Flipkart-Walmart deal inspires Odisha’s Gen Y entrepreneurs

Bhubaneswar:  Amid RSS-affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch opposing the Flipkart buyout, young entrepreneurs from Odisha gave a thumbs up to the jaw-dropping deal which with the US retail giant buying 77 per cent stake for USD 16 billion (Rs 1.04 lakh crore) in the Bengaluru-based e-commerce company.

Flipkart, which began its journey from a 2BHK apartment in Bengaluru’s Koramangala in 2007, went on inspiring millions of youths across the country who had a dream of becoming an entrepreneur post their college days. Youngsters from Odisha were also looking up to the Flipkart founders – Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal and their story, which according to them a “successful” one.

The way the two, who are not related, formerly worked for Amazon.com Inc and founded Flipkart by selling books before selling everything from soaps to smartphones and from books to clothes, turned out to be a guidebook for many.

Some feel Flipkart has given India its big startup success story while others hailed the business model that the Indian e-commerce major has created in just 11 years.

Chittaranjan Mohanty, an alumnus of Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (XIMB) who currently runs an online vegetable delivery start-up, Hi Fresh, is all praise of Flipkart’s business model and feels the deal will inspire budding entrepreneurs.

“A company like Walmart shown interest only after they smelled huge business opportunities in the Indian e-commerce market through Flipkart. From the deal, all will be benefitted including investors and all stakeholders of the company,” said Mohanty, who has worked for JPMorgan Chase and Barclays prior to kick start his own venture.

Businessmen directly related with Flipkart feel the deal will help the company to grow rapidly in a highly competitive Indian e-commerce market with generating more business for them.

“Flipkart’s scale of business will grow immensely post the deal with Walmart as the US retailer has deep pockets and better experience in handling global market,” said Nrusingha Charan Barik, who is in charge of the delivery partner of Flipkart in Odisha.

Barik, who also owns an online flower delivery start-up, Morning Flower, feels his association with Flipkart will bring more opportunities in the coming days.

Young entrepreneurs are feeling motivated post the mega deal and some of them even are seriously looking to replicate the same business model.

Siddheswar Panda, who runs an online printing services frim, Print View, said: As a part of start-up ecosystem, I feel happy about the Flipkart-Walmart deal as it will inspire many young entrepreneurs across the country.”

Deepak Kumar Nath, a young entrepreneur, feels the deal is a win-win for both Flipkart and Walmart.

“The deal will help Flipkart to grow aggrasively in India and can give a tough fight to other leading e-tailers such as Amazon and Snapdeal. The Flipkart story will always be an inspiring one, especially how the two friends created a company which has become one of the most valued start-ups in the Indian market,” said Deepak, who founded Global Tech Promoters (GTP), an IT firm in Bhubaneswar soon after compeleting his college.

Some Gen-Y entrepreneurs say the deal indicates attractiveness of India’s consumption market for global majors.

“The Flipkart-Walmart deal will surely inspire young and budding entrepreneurs in our state as these two companies are truly global brands,” said Debasish Patnaik, a prominent businessman in Odisha.

He also said that the mega deal is a perfect answer to those who were dismissive of Indian start-ups in an open-for-all market.