Ashneer Grover , an influential figure in the Indian startup ecosystem, was born on June 14, 1982, in Delhi. He pursued his engineering degree from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, where he developed a strong foundation in technical skills. He later went on to earn an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad, which equipped him with the business acumen necessary for his future ventures. He is a dynamic entrepreneur with a track record of building and scaling businesses.

One of the popular businessmen who is the founder of India’s one of the popular online money transaction platform BHARATPE.

LITTLE STEPS TOWARDS AN INITIAL CAREER PATH

Grover began his career in the financial sector, working with Kotak Investment Banking. His role there provided him with critical deep understanding into investment banking and financial advisory, laying a strong foundation for his future entrepreneurial ventures and market dynamics with investment strategies. He was there from 2013 to 2015 as Director – of Corporate Development, and his major role was payments and fintech coverage for the company in India.

In 2017, Ashneer Grover was appointed as the Head of New Business at PC Jewelers Ltd, overseeing digital transformation and strategy.

In 2018, Grover co-founded BharatPe. It is a fintech startup that offers digital payment solutions to small and medium-sized businesses across India.

ASHNEER GROVER’S JOURNEY TO SUCCESS

    -Success is Walking from Failure to Failure

Ashneer Grover has made a name for himself as the founder and former CEO.Ashneer Grover was the Managing Director and Co-founder of BharatPe, until February 28, 2022. Though Ashneer Grover had a good start in terms of education, career, and business, he also faced multiple challenges in the journey.Given his successful investments, Ashneer Grover’s net worth after leaving Bharatpe is still high. He was impressed by the numerous startups. After completing his Master’s, Ashneer became associated with Kotak Investment Banking in 2006. He worked there for seven long years as the Vice President. BharatPe’s valuation and past CEO position, he has likely achieved significant wealth. He made ten deals of USD 3 billion of transactional value during his tenure. Ashneer later join American express a global financial services company. He was there from 2013 to 2015 as Director – of Corporate Development, and his major role was payments. He joined the startup as the Chief Financial Officer and built the company from scratch as a core team member. Ashneer has particularly shown interest in start-ups solving problems for small businesses in India. He was known for being tough but fair in his evaluations of the pitches..

RISE WITH BharatPe

  Birth of BharatPe

After having a rich experience of 12 years in multiple brands, Ashneer decided to start his entrepreneurial journey. Thus, after studying the market condition thoroughly and having experience in finance, he co-founded a fintech payments services company, BharatPe, in 2018 with Shashvat Nakrani. Together they built the company from scratch and made it the most used payment-receiving merchant via QR codes for shopkeepers. Under Grover’s leadership, BharatPe expanded its services beyond payments to include merchant loans, card acceptance, and other financial services

BharatPe is a payment and lending platform for small and medium enterprises in India. Today, we can see BharatPe QR codes at every shop.

BharatPe had rapidly grown to become one of the leading fintech players in India. The company’s growth was rapid, securing significant funding from prominent investors 

GROWTH IS IN DISCOMFORT

                                                  -[CHALLENGES FACED]

BharatPe, as a company, got into a controversy when it labeled itself as nationalistic and its competitors as Non-Indian companies. The company issued pamphlets citing such details to the public. So the competitors filed a lawsuit against BharatPe and reported the same to the RBI faced some controversies during his tenure at BharatPe. In early 2022, allegations of financial irregularities and mismanagement surfaced, leading to a high-profile investigation. This culminated in Ashneer taking a leave of absence from the company and eventually stepping down.

FAILURE OF THE BUSINESS TYCOON ASHNEER GROVER

All was well for Mr. Ashneer Grover. Suddenly, one audio clip was leaked in which Ashneer and his wife have denied all the allegations and said that the audio was fake and the scamster is attempting to extort money from him blackmailing him with the fake audio clip. Ashneer denied all the allegations and said that the audio was fake and the scamster is attempting to extort money from him blackmailing him with the fake audio clip. The audio clip was then deleted from all social media platforms, but Kotak Mahindra Bank said it would take legal actions against him.

Another controversy came up because of an email which was exchanged from August 2020 between Ashneer and Sequoia India’s Harshjit Sethi where Mr. Ashneer used abusive language against Harshjit Sethi. This affected his brand image and on 19th January 2022 he announced that he is taking voluntary leave till the end of March. The preliminary audit report detected fraud in the company in recruitment processes.

Madhuri Jain, the wife of Grover, also came under misappropriate use of funds to finance personal trips, beauty treatments, and to pay her personal staff at home.

WHY HE RESIGNED??

Ashneer Grover, co-founder and Managing Director (MD) of BharatPe, on Monday, 28 February he resigned from BharatPe.

BharatPe’s co-founder and managing director Ashneer Grover resigns comes after two months of high drama which unfolded after an audio clip surfaced online where he was heard abusing a Kotak employee. He said that since the beginning of this year, unfortunately, he has been embroiled in baseless and targeted attacks on him and his family by a few individuals. Grover has stated that he will continue on as the “single largest individual shareholder of the company.”BharatPe has come under intense investor.

Satyam Nathani, also resigned in the same month to engage in his entrepreneurial aspirations.

In the subsequent months, the company was rocked by several other resignations at various levels.

Doglapan :The Hard Truth about Life and Start-Ups by Ashneer Grover

Doglapan is a hasty biography of Ashneer which means a person who sets different rules for others and himself. It is the Untold Story of India’s Most Disruptive Entrepreneur. The tone of book is light and casual. In the first few chapters of the book, he gives the readers a sneak peek of his childhood days, education and more. Further, he goes on to share his career progression and how he went on to establish Bharat Pe.The first 50 pages were dedicated to his school life, his struggles at IIT Delhi and later, at IIM Ahmedabad. The final chapters tell us the details of the highs & lows in the life of Ashneer Grover during 2021 & 2022 years. The book provides a candid look at the highs and lows of his life and career, making it a truly inspiring read. The author has used the Book to promote himself and show his side of the story.

Towards the end of the book, he has some advice for startup founders: Some of it is good. Grover’s open and engaging writing style and inspiring personal experience make for an interesting and thought-provoking read.

The book spotlights the fact that nothing is made in one day, it is all a matter of consistent effort

“You need to remember that you don’t need loyalty in good times – opportunity does the task. Loyalty is tested and needed in bad times. To expect loyalty from your employees or investors in bad times is to set yourself up for heartbreak.”