SUMMARY
Founders Meetup made the trip from Delhi for a special night in Hyderabad on October 11
Over 30 early-stage founders came together to network and learn from the growth story of Dineout through its cofounder Vivek Kapoor
The initiative was supported by Dineout and Paytm, as associate sponsors, 50K Network and IIIT Hyderabad as community partners, and CoWrks as the event partner
At the first-ever Founders Meetup in Hyderabad, Dineout’s Vivek Kapoor was at his candid best as he shared his journey in building India’s largest dining out platform.
“One thing I tell everyone is that if you think too much or if you dissect everything with a magnifying glass, you will find 1000 reasons to not do it. There is only one reason to do it, which is ‘because you want to make it happen’.”
With the rush of applications that Inc42 would witness every month from various cities for the Founders Meetup in Delhi, we realised that it was time we take this event to other cities as well. And what better place to start than India’s IT hub, Hyderabad.
The evening in Hyderabad saw the participation of more than 30 early-stage founders from the city’s startup ecosystem. Not only did the founders get an opportunity to network and share their ideas with each other, but they also got the opportunity to hear Kapoor as he took them through the inception and growth of Dineout. Touching various topics such as the acquisition of the company by Times Internet to the acquisitions it has made since then to achieve growth, Kapoor talked in-depth about “what seems like a heroic journey today”.
Starting his entrepreneurial journey back in 2012, Kapoor, along with his three friends, Sahil Jain, Nikhil Bakshi and Ankit Mehrotra, established Dineout and today it is India’s largest dining out platform. It processes orders from over 40 Mn diners for more than 40K restaurants in over 17 cities and three countries.
“My cofounders and I have known each other since we were four. We all had our separate stints and whenever we would meet we would always want to chill together. We were all on holidays, you know! And though there were many apps to help us out abroad, there was nothing in India.”
Kapoor shared his journey of starting Dineout when dining out wasn’t that much of a culture in India and revealed his ideology, saying, “Nothing works from the first day, you get to it, you find solutions. You figure it out. And even in the most secure startup ideas, relenting is something that ensures your doom or your failure.”
Kapoor’s story inspired the eager audience, which was quick to ask questions during the whole interaction. And he also had a word of advice to those entrepreneurs who will reach growth stage and will look to acquire more talent and leaders. “We have made four acquisitions till now and all the founders are still with us. So today, we have a set of almost 8-10 cofounders in our company.”
Getting deep insights from established founders can be an invaluable source of inspiration for early-stage entrepreneurs. And Founders Meetup by Inc42 brings these two elements of the ecosystem together on a regular basis to drive synergy and build support through the community.
Stay tuned for more and to know about all that you have missed on the past editions, click here.
The Founders Meetup by Inc42 in Hyderabad was supported by Dineout and Paytm, as associate sponsors, 50K Network and IIIT Hyderabad as community partners, and CoWrks as the event partner.
