Mohit Gulati’s Post

" Perhaps they are not stars, but openings in Heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy." – ~The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Losing a friend or mentor is always challenging for the ones left behind. At Ecom Express Limited, we first lost our backbone, Sanjeev, and today, the founding light, T.A. Krishnan. Instead of writing a memorial, I would like to celebrate the lives of these two incredible men through the outstanding achievements and lessons they imparted on me over the past decade. I met Krishnan for the first time in Oct'12. A tall man who quitting his cushy CXO job at #Bluedart, along with a team of people with an average age of 49! He would say with pride- My ex-employer has no DNA for #ecommerce #logistics, so we are out to set up a firm ourselves. At age 24, I was convinced to bet my house on this man's vision literally. Lesson- #Entrepreneurship sees no age, only determination. After our angel round via Oliphans Capital, ECom rolled out 40 cities in under four months, doing north of 50k parcels daily. Lesson - Go big or go home! I remember in 2015 when we forged this tri-party partnership between Grab (Grab a Grub Services Ltd) #Localbanya and Ecom to share resources and synergies because back then, the delivery market was polluted with lousy hiring practices(Runnr!) Lesson- Always see synergies in your portfolio. When the dust settles, be the last man standing! When the money ran out, Krishnan, Anish Jhaveri and I set out on a task to raise capital. Seeing Krishnan in action narrating his story repeatedly with a childlike zeel was a masterclass of sorts. 'THIRT ONE' #Venturecapital and #PE funds rejected us! Some said you're too old, some said look at Delhivery, who's got so much tech, you guys have nothing. Krishnan was always an opinionated, iron-willed man. He gave respect where it was due and kick ass grief where needed. I remember walking out of meetings and grabbing a smoke; he would say, "This investor is a fool. He knows nothing about our business. I don't want him! " Lesson: Stay determined, keep building, and believe in yourself. The world will conspire to make things happen. Since then, ECom has raised $301mn from marquee investors such as Warburg Pincus LLC, Partners Group, and British International Investment. The journey of Krishnan and Sanjeev taught me everything I know about #VentureCapital investing. I tell all my LPs that my first #MBA was essentially a front-row seat here, learning how to build from these two mentor friends! From crying together in troubled times(near bankruptcy) to celebrating small successes to being there for each other on milestone moments, we're blessed to have these two incredible people touch all our lives. Today, Manju Dhawan K Satyanarayana and I promise to complete this journey by ringing the bell together for our friends at the #NSE #BSE!