A Billion Dreams: Decoding Flipkart’s Growth Story

This is the riveting story of Flipkart, a homegrown company that understood the power of the Internet and transformed how Indians shopped. Two college friends—Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal—gave up their jobs and started marketing and selling books online. While their decision was unfathomable to most, they saw an opportunity and grabbed it. From receiving their first order in October 2007, to joining the unicorn club in 2012, Flipkart galloped into the decacorn stratosphere in 2014. Flipkart created a culture of ‘corporate entrepreneurship’ that led to unprecedented growth, which continues to remain unparalleled in India’s start-up ecosystem and in the history of new technology industry. India’s most successful e-commerce start-up company is a place where dreams are pursued relentlessly and where ingenuity thrives. The company acquired 22 start-ups in 15 years to accelerate growth, and, more recently, it has started nurturing start-ups directly through equity investments. Flipkart’s overall contribution in nurturing India’s start-up ecosystem is even more astounding— former employees of Flipkart have gone on to create more than 200 start-ups. Understanding the world of Flipkart will lead young businesses towards unhindered growth and harness catalytic tools within their organizations to ensure sustenance and growth. This book is for dreamers and doers, pioneers and innovators.