From Prisoner to Investor – Journey of Corporate Venture Capital Investor ‘Rajat Gupta’
Image Source:- Rajat Gupta Wikpedia
As of 2020, almost 6,000 angel investors are present in India. Each one of them has an interesting and captivating story, but when we talking about the most successful angel investors, we can’t miss out on the journey of corporate venture capital investor Rajat Gupta.
Untold Motivational Stories of Businessman – Rajat Gupta
Rajat Gupta is one of the most successful Indian American businessmen who has achieved excellence on his own. Whether becoming the first foreign-born managing director of Mckinsey & Company (1994-2003) to holding fortress for himself after two years of imprisonment. His story has been nothing but a tale of misfortune.
Born in Kolkata and raised in Delhi, Gupta’s misfortune always has been by his side – his parents passed away when he was just eighteen. Gupta knew that he and his siblings had to find a way to fend for themselves at such a young age.
“Decided to live by ourselves. It was pretty unusual in those days.”
Image Source:- Livemint
The making of startup venture capital genius began by scoring 15th rank in IIT JEE and receiving an MBA from Harvard Business School with distinction. He never looked back in his career and held a position in various corporations’ boards such as Goldman Sachs, Procter & Gamble, American Airlines, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, and many more.
With an approximate net worth of $100 million when he left Mckinsey, Gupta was on the top. But, his misfortune caught up with him once again in 2012 when he was convicted for two years sentence.
Fall of Rajat Gupta
Image Source:- The Economic Times
‘It was a lapse in judgment. I lost my will to fight.’
Mr. Gupta has been the classic Type A personality. Once he set his mind on something, he went after it with full force. When Rajat’a sight fixated on the Sri Lankan-American hedge fund manager, Raj Rajaratnam, his troublesome days started at the exact moment.
Raj was part of some unethical business practices, and Gupta made the mistake of partnering with him. The matter of two phone calls made by Gupta to Raj immediately after leaving the Goldman Sachs board meeting had convicted him of two years in prison.
This judgment had created a huge buzz in the US Indian trading community and changed many business dynamics. Whether the termination of Preet Bharara (Federal prosecutor who charged Gupta) by the ex-US president Donal Trump or Rajat’s accusation of biased jury verdict due to his immigrant background. Things changed a lot.
“The jury was 12 individuals who were (from) mainstream America, who was naturally a little suspicious of immigrants.”
Rajat Gupta Is Back
This is one of the motivational stories of a businessman, so without a stellar comeback – it can’t be called a motivation story. After completing his sentence in 2016, Rajat returned with full power and targeted the Indian startup circle as an individual corporate venture capital investor.
Image Source:- The Print
He has funded four amazing Indian startups in the areas of consumer services, logistics, and enterprise services. His leading startup investments in the last four years has been – Rivigo, Zappka, Teamonk Global, Dockabl. He is also the Co-Founder and Chairman at New Silk Route and has funded some innovative startups –
- Rivigo – It is a technology-oriented logistics portal that provides transport services. From the six angel investors (Mr. Gupta included), the company has raised $268.7 million in 11 rounds of funding. This Gurugram based logistics company offers everything from relay-led trucking to the digital trucking marketplace.
- Zappka – Along with Daman Soni, Rajat Gupta has invested $100K in Zappka app. It is a personal app store on which users can discover apps based on their profile, friends, social network, and preferences.
- Dockabl – Rajat Gupta, Sanjay Kapoor, Ritesh Malik, and other two investors have funded productivity, performance, and engagement-driven platform – Dockabl. This employee experience platform has raised $1.3 million from five investors.
- Teamonk Global – Recently, Rajat has diverted his attention to the most favorite beverage of Indians – Tea and made a significant investment in Teamonk – a premium tea brand. Rajat Gupta and Root Ventures have invested $1 million (out of $3.1 million total investment) in Teamonk Global. It is one of the most talked-about personal investments made by Gupta.
Key Lessons Driven From Rajat Gupta’s Tale
Image Source:- The New York Times
From CEO of Mckinsey to a prisoner for two years, Rajat Gupta has become one of the most successful angel investors at 71. His journey is an inspiration for young businessmen and businesswomen. The key takeaways from his fall and rise journey are –
• Things never remain the same – So you should be ready to tackle any kind of situation.
• Don’t stop – After getting out of prison, he could have retired easily and left business behind for good. But, he didn’t stop – he started his journey as an angel investor in India.
• Understand the market curve – He understood that technology defines the new era; thus, he has invested in progressive tech startups. Next, he is targeting the FMCG industry with his witty skills.
Conclusion
Fall, rise, fall, and once again rise is the short snippet of Rajat Gupta’s story – a corporate venture capital investor. You can call him misfortunate or culprit – but you can’t ignore him. We can’t ignore the fact that Rajat Gupta has made Indians proud on many occasions. So, Colitco is keen, like everyone, to know what new chapter Rajat Gupta unfolds next?
Colitco is an online story point where inspirational startups, venture capitalists, angel investors, private equity players journey is narrated along with some vital lessons for budding entrepreneurs and students. So, keep on reading the other motivational stories of a businessman only here!
