Go Unlimited with Magzter GOLD
Get unlimited access to 10,000+ magazines, newspapers and Premium stories for just
Try GOLD - Free
Infra.market and CarDekho focused on basics, then scale
Mint New Delhi
|March 31, 2025
Both companies began their journey slowly before sprinting to the Unicorn flag
Startups need to focus on building a strong foundation even if it means they grow slowly, said Amit Jain, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of the CarDekho Group, an online marketplace for buying vehicles.
"It took us eight years to reach the first ₹100 crore. And it was a bootstrapped company, so we never raised funds till 2014. That's when we were actually funded. So, as a bootstrapped company we had kind of hit the ₹100 crore scale without actually utilizing any cash, and it was profitable everywhere," he said, speaking at the Mint India Investment Summit in Mumbai.
"Since we did not have money, we had to build a strategy to get traffic free of cost, and I think because of that a lot of innovation happened," Jain said.
Infra.market's trajectory was similar. The building materials platform was started in 2016, and it wasn't until 2020 that the company got to its first ₹100 crore sales landmark. That said, the company founders knew their market.
This story is from the March 31, 2025 edition of Mint New Delhi.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 10,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM Mint New Delhi
Mint New Delhi
WHAT A YEAR AT COLUMBIA TAUGHT ΜΕ
An Indian journalist at Columbia University navigated a tumultuous year, learning unusual life lessons
8 mins
October 02, 2025
Mint New Delhi
Central bank seen keeping its options open on Tata Sons IPO
A day after the Reserve Bank of India’s deadline for the Tata Group to list its holding company, Tata Sons, passed, the central bank appears to be still weighing its decision, with governor Sanjay Malhotra’s comment leaving the matter open to interpretation.
2 mins
October 02, 2025
Mint New Delhi
Festive demand, tax cut power up auto sales in Sep
Powered by tax cuts and festive spirits, automobile sales took off in September, cheering manufacturers across the board.
3 mins
October 02, 2025
Mint New Delhi
FPIs pull $2.7 bn off Indian stocks in Sep
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) withdrew $2.7 billion from Indian equities in September, extending their selling streak for a third straight month and putting 2025 on course for record foreign withdrawals, data from the National Securities Depository showed.
1 min
October 02, 2025
Mint New Delhi
RBI keeps options on Tata Sons listing
in debt around the same time. The RBI has yet to formally grant an exemption or extension.
1 min
October 02, 2025
Mint New Delhi
RBI did well to preserve its rate policy firepower
Subdued inflation didn't make India's central bank budge on its policy rate. Its expectation of firmer growth partly explains this. A monetary stimulus is best used when it's most needed
2 mins
October 02, 2025
Mint New Delhi
No rate cut, but RBI steps up to lift credit, buoy biz
Hint of December rate cut after two pauses; multiple measures to ease credit flow
3 mins
October 02, 2025
Mint New Delhi
Hamas indicates it is open to Trump Peace Plan as it faces pressure from Muslim nations
Hamas has indicated it is open to accepting President Trump’s peace plan for Gaza but is asking for more time to review its conditions, Arab mediators said, as the militant group faces intensifying pressure from Muslim governments to agree to the Israel-backed proposal to end the devastating war.
4 mins
October 02, 2025
Mint New Delhi
Chip leaders dangle juicy offers to snap up top campus talent
Chip giants including Nvidia Corp., Intel Corp., and Arm Holdings Plc. are aggressively recruiting at India’s elite engineering schools, chasing top talent critical tosupremacy in theage ofartificial intelligence (AI).
3 mins
October 02, 2025
Mint New Delhi
Top firms tick boxes, but lag on diversity, independence
India’s top 100 listed companies have shown progress in corporate governance practices, but persistent gaps remain in board meeting attendance, diversity, and leadership independence.
2 mins
October 02, 2025
Listen
Translate
Change font size