Deepinder Goyal is an Indian entrepreneur. He is known for being the founder and CEO of the Indian multinational restaurant aggregator and food delivery company Zomato.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Deepinder Goyal was born on Wednesday, 26 January 1983 (age 40 years; as of 2023) in Muktsar, Punjab, India. His zodiac sign is Aquarius.
Deepinder Goyal in childhood
He was a below-average student in his school days and struggled to pass his classes till class 8. Apparently, when he was in class 6, he did not perform well in the exams and almost failed. However, he was promoted to the next class by his school’s principal at the request of his father. When he was studying in class 8, one of his teachers came with a solved answer sheet to help him in the exams during the first semester and Deepinder stood third in the class for the first time. Moved by the appreciation he received from his teachers and parents, Deepinder decided to score well in all his exams. In an interview, while talking about it, he said,
In the last exam of class VIII, a teacher gave me all the answers. And I topped. It gave me false confidence. Once you are on top, you don’t want to go back to the 25th spot. I started taking myself very seriously.”
When the next semester’s examination approached, Deepinder tried to source the question papers ahead of the exam to score well, but he couldn’t. After realising that there was no shortcut to success, Deepinder studied hard a day before his exam and ended up coming fifth in the second semester. It was the turning point in his life. In an interview, while talking about it, Deepinder said,
That’s what gave me some confidence that I can do something if I want to. Life has been a treadmill ever since.”
The period of enhanced academic performance persisted for a span of two years, following which, his parents sent him to Chandigarh for classes XI and XII, attending DAV College as a science student. However, during his time there, he faced another setback, failing once again in class XI. Talking about his failure in an interview, he said,
In Muktsar, I was topping among 25 students. In Chandigarh, I had 500 other kids as good as me. I got disillusioned.”
In spite of the challenges he faced during his schooling, he managed to successfully clear the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) Joint Entrance Examination on his initial try. Subsequently, he pursued Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. Following his graduation in 2005, Goyal founded a delivery startup called Foodlet. However, the startup could not prosper.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 9″
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
He belongs to a very humble and middle-class family in Muktsar, Punjab.
Parents & Siblings
Deepinder Goyal’s father’s name is Harbans Lal Goyal. Both his parents were in the teaching profession. His father was a Botany teacher and his mother was an English teacher. He has an elder brother.
Deepinder Goyal with his mother in childhood
Wife & Children
Deepinder Goyal got married to Kanchan Joshi, a mathematics professor at Delhi University, in 2007. Kanchan holds a PhD from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi. Kanchan prefers to stay away from the limelight. Together, they have a daughter named Siara Goyal, who was born in 2013. Deepinder first met Kanchan at IIT, Delhi, where she was also pursuing her graduation. Deepinder instantly fell in love with her. In an interview, while talking about it, Deepinder said,
I chased her for six months.”
Deepinder Goyal with his wife
Signature
Deepinder Goyal’s signature
Career
In January 2006, Deepinder Goyal joined Bain and Company, a business management consultant company in Gurgaon, Haryana, as an Associate Consultant. Although he initially thought that he wouldn’t spend more than a year there, he ended up working there for around three years. While working at Bain and Company, Deepinder observed that at that time there was a great demand for menu cards among his colleagues. That’s when the idea to start Zomato clicked in his mind. In the latter phase of his time at Bain, he embarked on the journey of revitalizing his startup by accepting a reduced salary and streamlining his involvement with the consultancy. In July 2008, Deepinder, along with his Bain and Company colleague Pankaj Chaddah, started a restaurant listing and recommendation portal named Foodiebay, which later went on to become Zomato. He resigned from his job at Bain and Company in November 2009. In 2010, Zomato received its first investor cheque from InfoEdge’s Sanjeev Bikhchandani. Initially, Zomato primarily relied on an advertising-oriented approach, wherein restaurants promoted their brands on the platform.
Deepinder Goyal with his team in Zomato’s office
Later in 2015, Zomato introduced food ordering services on its platform. Subsequently, the company concentrated on enhancing its B2B technological solutions, aiming to boost its transaction-driven operations. In January 2020, January 2020, Zomato successfully completed an all-stock acquisition of Uber Eats India. This transaction resulted in Uber holding a 9.99% ownership stake in Zomato. In July 2023, Zomato achieved its inaugural profitable quarter, marking the first instance of profitability since its establishment in 2008. Specifically, on August 3, the company reported a net profit of ₹2 crore in the initial quarter of the 2022-2023 fiscal year.
