move on One can only be emotional up to a point Even when you raise a baby you have to let it go for it to do something of its own It is painful but that is life says Shah Radhakrishna is even more matteroffact One door closed but many more openedKashyap however feels parting ways was the hardest part of the climax After being associated with the Ibibo Group for around 10 years Kashyap sold his venture to MakeMyTrip in 2016 He recalls I had hired most employees and trained them from scratch For every business there comes a tipping point For us it was between 2012 and 2013 when the business really took off It was all about great timing We delivered for everyone from customers to airlines to hotels to shareholders But when the time came to unlock the value and give returns to investors it was the hardest I had never imagined it would be this hard Everything that you created from your logo to user interface Goibibos GoCash and GoContacts taking a batch to Latin and Southern America and then suddenly parting ways with themShah feels that as an entrepreneur selfdoubt never goes away But it is that paranoia that helps you do better things He adds Things didnt quite work out post my exit I took a break for a year and did 30 to 40 angel investments I also worked as an advisor for a company But in a country like India we do not even understand the concept of selling a company Although my decision to sell FreeCharge had a good financial outcome for everyone in my team everybody in the family called me up to express regret They thought Id run out of money This situation is very similar to being in a bad love relationship we dont walk out of it because there is so much shame attached to it But if things are not working out it is best to shut it down and move on versus sit and sufferBrewing ideasRadhakrishna too took to angel investing for about six months It was in 2017 that he started Vokal an Indian language questionanswer platform for users not conversant in English Funded by Accel Partners and Blume Ventures the app has nearly half a million downloads so farThis year Kashyap started INDwealth an artificial intelligence and machine learningbased wealth management and advisory platform The platform has raised an estimated 30 million in seed funding from UK and Hong Kongbased hedge fund Steadview Capital He says I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do next till my last day of exiting Ibibo But things have worked out nonethelessBut are they willing to undergo the stress of growing another venture all over again Yes they say in unison Kashyap says I am more excited than ever before For serial entrepreneurs the true spirit is seen in building products that matter and that is exactly what I am doing now Shah too believes that it is only the pressure to do something better that keeps one goingWhile the numbers of entrepreneurs quitting their first successful ventures and moving on to start a different firm are rising is it good for business Not always feels Jiby Thomas who started Quikr in 2008 put in his papers in 2012 and started Web Butter Jam a digital marketing startup the next year For Thomas who started his professional life with an advertising agency this was not new groundHe says quitting a venture has now become a quickfix solution for many In India there are many entrepreneurs who are welleducated young and talented There is a big wave of entrepreneurship in India and I admire it But people have a tendency of getting too excited and making the wrong decisions This is when good VCs step in You can call it interference but they are around only to guide you Welcome this new entrant and remain focused to achieve your goals Dont build a business to sell it build a business to address a problem that is not being efficiently handled today he advises before signing offCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download 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