Deepinder Goyal: The Mastermind Behind Zomato's Success

Deepinder Goyal- The Zomato Guy has revolutionized the food industry with his Food Delivery App. The late night cravings and urgent home delivery are all managed by Zomato and that too with a few clicks. Food Industry has huge potential in India and despite this Zomato is one other brand which dominates this industry.  Zomato provides a complete reference of the restaurants, its menus, reviews and almost everything related to the restaurant. It was founded by Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chhada. Let us understand Mr. Deepinder Goyal Success Journey in detail.

Deepinder Goyal – Biography

Deepinder Goyal Early Life and Education

• Deepinder Goyal was born on 26^th January 1983. He was born in Muktsar, Punjab and is 41 years of age. He is currently the Director and CEO of Zomato. Deepinder Goyal belonged to Middle Class Family. He completed his graduation from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi in the year 2005 in the field of Mathematics and Computing.
• He was always interested in food and this encouraged him to start up a venture that would help people have their lunch, breakfast and dinner conveniently.
• Despite his tech background, Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal is a poetry lover and a bibliophile. He even published a book for an ideal workspace culture known as “Culture”.

Deepinder Goyal Net Worth and Investments

• The net worth of the Zomato co-founder is Rs 2570 crore. He holds a 5.5% stake in Zomato and has invested in various start-ups like Bira 91, HyperTrack, TerraDo, Squad Strack etc. He is the owner of 5-acre land in Delhi’s Dera Mandi village worth Rs 79 crore.
• Deepinder Goyal owns several high-end lavish cars including a Ferrari Roma worth Rs 4.76 crore, a Porsche 911 Turbo worth Rs 3.35 crore, a Lamborghini Urus worth Rs 4.18 crore Turbo worth Rs 2.31 crore.

Deepinder Goyal Family

• He married Kanchan Joshi, whom he met while he was a student at IIT Delhi. At that time, Goyal’s wife Joshi was getting her MSc in maths, and the two of them would meet in the labs.  They have a child together named Siara. Deepinder Goyal got separated from his wife and then remarried Mexican Model Grecia Munoz.
• Mr. Goyal has shared a cosy picture with Ms Munoz on Instagram, leading to the buzz over his marriage. Ms Munoz had earlier tagged him in an Instagram story with a heart emoji, which he had re shared with two more heart emoji’s. Mr. Goyal and Ms Munoz tied the knot a couple of months back and returned from their honeymoon in February.

Deepinder Goyal – The idea of Zomato

• Deepinder Goyal observed that ordering food was never easy. People used to wait in long que in restaurants to buy food. Also online food ordering did not provide proper information about the restaurants and thus customers were ignorant about the food quality, discounts and ratings of the restaurant.
• Deepinder after graduation joined Bain and Company as a Senior Associate Consultant in 2006 during which he founded Foodie Bay.com which later on was renamed as Zomato.com at Bain and Company. This saved money and time while ordering food online.

The genesis of Zomato:

• In 2008, Goyal, in collaboration with Pankaj Chaddah, founded their food delivery company, initially named Foodiebay. A year later, rebranded as Zomato, the company expanded its footprint globally, reaching countries like South Africa, Canada, UAE, and New Zealand.

The growth of Zomato:

• Zomato kicked off essentially as a rebranded version of the food directory services Foodiebay. Goyal and Chaddah, both IIT graduates and both working as analysts at Bain and Company back then, had started Foodiebay in 2008. In a matter of just nine months, Foodiebay became the largest restaurant directory in Delhi NCR. After two successful years, the company was rebranded Zomato and since then there was no looking back.
• With support from its investors and multiple rounds of consecutive funding, Zomato built not only its valuation but also an interesting portfolio of investors which includes Info Edge India, Sequoia, Vy Capital, Singapore-based investment firm Temasek, and Alibaba’s Ant Financial. Ant Financial’s $200 Mn investment earlier this year led Zomato to cross the $1 Bn valuation.
• Zomato’s quick growth can also be attributed to its rapid expansion to countries other than India. Soon after its success in Delhi-NCR, the company started branching out to cities like Pune, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad.
• By 2012, Zomato had started expanding overseas by extending its services to Sri Lanka, UAE, Qatar, South Africa, UK, and the Philippines. The year 2013 saw New Zealand, Turkey, and Brazil get added to its list.
• During this time, Zomato also kept working on its tech backbone to match the boom in the smartphone trend and launched its app. The company also started aggressively acquiring foreign competition to increase its foothold in other countries.
• In 2014, Zomato acquired Gastronauci, Poland’s restaurant search service, and Cubano, an Italian restaurant finder. The next year, Zomato made its biggest acquisition — US-based online table reservation platform NexTable. Soon after, it acquired another US-based restaurant directory, Urbanspoon, but had to shut the app within just five months.

