CarDekho To Urban Company: Startup Founders Remember Their Trysts With Ratan Tata

Tata Sons' Chairman emeritus Ratan Tata's passing has caused an outpour of anecdotes from the startup industry, an ecosystem he fondly nurtured and worked with.

While the patriarch was responsible for the expansion of India's biggest conglomerate, he also watered several startups when they weren't sector leaders, such as Urban Company, CashKaro, BlueStone, CarDekho and Tracxn.

"In our very first meeting with him back in 2015, he told us, "India needs what you are building, keep the quality high and the rest will follow". We at Urban Company were fortunate to have him join us subsequently as a shareholder, and derive immense inspiration from his words and the values he stood for. Some men do live on forever. Salute to the greatest Indian I have ever met," Abhiraj Singh Bhal, co-founder at Urban Company, wrote on Thursday.

CarDekho Founder Amit Jain, who is also an investor on Shark Tank, remembered the patriarch.

"To me and Anurag, he was more than just a mentor — he was a guide and a friend. His composure, humility, and vast knowledge, paired with his willingness to listen and his incredible insights from decades in the automobile sector, left a profound impact on me and our journey with CarDekho," he said.

Recalling an anecdote, Jain said said he'll "never forget" when they reached out to him for advice on growing CarDekho.

"He shared his wisdom and experience generously and believed in our vision when we needed it most. His support gave us the courage to push through tough times and strive for excellence. Ratan Tata Ji saw potential in us and his mentorship was invaluable in transforming CarDekho," he said.

Ola Founder Bhavish Aggarwal also remembered Ratan Tata's meetings with him.

"He was my hero growing up, like for so many others. I consider myself blessed to have gotten the opportunity to know my personal hero deeply over the last decade. Meeting and interacting with him many times and each time, learning lessons for life."

Aggarwal recalled how Tata was the guest speaker at his convocation in IIT Bombay in 2008. "I was a young kid but his words that day stayed with me—to serve one’s country. In 2015, I got the chance to meet Mr Tata and he decided to invest in Ola," he said.

Aggarwal said that Tata had a key role in founding Ola Electric. "One day in 2017 I got a call from him asking me to come to Mumbai. He just said 'Bhavish I want to take you somewhere and show you something exciting.' We flew in his plane to Coimbatore to see his personal project making electric vehicles out of the Tata Nano! He was so passionate and excited about electric vehicles."

Tata drove the Ola founder on one of the test tracks and then pointed out detailed improvements to the engineers, Aggarwal said. "That was the day Ola electric really got started—as he ignited the passion for EVs and cars in me! After that, almost every product that we conceptualised and designed (some of which are not yet released) I would go and show him the concepts and he would patiently sit with me and ideate and give feedback," he said.

"The last time I met him was a year ago to share the news of Ola Electric’s IPO and he as usual was gracious and curious. He was frail but his enthusiasm for cars was as high as ever, and his encouragement for me was as strong as ever," Aggarwal wrote.

Another portfolio founder, Moglix's Rahul Garg said he was "fortunate to have him as an investor, mentor, and guide."

"His unwavering support for Moglix and building a self-reliant India will forever inspire us. We will honour his legacy by continuing to work towards his vision of a stronger, 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat'. His wisdom and guidance will be deeply missed, but his impact will endure," he added.

He also invested in Upstox, now one of the top brokerage apps in the country. "We are deeply grateful for the time we spent with him, the stories he shared first-hand, and his trust in us as an early investor in Upstox. He was living proof that business success and doing the right thing can go hand in hand," Ravi Kumar, CEO and Co-founder at Upstox said.

He said Tata's request to him was simple. "Can you make the same quality of wealth advice that I enjoy available to the common man of India?" Thank you, Mr. Tata, for everything you have done for this country, and everything you stood for. The task ahead is clear, and we are committed now more than ever to honouring your vision.”