All in the Past, I’ve Moved on: Flipkart Billionaire Binny Bansal

“I’m looking forward to the next chapter of my life,” Bansal, who was accused of personal misconduct, said.

Binny Bansal quit from his role at Flipkart on Tuesday.

(Photo: Aroop Mishra/The Quint)

Less than three months after his baffling removal from e-commerce giant he’s an architect of, Binny Bansal is certain about burying the past and has now moved on. In a conversation with Bloomberg, Bansal tells that he is now dedicating himself to help other founders in launching their start-ups, apart from being around for his twin sons.

“I’m looking forward to the next chapter of my life,” Bansal said, adding that this next chapter involves ambitious plans for early entrepreneurs. “Person to person, I can help 10 start-ups but the ambition is to help 10,000 early and mid-stage entrepreneurs, not 10.”

Flipkart's ex-Chief Executive Officer Binny Bansal on Tuesday, 13 November, announced his resignation after a probe was initiated into an allegation of “serious personal misconduct” and incident of sexual harassment that took place some years ago.

Bansal, however, remained firm and denied charges against him. In a statement, his response was:

“The allegations left me stunned and I strongly deny them. The investigation, however, did bring to light lapses in judgment, particularly a lack of transparency, related to how I responded to the situation. These have been challenging times for my family and me. I am concerned that this may become a distraction for the company and the team. In light of these circumstances, I feel it is best to step away as chairman and group CEO.”

Bansal’s Next Venture

After Bansal stepped away, Kalyan Krishnamurthy took charge of Flipkart.

At present, Bansal is investing his time in xto10x Technologies, a start-up he co-founded with former colleague Saikiran Krishnamurthy. With this move, Bansal claims to help entrepreneurs navigate the rigmarole of the Indian start-up domain.

Bansal, who had to step down in November last year following the probe, explains that he already put together an early team, set up an office at a co-working space and even snagged several “leading” start-up customers, Bloomberg reported.

Bansal, however, still holds 4 percent of Flipkart and a board seat but has since kept a low profile.

Back in Chairman’s Seat

Bansal’s new venture is aimed at building technology tools to help start-ups grow, offering on-tap consulting and services from legal and finance to communications, HR and management mentoring, he told Bloomberg.

He will go on to hold a primary role in this company as chairman as well, but has said that he won’t take on an operating role.

“Instead of making a thousand mistakes, if we can help other start-ups make a hundred or even few hundred, that would be worth it,” he said. It will retain a global focus as “problems for entrepreneurs are the same everywhere.”

Binny Bansal, Ex-CEO of Flipkart told <i>Bloomberg</i>

With the time in his hands, Bansal will bond with his two-and-a-half-years-old twin boys, take road trips with the family and build a new home. Also contemplating to give way to his own enterprise, Bansal’s biggest move so far has been his investment in cab operating service Uber’s rival Ola.

(With inputs from Bloomberg)