A puzzling equity buyback scheme, a part-time CEO and a business that has never been more vulnerable (you only have to look at Uber) are all red flags in the run-up to Ola going public.
It was a simple question to begin with and one where my expectations were low. I mean shareholders rarely complain about their businesses. They think doing so makes them look bad and they care about these things. So they avoid discussing them altogether. It is worse when the subject is the co-founder of a certain unicorn based in Bengaluru.
The question? Well, it’s as simple as this: “What is happening with Bhavish Aggarwal? I heard he has been buying equity from his employees at not so great prices.”
“Broadly the chap is being super non-transparent,” comes the immediate reply from …
Ashish is the editor-in-chief of The Morning Context. One of the best-known business feature writers in India, he was selected for Germany’s Robert Bosch Stiftung Fellowship in 2012 and received the Mumbai Press Club RedInk certificate of recognition in 2015 for his story “Inside the Network 18 takeover”. Before joining The Morning Context, Ashish co-founded The Ken, where he was managing editor. His previous writing stints include Mint, Forbes India and The Economic Times.
Editor-in-chief
ashish@mailtmc.com
London