Starting up isn’t easy. It requires one to convince big-pocketed investors, deal with stubborn regulators, and please fickle customers. But if one does succeed, the rewards can be significant — and not take too long to arrive.
16 startup founders in India have managed to garner net worths of more than Rs. 1000 crore before reaching the age of 40. The list of Hurun’s self-made individuals under the age of 40 is led by Zerodha founders Nithin and Nikhil Kamath, aged 40 and 34 respectively. The list includes the founders of popular startups including Flipkart, Zomato and Swiggy, while Oyo’s Ritesh Agarwal is the youngest on the list with a net worth of Rs. 4,500 crore. Here are the richest startup founders in India under the age of 40.
1. Nithin Kamath (40) and Nikhil Kamath (34), Zerodha
Rs. 24,000 crore
Zerodha has many firsts to its credit. It has never raised venture capital, and it is now India’s largest stock broker. This means that founders Nithin Kamath and Nikhil Kamath top the list of richest Indian startup founders with a combined net worth of Rs. 24,000 crore.
2. Divyank Turakhia (38), Media.net
Rs. 14,000 crore
Divyank Turakhia made his fortune by selling ad-serving startup Media.net to Russian investors for $900 million. The 38-year old lives life king-size in Dubai, flying planes and sailing in yachts. He’s second on the list of India’s richest startup founders with a net worth of Rs. 14,000 crore.
3. Amod Malviya (39), Sujeet Kumar (40), Vaibhav Gupta (40), Udaan
Rs. 13,100 crore each
B2B e-commerce startup Udaan is one of the youngest startups in the list. It was founded in 2016, and became a unicorn 18 months later. Its valuation has now given its founders net worths of Rs. 13,100 crore each.
6. Riju Raveendran (39), Byju’s
Rs. 7,800 crore
Riju Raveendran is the brother of Byju’s founder Byju Raveendran, and through his stake in Byju’s, has a net worth of Rs. 7,800 crore.
7. Sachin Bansal (39) and Binny Bansal (37), Flipkart
Rs. 7,500 crore
Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal made it big through Flipkart, managing to sell their startup to Walmart at a valuation of $21 billion. The sale has netted them Rs. 7,500 crore each. Both are now actively investing in other startups, with Sachin Bansal focusing on the fintech space, and Binny Bansal investing in startups through his firm xto10x.
9. Ritesh Agarwal (26), Oyo Rooms
Rs. 4,500 crore
Ritesh Agarwal, at 26, is the youngest member on the list of India’s richest startup founders under 40. But he’d started early, starting Oyo Rooms after dropping out of college. Over the last 8 years, Oyo Rooms is now present in USA, UK, China and a host of other countries other than India, and has given Ritesh Agarwal a net worth of Rs. 4,500 crore.
10. Bhavish Aggarwal (35), Ola
Rs. 3,500 crore
Ola has transformed how India travels, fought off stiff competition from Uber, and expanded into the UK, Australia and New Zealand. It has given founder Bhavish Aggarwal a spot on India’s richest startup founders list with a net worth of Rs. 3,500 crore.
11. Deepak Garg (39), Rivigo
Rs. 3,200 crore
Rivigo isn’t a startup you hear about too often, but it’s quietly powering logistics around how trucks move goods around India. Founder Deepak Garg is number 11 on the list with a net worth of Rs. 3,200 crore.
12. Herman Narula (32), Improbable Worlds
Rs. 2,900 crore
Herman Narula is the founder of Improbable Worlds, which makes distributed simulation software for video games and corporate use. The Britain-based entrepreneur is 12th on the list of the richest startup founders with a net worth of Rs. 2,900 crore.
13. Deepinder Goyal (37), Zomato
Rs. 2,200 crore
Zomato had been founded all the way back in 2008 to allow users to browse restaurants and reviews online, and is still the only player in the space. Over the years, it has expanded into food delivery, providing ingredients to restaurants, and restaurant loyalty programs, giving founder Deepinder Goyal a net worth of Rs. 2,200 crore.
14. Ankit Bhati (34), Ola
Rs. 1,600 crore
Ankit Bhati was the co-founder of Ola Cabs and its long-standing CTO, and his role with the firm has earned him a net worth of Rs. 1,600 crore.
15. Sriharsha Majety (34), Swiggy
Rs. 1,400 crore
Swiggy now competes directly with Zomato in food delivery, and is expanding into delivery of groceries and other items. Founder Sriharsha Majety is number 15 on the list of the richest Indian startups under 40 with a net worth of Rs. 1,400 crore.
16. Devita Saraf (39), VU Technologies
Rs. 1,200 crore
Devita Saraf is the only woman on the list. Having founded VU Technologies which manufactures televisions, she’s earned a net worth of Rs. 1,200 crore.
