Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal recently shared his feelings of regret and dissatisfaction after exiting the e-commerce giant following its $16 billion acquisition by Walmart in 2018. Speaking candidly at Startup Mahakumbh, Bansal revealed that his exit from Flipkart was far from what he had envisioned.
Bansal recalled an eye-opening conversation with Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the founder of Paytm, who told him, “You are the most unhappy billionaire I’ve ever seen, for someone who has had a billion-dollar exit.” Reflecting on his departure, Bansal admitted, “I was extremely unhappy after the exit because it wasn’t something I had planned. It just happened.”
His frustration stemmed from the fact that he had big plans for Flipkart that went unfulfilled. He envisioned taking Flipkart far beyond its position at the time of the Walmart acquisition, aiming to serve a billion people across the globe. “The goal was always to take the platform I helped create to a billion people, eventually even globally,” he explained.
After leaving Flipkart, Bansal shifted focus to the fintech sector, launching Navi, a digital lending and financial services company. However, his passion for building something impactful at a large scale remains intact. “That’s the kind of unfinished business I still pursue,” he added.
Bansal’s journey may have moved on from Flipkart, but his drive to create meaningful change continues to guide his ventures.
