Brijesh Agrawal, Co-founder & Director at @IndiaMART InterMESH Ltd, India’s largest online B2B marketplace.

A visionary, Brijesh has been the brain behind creation of a plethora of innovative products at IndiaMART. He is known for his dynamic leadership style which involves successfully introducing and implementing eclectic business strategies that drive growth along different verticals of the organization.

A management graduate from the University of Lucknow and an MBA from National Institute of Integrated Learning and Management (NIILM), he is a sports lover, especially Cricket.

Rahul Chowdhri, in a candid conversation with Brijesh, captures his journey of building IndiaMART, the thesis behind it, his learnings as a founder and how he is paying it forward to the startup ecosystem.

Segments

00:00–00:20 — Introduction

00:21–06:34 — How you got started and what was the thesis behind starting IndiaMART?

06:35–10:07 — How did you build IndiaMART as a market leader?

10:08–14:03 — How did you face competition while managing cash burn?

14:04–16:31 — As you look back, what would you do differently in hindsight?

16:32–18:41 — How would you describe yourself as a founder, then versus now? & How has the business changed post IPO?

18:43–21:27 — How do you get involved with young founders as they start their journey?

21:28–26:31 — How would you describe the market, when you started versus now?

26:32–29:55 — Are there some future trends you’re excited about?

29:56–39:19 — Rapid Fire

  • As an entrepreneur, what would you describe as the highest point as a founder?
  • What was the lowest point?
  • One consumer internet company you admire
  • Your favourite book
  • One thing that people don’t know about you
  • One concept that looks alien today but can become big tomorrow
  • Advice to founders on what they should not ignore
  • Outside of work, what are you passionate about?

About Growth Stories with the Stellaris Founder Network:

A sneak peek into the startup journey of successful founders capturing what it takes to build a company, trends they’re excited about as angel investors and how they are paying it forward.