Deepinder Goyal working in his office
In addition to India, Zomato operates across over 24 countries, including the UAE, Sri Lanka, Qatar, UK, and Indonesia. Deepinder has shown his investment in 16 startups, including ChefKart and Unacademy. Until March 2023, he held a position on the board of Urban Company. However, when Blinkit, a company he acquired for 568 million dollars in August 2022, ventured into the home services sector, Deepinder stepped down from his role at Urban Company. Goyal is also a designated partner at First Lap LLP since 7 June 2021.
Car Collection
Deepinder Goyal has a fleet of luxury cars that include:
Salary/Income
In 2022, Deepinder Goyal did not earn anything as he had forgone his salary for three financial years. Although, as the founder and CEO of Zomato, Deepinder Goyal received shares worth Rs. 387 crore under the employee stock option plan (ESOP) in the second half of the year 2022. However, he did not personally gain from it.
Net Worth
In January 2021, Deepinder Goyal’s net worth was Rs. 2,200 crores approx.
Favourites
Facts/Trivia
- In an interview, Deepinder Goyal revealed that growing up, he was not friends with anyone as he used to score very less marks and parents often restricted their children to be in Deepinder’s company.
- On 6 August 2023, Deepinder Goyal shared a few pictures of himself on a Royal Enfield bike holding a bunch of friendship bands which had ‘best food friends forever’ written on it. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Goyal announced that he would be delivering meals and friendship bracelets to delivery executives, customers and restaurant partners. The founder of the food-tech giant wrote,
Going to deliver some food and friendship bands to our delivery partners, restaurant partners and customers. Best Sunday ever!!”
Deepinder Goyal posing as a Zomato’s Food Delivering agent
- Previously, he donned the role of a Zomato delivery person on New Year’s eve in 2022. He decided to deliver a few orders that were received on the app and tweeted that his first drop was at the Zomato office itself. Overall, he said he delivered as many as four orders.
Deepinder Goyal as a Zomato food-delivering agent
- Interestingly, his X bio reads, “Delivery boy at Zomato and letsblinkit.”
- In July 2023, he shared a glimpse of his personal fitness and weight-loss journey. He took to Instagram to share his before and after pictures from 2019 and 2023. Along with the pictures, he also shared two Post-it notes, one from 2019 and another from 2023. The two notes mentioned his body weight, cholesterol level and body fat percentage from 2019 and 2023. It showed that Goyal has gone down from 87 kg in 2019 to 72 kg in 2023. Goyal was also able to reduce his cholesterol levels and body fat percentage levels in a matter of four years.
- His family and friends fondly refer to him as Deepi and DG.
- He resides in Gurgaon, Haryana.
- Deepinder is fluent in three languages- English, Hindi, and Punjabi.
- As a child, Deepinder stuttered when he talked. Even now, he frequently experiences speech impediments during conversation.
- In an interview, giving complete credit for his success to his first employer, Deepinder said,
I would happily go back to Bain if I have to. Consulting is really good because it teaches you how to think, talk and communicate. Communication is the one thing that they just drill down into you, which is one of the most important things when you are leading a team or building a business. I couldn’t have gotten here if I didn’t have the training I got from Bain.”
- In an interview, a Zomato employee mentioned that Deepinder typically occupies a workspace situated at the corner of a spacious table within an open office environment. The area is shared with a minimum of four other colleagues.
- In an interview, Deepinder revealed that he built a startup as he didn’t want to compete. He said,
I built a startup because I didn’t want to be a part of the rat race. For me, it is about being able to chart my own path, where I don’t get compared to anyone. I think the comparison is a negative thing.”
- During the process of selecting a name for their brand, when Deepinder was searching for domains, he came across “Zomato” available for 10,000 dollars while another option, “Forkwise,” was available for 10 dollars. Deepinder expressed his preference for going with “Forkwise” to his investors, as he viewed spending 10,000 dollars on a domain name as an unnecessary expense. Nevertheless, after some encouragement from the investors, he eventually decided to settle on “Zomato” as their brand name.
- Upon the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020, he contributed stocks valued at Rs 700 crore to the Zomato Future Foundation. This gesture aimed to support the education of the offspring of his delivery partners.
- During 2023, he unveiled plans to establish ‘Rest Points’ – dedicated infrastructure for gig economy workers, encompassing not only Zomato’s workforce but also employees from various other companies. Announcing ‘The Shelter Project’ through a social media post, he said,
We have started building public infrastructure (called Rest Points) to support the entire gig economy and delivery partners of various companies.”
- Apparently, Blinkit founder Albinder Dhindsa was Deepinder’s classmate. Dhindsa helped Goyal study so he could clear the board exams.
- Deepinder Goyal follows a non-vegetarian diet.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn