Sanjeev Bikhchandani
Deep Kalra
Infoedge
ET Startup awards
Sanjeev Bikchandani's value system helped me while building MakeMyTrip: Deep Kalra
"There have been a few mentors in my life but the one person who stands out is InfoEdge's Sanjeev Bikhchandani. He is someone I don't hesitate to pick up the phone and ask for advice on any matter."ET Bureau | Updated: July 25, 2017, 09:01 IST
(In the run-up to the grand finale of the ET Startup Awards 2017, your favourite paper presents a special series on the lessons that some of India's most celebrated entrepreneurs have learnt from their mentors)
By Deep Kalra, MakeMyTrip
There have been a few mentors in my life but the one person who stands out is InfoEdge's Sanjeev Bikhchandani. He is someone I don't hesitate to pick up the phone and ask for advice on any matter.
I have known Sanjeev for a long time but met him for business for the first time while I was working with GE Capital. He was one of the influencers behind my decision to take the plunge into the entrepreneurial world.
Sanjeev was on my company's board from 2005 to 2010 and on the advisory board since. Besides his sharp business acumen, the thing about Sanjeev is his gold standard in integrity and corporate governance.
When he joined the company's board, we offered him consideration in either cash or equity (we were a private company then). He did not want either.
However, as we convinced him, he agreed to take an equity stake but wanted it in his company's name rather than in his personal name. His logic was that since he would be using up his company's time to help MakeMyTrip, the proceeds should go to InfoEdge and not him.
I don't think most people think this way and it changed my own thinking in such matters. What I admire most about Sanjeev is his clarity of thought, conviction, moral compass and large heartedness. He has no vested interests or biases and it is always about what is best for the
(As told to ET's Varsha Bansal)
Tags : Startups, Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Deep Kalra, makemytrip, Infoedge, ET Startup awards