Entrepreneur Stories
Deepinder Goyal – Life and Success Lessons From The Man Behind Zomato
Zomato, an online food ordering and restaurant finding platform, started off as just an idea. An IIT Delhi student, Deepinder Goyal was always on the lookout for new places to eat. What started off as a collection of menus from a small list of restaurants has today grown into a massive conglomerate which is available for people to use in 24 countries! Officially launched in July 2008 with only 1,200 menus, Zomato as a business grew so quickly, it had more than 2,000 menus on its database by the end of 2008! Co Founded by Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddha, the journey of Zomato has been a dream story. Through the years, Zomato has grown by leaps and bounds and today, it is only fitting that we take a look at its growth over the years!
Always keep strategizing
Picture credits: Yourstory.com
When Deepinder Goyal started Zomato, he had a single aim in life: to provide people a common platform where they could look for restaurants. When the idea took off so quickly and instantly, Deepinder realised he had to streamline the process of how he was collecting data about restaurants. The more Zomato started getting accepted, the more Goyal streamlined the process. His business model was simple. Every time Zomato starts operating in a new city, a single person is assigned for collecting data about the most popular and accessible restaurants and clubs in the area. The data is then sent to a centralised team in Delhi. The Company is divided in a way that every team has a specific job to do. With advertisements on the website acting as the revenue format for Zomato, Goyal created a model which not only ensures a revenue share system, but also in branding the restaurants partnering with the platform! In short, he created a win win situation for the partners as well as his Company.
Keep Expanding
Picture credits: Yourstory.com
Soon after Goyal entered the food tech industry, he realised, in order to stay on top and not just stay afloat, he had to keep expanding his business. Right from the moment it launched, Goyal has been expanding his baby with every move he makes. Apart from launching the Zomato Gold and the Zomato PickUp app, Zomato has expanded into other areas of business as well.
One of the things which makes Zomato stand out from the other food tech startups is its ability to expand into areas its competitors did not. Furthermore, focusing on extremely high quality products, Zomato ensured people look at its quality first and then everything else. The year 2014 saw Zomato acquire not one, but 4 acquisitions of various food tech startups. Six months later, the Company started expanding to places outside India (Sweden, Denmark and Germany, to name a few!) It is important to note here, one of the reasons Zomato grew so much is, it always studies its competition and stays one step ahead, no matter what.
A Trust In His Employees
Picture credites: Inc42.com
One of the primary reasons Deepinder Goyal grew Zomato to this point of success is because of the amount of trust and faith he places in his employees. An underlying growth factor for Zomato is, not only does it gives its customers the best, it also instills confidence in the employees on its roster. If you look at the track record of all the employees on the Zomato roster, one can see that people work up to 12 hours a day without complaining or making a fuss. In fact, even if you offer the top people twice or thrice the amount of money they earn, no one will leave. Why? Simply because Deepinder instilled a trust factor into his employees and gave them growth like no one else did. If this is not a display of undying faith in Zomato, then what is?
In a span of 11 years, Zomato has grown from being merely an idea to being valued at over $ 1 billion. Securing investments from more than a series of interesting investors, Zomato is, today, one of the most used and visited food tech platforms. Running neck to neck with Swiggy, its primary competitor, Zomato more than proved its worth as a force of nature!
A decade ago, the success of a startup was measured largely by its ability to raise capital. Today, a different metric is gaining importance: the ability to generate meaningful exits for investors. Large stake sales by early backers are becoming increasingly common, not because growth opportunities have disappeared, but because India’s startup ecosystem is entering a more mature phase where capital is expected to complete its full cycle from investment to returns.
This evolution is particularly significant for consumer brands that have successfully blended technology, retail, and strong brand-building. Companies that were once viewed as high-risk startup bets are now attracting institutional investors capable of absorbing large transactions. Such developments indicate that these businesses are no longer being valued solely on future potential; they are increasingly being assessed on operational performance, market leadership, and long-term profitability. In many ways, investor exits are becoming a validation of a company’s ability to create lasting enterprise value.
The broader implication extends beyond a single company or investor. Successful exits encourage more global capital to enter India’s startup ecosystem because they demonstrate that liquidity opportunities exist at scale. As more venture-backed companies approach public listings, secondary transactions, or strategic investments, the focus of founders and investors alike may shift from chasing headline valuations to building durable businesses. The next chapter of India’s startup journey will likely be defined not just by the creation of unicorns, but by the creation of companies capable of delivering sustained returns to all stakeholders.
Apple has unveiled the new MacBook Air with M5 chip, starting at $999 for 13-inch and $1,299 for 15-inch models. The MacBook Air M5 boasts a 2nm M5 chip with 12-core CPU, 18-core GPU, and 50 TOPS Neural Engine for seamless AI tasks like real-time translation and 8K editing. Up to 22 hours of battery life, Thunderbolt 5, and Wi-Fi 7 make it the ultimate ultraportable, now 10% thinner at 0.44 inches with fanless cooling.
Key MacBook Air M5 features include Liquid Retina XDR display (500 nits, nano-texture option), 12MP Center Stage camera, and six-speaker Spatial Audio. Colors like new Sky Blue join Midnight and Starlight. Pre-orders are live today, with macOS Sequoia 15.4 enhancing Apple Intelligence and iPhone Continuity for students, pros, and remote workers.
Why buy MacBook Air M5 now? It outpaces Snapdragon X Elite rivals with ecosystem magic and future-proof performance, eyeing top 2026 laptop sales. CEO Tim Cook calls it “more capable than ever.” Visit apple.com for M5 MacBook deals and specs.
Delhi NCR-based gaming startup Zupee has acquired Mumbai-based microdrama platform Vertical TV in a deal valued under INR 40 Cr. This move strengthens Zupee Studio, its short-video arm launched in September 2025, by integrating Vertical TV’s expertise in bite-sized dramas like romance and thrillers.
Facing challenges from India’s 2025 real-money gaming ban, Zupee valued at $1 Bn after raising $120 Mn has pivoted to non-gaming content, including recent layoffs of 40% of its workforce. The acquisition builds on its November 2025 purchase of Australian AI firm Nucanon for interactive storytelling, targeting its 200 Mn+ users with engaging, mobile-first formats.
This deal underscores the rising microdrama trend in India, helping Zupee diversify amid regulatory pressures and compete in the short-video space dominated by quick, shareable content for on-the-go audiences.
