Off The Cuff

How Snapdeal Got Its First Angel Investor: A Short Tale of Serendipity

December 20, 2021
Sezarr

Kunal Bahl with Snapdeal’s first angel investor

Snapdeal Founder and CEO Kunal Bahl on Monday shared the story of how his start-up got its first angel investor 14 years ago. Mr Behl called it a story of “pity and seriousness”, recalling the story of “how @snapdeal got its first angel investor 14 years ago, who still remains an investor in the company” in a Twitter thread.

They first met when a person who would become a Snapdeal investor was invited to Mr. Behl’s college as a guest speaker. Kunal Behl has studied at the University of Pennsylvania.

“One day, I walked into my management course lecture in college. A gray-haired gentleman is standing in front of the class chatting with our regular professor,” he recalled in his Twitter thread. During the lecture, Mr. Behl was “completely blown away” by the man who used to be a Microsoft executive in the 80s.

“I left the class completely and utterly inspired. I had decided. I wanted to be an entrepreneur,” he said.

After completing his education, Mr. Behl joined Microsoft and pursued his passion to become an entrepreneur. He cold-emailed the guest lecturer who had inspired him years earlier, not really expecting a response. However, much to his surprise, the man wrote back within 30 minutes with an offer of lunch at Malay Satya Hut – a Malaysian restaurant near Microsoft’s premises.

“We met a quarter of the time after that. Same restaurant every time,” wrote Mr. Behl. Over the course of several lunches, they traded stories about life, Microsoft, entrepreneurship, college and more.

However, Mr. Bahl’s request for an H1B visa was “surprisingly denied”, meaning he had to leave the US. He approaches his “friend” for one last meal at the Malay Satya Hut and tells her that he is leaving the country.

“He stopped. And then, leaning against his Prius, asked me what my plans were when I was going back to India,” recalled Mr. Behl. “I told her to my friend from high school and I was planning to start a coupon book business, which we thought had great potential in India.”

“Let me know if I can help you on your journey in any way,” everyone said.

Two months later, Mr. Behl returned to India and was working with Rohit Bansal on his startup.

Tagging the company Snapdeal, he wrote, “We quickly realized we needed money as an advance to the printing press, which was going to print the first batch of coupon books. @rohitkbansal and I 100% of our limited savings Already invested.” -founded by.

At that time, there was no angel investor ecosystem in India. An angel investor is a wealthy individual who provides capital for a business or start-up. “Suddenly the conversation in the Malay Satte Hut parking lot flashed before my eyes. I emailed my friend and requested for a call,” wrote Mr. Bahl.

During the call, he told that his start-up is in need of funds. “I want to support you. I will invest,” the man told Mr. Behl.

The Snapdeal CEO said, “There were no talks, no back-and-forth. We agreed on simple terms and in a matter of weeks we had the money we needed to get our entrepreneurial journey off the starting blocks “

He finally revealed the name of the angel investor at the end of the thread – Ken Glass. “We would not have come here if it had not been for your trust, your generosity, your kindness and your affection over the last 15 years,” Mr. Bahl wrote.

And for those wondering, Mr. Glass visited India. She attended Kunal Behl’s wedding in 2012, five years after she first invested in his company.

The Twitter thread has garnered a lot of love on the microblogging platform.

“Amazing story about your entrepreneurship journey,” wrote one person in the comments section.

“It’s a beautiful story, Kunal. In this very quick start up environment, the importance of kindness needs to be emphasized,” said another.

Snapdeal is one of the largest online marketplace in India today. It was founded in 2010 by Kunal Behl and his school friend Rohit Bansal.

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