Starting a startup is something everyone thinks of. Some muster the courage to open one, and then a few select startups succeed. However, it is rare when a startup becomes a unicorn firm in a short time. A startup is called a unicorn business when its value crosses one billion dollars (8200 crore rupees) in the business world.
We are here to introduce you to a woman from India who not only established one but two unicorn companies. Her name is Ruchi Kalra. She is the co-founder of OfBusiness and Oxyzo Financial Services. OfBusiness is a business-to-business platform that sells items like raw material and industrial supplies. On the other hand, Oxyzo is a digital lending startup that provides purchase financing to businesses.
Interesting fact is that Ruchi Kalra’s husband, Ashish Mahapatra, is also a co-founder of both companies. They both were doing MBA from the Indian School of Business. In addition, Ruchi has a B.Tech degree from IIT Delhi, while Ashish has a B.Tech degree from IIT Kharagpur. Ruchi is 38 years old, while her husband Ashish is 42. They always wanted to leave their jobs and start a business. Ruchi had previously worked for McKinsey for 8 years.
Together with her husband, Ruchi founded OfBusiness in 2015. Today, the company’s value has crossed Rs 44,000 crore. Oxygen was founded in 2017 and is a branch of OfBusiness. Both companies are located in Gurgaon. Ruchi and Ashish manage separate offices, with Ashish looking after OfBusiness and Ruchi overseeing Oxygen.
The couple raised a fund of $200 million for their startup, which valued the company at $1 billion (approximately INR 8200 crore). After this funding, the couple became the first Indian couple to have founded two unicorns, both of which earn a profit every year. In the financial year 2021, the company had a revenue of INR 197.53 crore, which increased to INR 312.97 crore the following year. The company’s total profit for the year 2021-2022 was INR 60.34 crore, while the profit for the previous year was INR 39.94 crore. Furthermore, the company’s revenue from off-business and Oxygen Financial Services in 2022 was INR 7269 crore, with a profit of INR 125.63 crore after taxes.
By combining OffBusiness and Oxygen Financial Services, their value exceeds INR 52,000 crores. Ruchi had mentioned in an interview that her idea was rejected by 73 investors. However, she only needed one investor to bring her idea to life, and she found that one investor to make her dreams a reality.
