Ride-hailing unicorn Rapido's co-founder Pavan Guntupalli believes 'trust' is a critical currency in building lasting businesses, and said founders must embed it into every aspect of their company from governance to product design and daily operations.
Guntupalli told PTI that the founders of Rapido have middle-class roots, something that has deeply shaped their understanding of value and customer pain-points.
"Not just in the corporate governance aspect, but also in the aspect of your product, of the way we are running business, the key important ingredient for long-term foundation and growth is trust, earning the trust of your captains (drivers), users, and stakeholders," Guntupalli said in a recent interview.
Trust, he said, cannot be 'binary' and must be upheld with consistent efforts to ensure total, and not partial, success.
His advice to founders: Take every step after considering if it is going to hurt the trust of stakeholders.
"That's the kind of a filter question that I would like all of us to ask. And that is something we ask ourselves every single time we do something," he said.
Guntupalli was responding to a question on the advice he would give startup founders in the backdrop of corporate governance issues that have confronted the space in the recent past, with instances of weak oversight, unchecked founder dominance, and lack of transparency.
In the latest of the high-decibel cases, Gensol Engineering, its promoters and ride-hailing services BluSmart Mobility (promoted by Anmol Singh Jaggi) faced regulatory heat over alleged fund diversions and corporate governance lapses.
On the practices that he believes startups must embrace for upholding high standards of governance, Guntupalli said as a large gig economy job creator in the country, Rapido has always been of the view that it must act with a sense of responsibility.
"So one of the things we at Rapido always believed is when you are the largest gig economy job creator in the country, when you are doing the doing almost 40 lakh rides every single day we already feel a responsibility both towards our users, towards our captains (drivers), and towards our stakeholders who have been a part of this journey," he said.
Guntupalli further noted that "... In our governance, whether or not we are fundraising, we make sure our audits are done by external and verified third parties. And our boardroom discussions are definitely a lot more deeper, wherein we discuss not just growth numbers, but also profitability, which is also one of the reasons why as a company, we have been able to maintain both growth as well as profitability."
On innovation, another major touchpoint for the startup space, Guntupalli said for him innovation is not merely the final product but rather "the entire journey".
Founded in 2015 by founders Guntupalli, Aravind Sanka, and Rishikesh SR, Rapido has been expanding its integrated mobility portfolio over the years, and now provides bike taxis, auto-rickshaws, and cab services across more than 250 cities, offering over 4 million rides daily.
Guntupalli further said the company is on track when it comes to expansion plans across 500 cities.
"This is more a testament for us to say that Rapido is not only going to be a product or a service that is going to impact the top seven cities of the country, but we want to go deeper into the country... And we are very well on track to ensure that we are reaching 500 (cities) by the end of this year," he said.
All three categories that Rapido operates in are growing at a healthy pace, he said adding: "along with our growth aspirations, we will make sure that we are also going to be sustainable and profitable as we keep scaling".
"On an annual basis, we really see the need for Rapido's service in all three categories to expand and grow not just in the top cities, but in the rest of the cities. So we'll definitely invest in our expansion. That said, we won't be way away from our profitability goals," Guntupalli added.
Asked about the rising regulatory scrutiny on market practices adopted by digital players, Guntupalli maintained that for Rapido, the founders' modest, middle-class upbringing plays a significant role in shaping their appreciation for value and understanding of customer challenges.
"All the founders of Rapido are actually from the middle class...So while building something we know the value, and pain (points)...let's say for a service, if I have to spend some extra bucks, what does it mean? We have a very frugal and a customer-first mindset...we do not overcharge, we do not differentiate or discriminate...," he said.
Guntupalli told PTI that the founders of Rapido have middle-class roots, something that has deeply shaped their understanding of value and customer pain-points.
"Not just in the corporate governance aspect, but also in the aspect of your product, of the way we are running business, the key important ingredient for long-term foundation and growth is trust, earning the trust of your captains (drivers), users, and stakeholders," Guntupalli said in a recent interview.
Trust, he said, cannot be 'binary' and must be upheld with consistent efforts to ensure total, and not partial, success.
His advice to founders: Take every step after considering if it is going to hurt the trust of stakeholders.
"That's the kind of a filter question that I would like all of us to ask. And that is something we ask ourselves every single time we do something," he said.
Guntupalli was responding to a question on the advice he would give startup founders in the backdrop of corporate governance issues that have confronted the space in the recent past, with instances of weak oversight, unchecked founder dominance, and lack of transparency.
In the latest of the high-decibel cases, Gensol Engineering, its promoters and ride-hailing services BluSmart Mobility (promoted by Anmol Singh Jaggi) faced regulatory heat over alleged fund diversions and corporate governance lapses.
On the practices that he believes startups must embrace for upholding high standards of governance, Guntupalli said as a large gig economy job creator in the country, Rapido has always been of the view that it must act with a sense of responsibility.
"So one of the things we at Rapido always believed is when you are the largest gig economy job creator in the country, when you are doing the doing almost 40 lakh rides every single day we already feel a responsibility both towards our users, towards our captains (drivers), and towards our stakeholders who have been a part of this journey," he said.
Guntupalli further noted that "... In our governance, whether or not we are fundraising, we make sure our audits are done by external and verified third parties. And our boardroom discussions are definitely a lot more deeper, wherein we discuss not just growth numbers, but also profitability, which is also one of the reasons why as a company, we have been able to maintain both growth as well as profitability."
On innovation, another major touchpoint for the startup space, Guntupalli said for him innovation is not merely the final product but rather "the entire journey".
Founded in 2015 by founders Guntupalli, Aravind Sanka, and Rishikesh SR, Rapido has been expanding its integrated mobility portfolio over the years, and now provides bike taxis, auto-rickshaws, and cab services across more than 250 cities, offering over 4 million rides daily.
Guntupalli further said the company is on track when it comes to expansion plans across 500 cities.
"This is more a testament for us to say that Rapido is not only going to be a product or a service that is going to impact the top seven cities of the country, but we want to go deeper into the country... And we are very well on track to ensure that we are reaching 500 (cities) by the end of this year," he said.
All three categories that Rapido operates in are growing at a healthy pace, he said adding: "along with our growth aspirations, we will make sure that we are also going to be sustainable and profitable as we keep scaling".
"On an annual basis, we really see the need for Rapido's service in all three categories to expand and grow not just in the top cities, but in the rest of the cities. So we'll definitely invest in our expansion. That said, we won't be way away from our profitability goals," Guntupalli added.
Asked about the rising regulatory scrutiny on market practices adopted by digital players, Guntupalli maintained that for Rapido, the founders' modest, middle-class upbringing plays a significant role in shaping their appreciation for value and understanding of customer challenges.
"All the founders of Rapido are actually from the middle class...So while building something we know the value, and pain (points)...let's say for a service, if I have to spend some extra bucks, what does it mean? We have a very frugal and a customer-first mindset...we do not overcharge, we do not differentiate or discriminate...," he said.
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