‘Jaanta hai tera baap kaun hai’: Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal recalls father's response to his startup idea

Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal opened up about his father’s remark on his startup idea at the Vishesh Sampark event hosted by Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.

Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal recently opened up about what his father said when he first came up with the idea to launch his startup nearly two decades ago. He shared this memory while attending Vishesh Sampark, an event hosted by Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, and Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology.

The event, Vishesh Sampark, where Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal shared about his interaction with his father, occurred on May 20. (Screengrab)

A video capturing Goyal’s speech has rapidly gained traction on social media. In the video, he not only reflects on his father’s remarks but also provides an overview of the evolving startup landscape in India.

“I started Zomato 16 years ago in 2008. And, my dad at that time told me ‘Janta hai tera baap kaun hai?’ And, his point was, ‘You can’t do a startup’. Right.. And… I come from a small town in Punjab… that’s the background”, Deepinder Goyal says. He then adds how the perception around startups has changed in the last few years. Also, he shared his opinion on how the government has helped bring that change.

Take a look at Deepinder Goyal’s speech here:

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri hosted the event at his residence on May 20. It was attended by innovators, intellectuals, startup leaders, and IT professionals from across the country. They gathered to discuss the “country's digital transformation and future potential” under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In addition to Deepinder Goyal, the event was attended by the founder of Urban Company Abhiraj Singh Bhal, the Managing Director of Peak XV Partners Rajan Anandan, the chairman of the Indian Cellular Association Pankaj Mohindroo, YouTuber Gaurav Chaudhary (Technical Guruji), the CEO of Map My India Rohan Verma, Varun Alagh, the co-founder of Honasa Consumer, and several others.

Deepinder Goyal was born in 1983 in Punjab’s Muktsar. His parents are both teachers. In an interview, Goyal once said that he was an average student in class, and his father even once had to request his teacher to let him graduate from Class 5. However, when in Class 8, with the help of a teacher, he turned his life around.

“When the exam results were declared, I was in the top three of my class,” he told YourStory, adding this incident was the turning point in his life.

Earlier this year, he married former model Grecia Munoz. He also appeared as a judge in the third season of the popular reality show Shark Tank India.

(With inputs from ANI)