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Dinesh Agarwal
File:Dinesh-agarwal.jpg
Born
Dinesh Agarwal

(1969-02-19) 19 February 1969 (age 55)
NationalityIndian
Alma materHarcourt Butler Technological Institute
Occupation(s)Founder and CEO of IndiaMART
SpouseChetna Agarwal[1]
Websitewww.indiamart.com

Dinesh Agarwal (born 19th February, 1969) is an Indian entrepreneur, founder and CEO of IndiaMART,[2] an online B2B marketplace in India.[3]

Early life

Born to a business family in India, Agarwal completed his high school from Maharaja Agrasen Vidyalaya Inter College, Lucknow and spent most of his childhood there. After completing an engineering degree with a specialization in computer science from the Harcourt Butler Technological Institute, Kanpur,[4] he worked with several firms in India for five years[1] including HCL Technologies before moving to the US and joining CDOT.[4] During his time at CDOT, he soon realized that he could not pursue a job all his life[5] and was one of the early Indian entrepreneur that left his job in the wake of the ecommerce era.[6] With an eye toward fulfilling his entrepreneurial desires, he quit his job in 1996 and moved to India with an outlook of starting his own startup.[6]

Entrepreneurial activities

In early 1996, Agarwal returned to India and with his past experience and proximity as a computer analyst, he started working on building an online platform for businesses.[6] The objective of platform was to build focused web pages, where businesses can display their products through it. In the same year, he launched IndiaMart as export-import servicing company[7] which currently serves more than 1.7 million registered sellers.[8] Agarwal believed the company could be "bootstrapped", he put his savings of Rs. 40,000 and faced several challenges, including costly computers, slow Internet speeds and influencing buyers, in the early Indian market.[9]

The company's first client was Nirulas, a fast-food chain.[6] Over almost the next decade, he focused forming relationships with major corporations in the country, which began to grow slowly but steadily. In 1999, Agarwal launched a new platform (auto.indiamart.com) with the objective of providing users with the latest information about the auto sector.[10] The platform did not receive enough traction, as a result of which, the venture was shut down.

With the development of the Internet and mobile telephone connectivity in the country, Agarwal changed the focus of IndiaMart from that of a total export-import servicing company to 100 per cent B2B model.[11] The company grew substantially and by 2012 became the second-largest B2B marketplace after Alibaba.[12] In September 2015, during an interview with Hindu, Agarwal stated the projection of the company to expand its Gross Merchandise Value to Rs. 1 lakh crore in the next 3-5 years, strengthening on the expected growth in industrial segments and also to enter into the non-English speaking countries.[13]

He later became an investor, providing the first major funding for Tolexo and Innerchef, a Gurgaon-based ready-to-cook meals delivery startup.[14][15]

Other domain ventures by Dinesh Agarwal include www.indiangiftsportal.com and www.abcpayments.com. [16]

Zapr, a mobile app that allows users to earn reward points for watching Television advertisement, recently received an angel investment from Dinesh Agarwal.[17] Dinesh also joined in the second round of funding led by GSF Angels for Overcart, India's first online platform for the sale and purchase of unboxed, refurbished, pre-owned and excess stock products. [18]

Recognition

  • Member of the Governing Council of Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).[19]
  • Recognized by CNBC as a Young Turk.[20]
  • ‘The Best Corporate Executive’ by the NCR Chamber of Commerce & Industry (NCCI).[21]
  • SME platforms, Emerging Business Forum (in association with Zee Business)[22]
  • Initiated Leaders of Tomorrow Awards (in association with ET Now)
  • Associated with The Indus Entrepreneurs #TiE)[23] and Global Super Angels Forum.[24]

References

  1. ^ a b "The Founder of IndiaMart- Dinesh Agarwal". 19 February 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  2. ^ "Warburg Pincus in talks with IndiaMart for Rs 150 crore investment". Economic Times. 7 May 2011. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  3. ^ Our Bureau. "IndiaMART targets Rs 30k cr biz in FY16". The Hindu Business Line.
  4. ^ a b "Six inspirational stories of entrepreneurs who made it big". Economic Times. 20 August 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  5. ^ "Celebrating 19 years of Commitment". Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d "How Dinesh Agarwal built a Rs 200-crore firm IndiaMart from a seed capital of Rs 40,000". timesofindia-economictimes.
  7. ^ "IndiaMART targets Rs. 30k cr biz in FY16". The Hindu. 22 July 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  8. ^ Avinder Batra (4 August 2015). "Indiamart shifts focus to buyers from sellers as it targets Rs 350 crore revenue this fiscal". Times of India. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  9. ^ Business Standard (27 September 2011). "Q&A: Dinesh Agarwal, Founder & CEO, IndiaMART.com". business-standard.com. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  10. ^ "An online gateway to the Indian marketplace". Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  11. ^ "Exclusive: The 'been there, done that' Man – Dinesh Agarwal". 3 December 2015. Business Insider. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  12. ^ Vinod Mahanta & Moinak Mitra (27 April 2012). "How Dinesh Agarwal created the world's second-largest B2B marketplace Indiamart". Times of India. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  13. ^ Rajesh Kurup (11 September 2015). "IndiaMART.com plans to enter overseas markets". The Hindu. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  14. ^ Digbijay Mishra (17 November 2015). "Now, InMobi founder Naveen Tewari backs Innerchef". Times of India. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  15. ^ Shrutika Verma. "Indiamart to launch online marketplace Tolexo.com". http://www.livemint.com/. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
  16. ^ "The brand quandary: Indiamart still carries the 'India' tag". Economic Times. 5 April 2009. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  17. ^ Disha Sharma (22 December 2015). "Exclusive: Indiamart's Dinesh Agarwal invests in Zapr". VCCircle. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  18. ^ "Entrepreneur Couple Meena and K Ganesh Lead Marquee Investors in Series A Investment in Overcart". 24 June 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  19. ^ "Council - IAMAI". iamai.in.
  20. ^ "Mr. Dinesh Agarwal, Founder & CEO, IndiaMART.com". Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  21. ^ "Mr. Dinesh Agarwal, Founder and CEO, IndiaMART bags top honors at the prestigious NCCI AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE 2015". Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  22. ^ "IndiaMART Emerging Business Forum grand finale on April 26". 23 April 2012. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  23. ^ "Industry Stalwarts Underline Need To Wire Up Indian SMEs". Firstpost.
  24. ^ "Global Super Angels Invests In Medical Devices Startup Biosense". IndiaMART.
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