The evolution of Deepi

Stories about startup founders are made of stuff that invariably inspire and impress.

- NIVEDITA MOOKERJI

That includes stories narrated or shared by entrepreneurs. Deepinder Goyal, CEO of Zomato (Eternal), the online food delivery startup with huge focus on quick commerce through its arm Blinkit, recently posted one such story on X (earlier Twitter). This is about someone who had worked as a delivery agent at Blinkit for a few months to fund his education and was now set to join Zomato’s design team. Goyal’s post, sharing the transformational journey, caught widespread attention, while also triggering a debate on opportunities created by startups, especially food tech companies such as Zomato, which listed in 2021 — just three years after turning a unicorn (valuation of $1 billion or more).

Unseen, The Untold Story of Deepinder Goyal and the Making of Zomato, not only tells of many such awe-inspiring moments in the life of a startup, it also captures the unpredictability, risk and adventure through it all. The writer, Megha Vishwanath, is a senior executive at Zomato, enabling her to access relevant information about the company. That Vishwanath, a former journalist, is a company insider can also raise questions about objectivity — a critical aspect in a biography. However, the author's note at the start tells us about the “arrangement” reached between Goyal and Vishwanath in the making of this book.