Niraj Singh, 36, Founder, Spinny, Gurugram
In the first week of December, when Niraj Singh’s Spinny raised $283 million (Rs 2,150 crore) from an investor consortium led by Abu Dhabi-based ADQ, Tiger Global and Avenir Growth, it became India’s newest unicorn, valued at about $1.8 billion (Rs 13,680 crore). A used-car retailing platform, Spinny competes with firms like CarDekho, OLX and Quikr. Industry estimates suggest Indians will be trading 6.7-7.2 million used cars by end of 2022, and transactions are rapidly moving online. An inveterate car lover, it’s what drew Singh to setting up Spinny. An IIT-Delhi alumnus, he is a serial entrepreneur and also an investor in new businesses. He floated Spinny in 2015, along with friends Mohit Gupta and Ramanshu Mahaur. Ramanshu, a fellow IIT-D grad, is a tech geek, while Mohit joined them from Flipkart and heads operations. The firm has 15 car hubs in eight cities—Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata and Ahmedabad.
In the first week of December, when Niraj Singh’s Spinny raised $283 million (Rs 2,150 crore) from an investor consortium led by Abu Dhabi-based ADQ, Tiger Global and Avenir Growth, it became India’s newest unicorn, valued at about $1.8 billion (Rs 13,680 crore). A used-car retailing platform, Spinny competes with firms like CarDekho, OLX and Quikr. Industry estimates suggest Indians will be trading 6.7-7.2 million used cars by end of 2022, and transactions are rapidly moving online. An inveterate car lover, it’s what drew Singh to setting up Spinny. An IIT-Delhi alumnus, he is a serial entrepreneur and also an investor in new businesses. He floated Spinny in 2015, along with friends Mohit Gupta and Ramanshu Mahaur. Ramanshu, a fellow IIT-D grad, is a tech geek, while Mohit joined them from Flipkart and heads operations. The firm has 15 car hubs in eight cities—Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata and Ahmedabad.
“Extremely consumeroriented, I’ve have always been keen on innovating businesses to meet changing consumer needs”
SELF DRIVE For Niraj, driving his car—both on city routes and longer highways—is a big stress-buster. In fact, he loves to go for a spin before taking a big decision
Click here for IndiaToday.in’s complete coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.