Bhavish Aggarwal’s Journey from Campus to Corporate Stardom
Bhavish Aggarwal's entrepreneurial path is a testament to his tenacity, perseverance, and innovation. Aggarwal was born in Ludhiana, Punjab. He had an affinity for technology from a young age. Having finished his B.Tech in Computer Science at IIT Bombay, his professional life commenced at Microsoft Research India, where he contributed valuable work, such as filing patents and publishing papers. But his entrepreneurial inclination made him change course, and in 2010, he co-founded Ola with Ankit Bhati, revolutionizing the urban transport landscape in India.
Ola's founding story is one of daring dreams and an inclination to take on challenges. Bhavish, along with Ankit, overcame numerous hurdles in the nascent days of the company, from coding for hours on end to even becoming drivers themselves when necessary. In spite of these setbacks, their passion for building a user-friendly, dependable transportation service for Indian cities drove them to persevere. What was started as a humble experiment soon blossomed into one of India's largest ride-hailing platforms, serving millions of users throughout the country.
Turning point for Ola was when they received the help of angel investors such as Rohit Bansal and Kunal Bahl, who provided much-needed capital to the company. By investing Rs 2 crore, the company acquired the financial support needed to expand operations. Bhavish's leadership, along with his strong knowledge of technology and the needs of the marketplace, laid the foundation for Ola to grow exponentially and become a major player in the ride-hailing market. His passion to deliver an easy and economical means of transport for the masses became the driving force behind Ola's success.
As Ola grew, Bhavish kept innovating. In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Ola lost a huge amount of revenue, and the company had to lay off thousands of workers. But Bhavish's reaction to the crisis was a testament to his resilience. Rather than being dissuaded by adversity, he viewed it as a chance to speed up innovation in technology with a thrust in car rentals and subscription-based offerings to ride out the shift in the industry. His capability of turning and fuelling expansion despite tough times is an important take-away for entrepreneurs-in-the-making.
Presently, Bhavish Aggarwal is not just an embodiment of entrepreneurial achievement but a youth icon. His path from a college graduate with grand aspirations to a self-made billionaire is a testament to the strength of resilience. As Ola Consumer CEO and Ola Electric founder Bhavish, his vision has stretched from ride-hailing to transforming electric cars and artificial intelligence in India. For young entrepreneurs, Bhavish's tale is a reminder that with passion, grit, and a willingness to take risks, anyone can create a company that transforms the world.