Zomato goes public:

• On July 14, 2021, the Rs 9,375-crore initial public offering (IPO) of Zomato—the foodtech unicorn—opened for subscription at a price band of Rs 72-76 a share, against a face value of Rs 1 apiece. The much-hyped IPO from the Indian start-up ecosystem had closed on July 16 with an oversubscription of 35 times.
• Zomato got listed on July 23, at a valuation of over $13.3 billion, with an issue price of Rs 76 apiece. In the IPO, Zomato received an overwhelming response from investors. With the first start-up unicorn going public, investors got the first taste of an entirely new and emerging sector of India’s economy.
• On November 16, 2021, Zomato’s share price touched an all-time high of Rs 169.10 apiece on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Earnings and net worth:

• During FY 2011-2012, Zomato Media Pvt. Ltd. reported revenues worth INR 2.04 crores, which ballooned to INR 11.38 crores during the financial year 2012-2013.
• Zomato had around 2.5 million visitors on its website in March 2012. This increased exponentially to 62.5 million during 2014. Their revenues surged too, INR 30.06 crore generated in 2012 as revenue increased to INR 96.7 crore in 2015. Zomato recorded a growth rate of 68.9% in its gross revenue, reaching INR 7,079 crores in FY23. During FY 2011-2012, Zomato Media Pvt. Ltd. reported revenues worth INR 2.04 crores, which ballooned to INR 11.38 crores during the financial year 2012-2013.
• Zomato had around 2.5 million visitors on its website in March 2012. This increased exponentially to 62.5 million during 2014. Their revenues surged too, INR 30.06 crore generated in 2012 as revenue increased to INR 96.7 crore in 2015. Zomato recorded a growth rate of 68.9% in its gross revenue, reaching INR 7,079 crores in FY23.

Deepinder Goyal Shark Tank India Season 3

• In Shark Tank India Season 3, Deepinder Goyal’s detailed feedback and approach have sparked discussions. Goyal emphasised the importance of precision, noting how small errors can influence judgments in professional settings like job applications.
• His approach to the show resonated with many viewers. Social media users shared their admiration for Goyal’s insights. He is particularly interested in businesses that are challenging the status quo and have the ability to make a significant difference in people’s lives. Goyal’s addition to the panel of sharks is sure to make the new season even more exciting and informative.

Deepinder Goyal Personal and Professional Achievements

• Zomato was also named the startup of the year in 2021. Starting small and becoming a global food delivery business shows how determined Deepinder Goyal is.
• Deepinder Goyal’s persistence and commitment helped in building a unicorn, and Zomato went from tough times to changing the food delivery industry. His story serves as an inspiration for young aspiring entrepreneurs.

 Personal Achievements:

Zomato Milestones:

• 2008: Founded as Foodiebay, later rebranded as Zomato
• 2011: Launched online ordering platform
• 2014: Expanded internationally to UAE
• 2015: Acquired Runner, a food delivery startup
• 2017: Became India’s first unicorn startup (valuation over $1 billion)
• 2019: Launched grocery delivery service
• 2021: IPO (Initial Public Offering) on the Indian stock exchange
• 2023: Expanded to 23 countries worldwide

Deepinder Goyal – Investments besides Zomato

The below mentioned are the few list of investments which Deepinder Goyal did besides Zomato

Conclusion

Deepinder has shown how to grow a business by setting up examples for his co-workers. Working for 24 hours is never a cakewalk, especially when there’s pressure from parents upon leaving a well-settled job. Under his guidance, Zomato has received multiple awards, mostly user’s choice – which proves customer satisfaction