Ankur Warikoo is an internet superstar, youth icon, bestselling author, online educator, and serial entrepreneur. He created his first business, SecondShaadi.com, between 2009 and 2010, in addition to a number of other websites pertaining to finance, education, and cars. Among these, Gaadi.com gained popularity and was subsequently purchased by goibibo.com in 2010.
Following the launch of SecondShaadi.com and Gaadi.com, Ankur founded Groupon’s India division in 2011 and served as its first CEO for four years until taking a bold move in 2015. He purchased Groupon India from Groupon and turned it into a separate company, along with the company’s core management team. Nearbuy, which Sequoia funded, was thus born. He served as Nearbuy’s CEO until 2019, when he and two other founders resigned.
Ankur’s path into content creation really took off at that point. He currently has millions of followers on social media sites including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and X. But a significant portion of his work is spent on WebVeda.com, an edtech platform that offers reasonably priced life skills instruction to students.
Ankur discussed three characteristics of a founder’s thinking at the Tech and Innovation Summit 2025, which was hosted by Entrepreneur India.
Spending Time With a Variety of People
Ankur emphasizes the value of spending time with people who are completely different from you. He claims that it “gives new perspective and broadens your horizon.” He advises business owners to take the less-traveled route. “The entrepreneur has a philosophy that genuinely recognizes each person’s individuality. Spending time with people that are similar to us is the worst thing we can do. Spend time with individuals that are completely different from you.
Intellectual Cushioning
Ankur discusses the value of pushing oneself and never stopping learning new things. I question someone who claims to have five years of experience if that is actually five years or if it is just one year of experience repeated five times. “I am always asking myself what I can do that will push me intellectually to the point where I am afraid I will lose, but I will play those odds because if I win, it will change my life forever,” he adds. “Investing in an FD and expecting stock market returns is not realistic.”
Not Letting the World Influence You
According to Ankur, the world’s role is to continuously assess us and make judgments. “I witness a lot of folks who are impacted by the world. He advises, “Live your life, not a life that is defined by them.”
According to Ankur, the real founder does not give a damn about what people believe. “Until they become popular, they are unpopular for the longest period of time. Furthermore, your mindset is unrelated to your actions. You might have a founder’s mindset while working as an employee your entire life, or you might be the founder of a firm and not have that perspective.
