While the 44 startups of the Flipkart ‘mafia’ generally dominate the headlines, a smaller group of Paytm’s former employees, who have quit the fintech major to launch 22 startups over the years, has hit a collective valuation of Rs 10,668 crore, according to a report from Private Circle.
This ‘mafia’ refers to a group of former Paytm executives turned entrepreneurs. It includes Pocket FM, co-founded by Rohan Nayak, former product manager at Paytm; Park+, founded by Amit Lakhotia, former business head of Paytm wallet; and gold loan platform Indiagold, founded by Paytm’s former SVP of product Deepak Abbot and Nitin Misra, who was the business head of Paytm Postpaid.
Other companies in this group include, Junio, a digital pocket money platform for students; audio dating platform Frnd; eyewear brand Cleardekho; Genwise Club, an online club for elders; footwear brand Yoho, vending machine startup Daalchini; and cybersecurity company Kratikal Tech. Most of these companies were founded following Paytm’s Rs 300 crore ESOP buyback in January 2018, the report said.
“This pivotal moment marked the ascent of the Paytm Mafia onto the startup stage, laying the groundwork for its subsequent expansion and influence,” it said. About 24% of these startups are in the fintech sector, followed by e-commerce, media and entertainment and software-as-a-service. All together, the companies have created 2,500 jobs in the country, with Pocket FM, Park+, Unnati, and Indiagold leading the chart.
A recent report from Private Circle valued the Flipkart mafia at $24.6 billion, that includes companies such as PhonePe, Groww, Udaan, Spinny, cult.fit, Slice, Navi, Curefoods, Credgenics, and OkCredit.
Most of these startups were founded in and after 2019, following Flipkart’s acquisition by Walmart, when the company had also announced ESOP buybacks worth $500 million.