In this episode of SparX, Mukesh Bansal sits down with Sanjeev Bikhchandani, founder of Info Edge (Naukri.com), the man who quietly built the foundation of India’s internet economy.
From bootstrapping Naukri for 10 years without a salary to backing iconic startups like Zomato and Policybazaar, Sanjeev’s story is a masterclass in patience, conviction, and timing. He reflects on his early dreams of entrepreneurship in the 1970s, quitting his stable job in the 80s for independence, surviving the dot-com bubble, and helping shape India’s startup ecosystem.
They talk about:
How Naukri was born before the internet arrived in India.
The 7 years Sanjeev lived without a salary and how he made it work.
Missing early investments in Flipkart, Ola, and Lenskart and what he learned.
The mental models around luck, timing, and persistence.
Why India still hasn’t built trillion-dollar tech companies and how that could change.
His hopes for India’s next wave of startups in AI, deep tech, and IP creation.
Sanjeev also opens up about his personal evolution from a restless 25-year-old marketer selling Horlicks to one of India’s most respected entrepreneurs and investors.
If you want to understand the real DNA of Indian entrepreneurship, this conversation is a rare glimpse into the mind of the man who started it all.
Chapters:
00:00 – 01:18 Introduction
01:19 – 03:38 Missing Flipkart, Myntra & Ola
03:39 – 10:10 The JRD Tata Moment
10:11 – 17:36 Early Career & Struggles
17:37 – 24:08 First Startup Experiments
24:09 – 30:09 How Naukri Was Born
30:10 – 41:44 Dotcom boom & crazy valuations
41:45 – 44:14 The Role of Luck
44:15 – 51:27 Betting Early on India’s Unicorns
51:28 – 54:09 What He Seeks in Founders
54:10 – 1:03:03 Can India Build Trillion-Dollar Tech Giants?
1:03:04 – 1:10:22 Career Advice from Sanjeev