Top Indian Startup Companies: Startup registrations have surpassed 1.8 lakh, and 22,000 new entities are expected to join by 2025. However, according to data from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, 6,019 recognized startups had closed as of July 18, 2025. This comes at a time when the country’s startup ecosystem is showing signs of improvement after a funding slowdown that lasted more than three years.
India’s startup revolution is being defined by its founders; their schooling, college paths, turning points, and moments when they deviated from the traditional path. Behind every unicorn or high-growth company is a backdrop of learning, change, and relentless hard work.
Here are top 30 Indian startup founders whose educational background (and its differences) helps us understand how they made an impact. Each mini-profile includes publicly known information about their education and some key observations.
Pioneers of Top Indian Startup Companies:
1. Deepinder Goyal (Zomato)
Education: B.Tech, IIT Delhi
Notes: After graduation, he worked at Bain & Company before cofounding Zomato with Pankaj Chaddah. His IIT alumnus status has often been highlighted in media.
2. Pankaj Chaddah (Zomato)
Education: IIT Delhi (same as Deepinder)
Notes: The two were college acquaintances and built the initial Zomato model together.
3. Vijay Shekhar Sharma (Paytm / One97 Communications)
Education: B.E. (Electronics & Communications), Delhi College of Engineering (DCE)
Notes: Unlike many peers, he did not go to an IIT. His trajectory emphasizes that non-IIT engineers also make it big.
4. Bhavish Aggarwal (Ola)
Education: B.Tech, IIT Bombay
Notes: His cofounder, Ankit Bhati, was also an IIT Bombay alumnus, giving Ola a strong engineering DNA from the start.
5. Ankit Bhati (Ola)
Education: B.Tech + M.Tech, Mechanical Engineering, IIT Bombay
Notes: His master’s degree gave extra depth in technical domain, helping Ola scale its operations systems.
6. Mukesh Bansal (Myntra, Cult.fit, Meraki Labs)
Education: B.Tech, IIT Kanpur
Notes: After IIT, he worked in consulting/tech roles before starting Myntra, which became part of Flipkart later.
7. Kunal Bahl (Snapdeal)
Education: Dual degrees from the University of Pennsylvania; one in Engineering, one in Entrepreneurship/Operations & Information Management (Wharton)
Notes: His path mixes global exposure, technical foundation, and business schooling.
8. Ritesh Agarwal (OYO)
Education: College dropout; did not complete a formal degree (self-studied)
Notes: He is often cited as a standout example of a founder who achieved success without a full conventional degree.
9. Rahul Yadav (Housing.com)
Education: Dropped out of IIT Bombay just months before completing his degree.
Notes: His dramatic exit from the company and media narrative made his story widely known.
10. Pranay Chulet (Quikr)
Education: B.E. / B.Tech in Chemical Engineering, IIT Delhi + MBA, IIM Calcutta
Notes: This engineering + MBA pairing is common among India’s founders.
11. Naveen Tewari (InMobi)
Education: B.Tech, IIT Kanpur; later did management programs at Harvard (executive / general management)
Notes: His path shows how early elite engineering training combined with advanced global management learning can be a multiplier.
12. Ritesh Arora (BrowserStack)
Education: B.Tech, Computer Science & Engineering, IIT Bombay (2006)
Notes: BrowserStack, now a global SaaS company, was founded while he was relatively young.
13. Amit Jain (CarDekho / GirnarSoft)
Education: B.Tech in Electrical Engineering, IIT Delhi (1999)
Notes: His technical credentials reflect a strong foundation for a data-driven, product firm.
14. Mayank Bidawatka (Koo / Billion Hearts)
Education: MBA, Asian Institute of Management (Philippines)
Notes: He also had earlier schooling in Mumbai; his route leans more business / management than deep technical.
15. Divya Gokulnath (Byju’s)
Education: R.V. College of Engineering, Bangalore
Notes: As co-founder and Director at Byju’s, she has played a strategic and educational content leadership role.
16. Byju Raveendran (Byju’s)
Education (publicly cited): He taught mathematics and started his educational venture from that foundation; specific degree details are less clearly documented in reliable sources.
17. Ghazal Alagh (Mamaearth)
Education: Appears in lists of “highly educated founders” but without precise degree or institution details in public domain.
Notes: Her success suggests a capability beyond just pedigree, in branding, operations, and consumer trust.
18. Aman Gupta (boAt)
Education: Cited among “highly educated startup founders”, but public sources do not clearly list degree or institution.
19. Anupam Mittal (People Group / Shaadi.com)
Education: Public media mentions him among educated founders, but precise degree details are inconsistent across sources.
20. Vineeta Singh (SUGAR Cosmetics)
Education: Similarly listed in public media as among educated founders; exact qualifications/institutions aren’t confidently documented in major sources.
21. Piyush Bansal (Lenskart)
Education: Cited in media shorthand as “highly educated founder,” but full verified academic credentials are not consistently reported.
22. Sridhar Vembu (Zoho / Arattai)
Education: B.Tech, IIT Madras; PhD from Princeton University
Notes: Rare among Indian founders to have a PhD from a top US university, which underscores his research orientation and long-term thinking.
23. Hari Menon (BigBasket)
Education: Featured in descriptive articles about Indian entrepreneurs and their studies; likely advanced in engineering / business, but I could not find a completely verified, up-to-date source in my search.
24. Sujeet Kumar / other fintech / SaaS founders (example: Razorpay, Udaan, Swiggy founders)
Education: For many of these, public bios mention degrees in engineering from top Indian institutes or abroad, sometimes with MBAs, but a fully validated “startup-founder education compendium” is not readily found in my search window.
25. Kaivalya Vohra & Aadit Palicha (Zepto)
Education: They appear in recent wealth / startup founder coverage (Hurun India Rich List), but detailed degree / institution information is not broadly reported in the sources I checked.
From These Top Profiles, Some Consistent Patterns and Emerging Trends Emerge:
- IIT/Engineering dominance remains strong
In a joint study by Hurun India and IDFC First Bank, nearly one-third of the 388 founders of India’s 200 most valuable recent startups were IIT alumni.
In this dataset, IIT Delhi, in particular, leads the way with 36 founders.
Furthermore, over 67% of India’s unicorn founders are engineers, and 60% of them are from IITs. - Engineering + business education (MBA, global management) is common
Many founders also obtained a core technical degree along with management education, whether in India (IIMs) or abroad (Harvard, Wharton, etc.). Examples: Pranay Chulet, Naveen Tiwari, Kunal Bahl. - Successful non-traditional paths exist, although less frequently.
Some founders, like Ritesh Agarwal and Rahul Yadav, have changed this narrative by achieving success despite not completing a formal degree. Their stories are often highlighted as anomalies; but they are also powerful exceptions. - PhDs are rare, but unique
Sridhar Vembu is an exceptional individual, having simultaneously earned an IIT undergraduate degree and a PhD from Princeton. This depth gives him special credibility in the fields of engineering and research. - Data Gaps and Narrative Bias
A recurring problem is that transparent education profiles are not widely documented for many founders, especially recent, boutique, or elite founders. The media tends to over-expose founders with specific degrees, leading to visibility bias. - No fixed path; education is an enabler, not destiny
Even among these 25 individuals, there is considerable diversity. What unites them is perseverance, domain insight, adaptability, team-building, and execution, not necessarily any specific qualifications.
Also Read: From Mukesh Ambani to Kushal Pal Singh: The Educational Backgrounds of India’s Top Billionaires
