Ratan Tata: The Legacy Lives On Through India’s Unicorn Startups

Ratan Tata believed in building relationships. He forged a connection with the startups he invested in. Many of the startups he invested in have now grown into major companies.

Tomorrow, December 28, is Ratan Tata's birthday. Tata passed away last year. He left behind a legacy of ideology that will never end. Ratan Tata invested in many companies, even when others were hesitant to put money into them. Ratan Tata played a significant role in shaping the country's startup ecosystem. Many startups backed by Tata have become unicorns.

What TATA looked for before investing

Ratan Tata considered several factors before making any investment. For him, understanding the startup founder's vision, maturity, and seriousness was more important than any other factor. When Tata associated with someone, this association was not limited to financial contribution alone. He shared his knowledge with new entrepreneurs and guided them to remain strong in the market. Because of this, many startup founders were able to improve their strategies and achieve success as expected.

This decision surprised many

Ratan Tata, the former chairman of the Tata Group, considered himself an 'accidental investor'. When he invested in Snapdeal in 2014, many people were surprised. This was a time when the e-commerce sector in India was in its early stages of growth. It was very difficult for a startup to achieve a valuation of one billion dollars. However, Tata was confident that his decision would prove to be correct, and it did.

Invested in several startups

Tata had invested in over 50 startups, both in India and internationally. This includes prominent names like Ola, Upstox, Lenskart, CarDekho, FirstCry, Paytm, and Bluestone. If Ratan Tata liked an idea, he did not hesitate to invest in it. He also invested in Peyush Bansal's Lenskart, which is a competitor to his company Titan. When Tata decided to invest in these startups, they were struggling with various problems, including funding.

Balancing risk and reward

Most of Ratan Tata's investments were made through his personal investment firm - RNT Associates, and UC-RNT. Tata was like a mentor to many startup founders. According to an ET report, Amit Jain, Co-founder and CEO of CarDekho, believes that Tata's guidance was crucial for startups. Jain said last year that Ratan Tata's decades of experience in the automobile sector provided us with mentorship we had never dreamed of. His words on balancing risk and reward often inspire us. Before passing away, Tata had exited some ventures like Lenskart and FirstCry.

Visited a former employee's home

Ratan Tata was a true leader. He treated his employees like family and stood by them in times of joy and sorrow. In 2021, when Tata learned that one of his former employees had been ill for a long time, he travelled from Mumbai to Pune to check on him. Tata also had immense love for animals. The doors of Mumbai's famous Taj Hotel were always open for street dogs. There was also no restriction on street dogs entering Bombay House.