22 startups valued above ₹10,000 cr are being run by former Paytm workers

According to Private Circle, around 22 firms founded by former Paytm employees, together worth ₹10,668 crore. Among them are Amit Lakhotia's Park+ and Rohan Nayak's co-founded Pocket FM. Nitin Misra and Deepak Abbott's Indiagold enterprise is another noteworthy undertaking. This emphasises how successful former Paytm employees have become as entrepreneurs in the fintech industry.

Other companies that comes under this group are 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. The report also revealed that most of these companies were founded following Paytm’s Rs 300 crore ESOP buyback in January 2018.

“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. Around 24% of these stratups are in the fintech sector which is followed by e-commerce, media and entertainment and software-as-a-service. Together, the companies have created 2,500 jobs in the country, with Pocket FM, Park+, Unnati, and Indiagold leading the chart.  

Private Circle’s recent report valued Flipkart 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.