ALMA MATER, IIM Ahmedabad (1989)
Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Founder and executive vice chairman, Info Edge
MANAGEMENT education has transformed dramatically since I graduated. The most significant change is students’ ambitions—many more want to be entrepreneurs now. When I graduated, entrepreneurship wasn’t on most students’ radar; our main goal was a good corporate job. The democratisation of entrepreneurship from being a pursuit only for business families to becoming accessible to educated middle-class graduates has been remarkable.
What remains unchanged is IIMA’s gift of critical thinking—analysing why things happen, not just what happens. That framework has been invaluable throughout my journey.
I left my marketing job at GlaxoSmithKline in 1990 to start Info Edge. I taught at b-schools on weekends while working from a servant’s quarter in my father’s house with second-hand computers. Those initial seven years were about survival—doing salary surveys, databases, feasibility studies. The salary survey idea came from seeing fierce competition between recruiters at IIMA.
In 1997, when I started Naukri.com, India had just 14,000 internet users. In 2000, we raised Rs7 crore from ICICI Ventures before the bubble burst. We survived because of sound economics: each new salesperson generated Rs50,000 monthly at a cost of Rs22,000. My critical mistake was not having a full-time tech head until 2002-2003, underinvesting in technology for five crucial years.
We became one of India’s first internet companies to go public in 2006, creating a platform to invest in others. The 2008 crisis became an opportunity. I invested in PolicyBazaar in 2008 and Zomato in 2010. Slowdowns proved excellent investment times—valuations are reasonable. During Covid-19, our sales force rapidly went digital. The pandemic forced entrepreneurs toward capital efficiency.
Currently, we are living through another transformational moment. At Naukri, I have hired a 100-member AI team that has introduced 22 AI-powered features. India’s AI opportunity lies in vertical applications for specific industries. With over 500 million smartphones, we have massive scale for vertical AI apps. Regulations must support innovation, not stifle it.
I am optimistic about India’s trajectory. Startups will be critical growth drivers. To provide employment to millions of graduates, we must have an ecosystem where more young people become job creators.
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My advice to management students: Bootstrap as long as possible—it teaches fiscal discipline. Raise money when investors come to you, not when desperate. The best valuation isn’t necessarily the highest. Stay close to customers; I meet customers and make sales calls. Let customer insights drive innovation, not competition. Build trust through honesty and sincerity. Don’t do everything yourself—not having a technology person early was my mistake.
Dream big but start small. Make small mistakes while learning. Think long-term—it took 16 years to our IPO. Success isn’t just about wealth; it’s about impact and contribution. Understand your motivation first. Clear your mind about what you want and why. Only then implement. The journey won’t be easy, but it will be worth it.
—As told to Abhinav Singh