Changing Info Edge into world-class internet co

Hitesh Oberoi, COO, Info Edge, gave up his job with Hindustan Unilever to join the internet revolution in 2000. Today, he is a part one of the fastest growing internet companies in India and is also about Rs 100 crore richer. Info Edge is the parent company of popular websites like naukri.com, jeevansaathi.com, and 99acres.com. Five years from now, he wants to make Info Edge a world class internet company based out of India.

Oberoi looks after the marketing and sales operations. He also runs the founding team of Info Edge, from one portal to six portals.

"I always wanted to be an entrepreneur, and do something on my own. I worked with Lever’s for four years, and then decided to explore the world outside. That’s when I saw this ad in the newspaper which said, ‘Look if you want to retire in three years or in 35.’ I applied, and got a call from Pradeep Garg, who used to run MicroLand at that time. He said, ‘I am doing this exciting thing on the internet. Do you want to join me?’ That’s when I started researching about the internet and found out more. It looked interesting, so I went and met Sanjeev, who I had known earlier and who was also doing Naukri. He said, ‘If you are looking at taking the plunge, why don’t we work together.’ That’s how this whole thing started."

A: I decided to join Naukri in 1999. By that time, I was almost done with the formalities at HUL. It was almost March and we were at the height of the internet boom. There was venture capital, and people chasing us with money. There were dotcoms launching at the rate of 2-3 a week, people quitting jobs, so that was a good period. We were doing Rs 3 lakh a month in revenue and were worth Rs 50 crore.

Then, there was a bust and most dotcoms actually shut down. We were zapped. These dotcoms actually spent all their money. We had raised money at the right time, and didn’t get a chance to spend our money foolishly. Hence, we got around to building a business. We were like the second last dotcom to make money.

Only makemytrip.com was funded after us. After that all funding stopped. Thankfully, we had not spent the money foolishly on advertising. We got around of sort of building a mundane function, investing in products, technology, and went into a loss for a couple of years. We recovered and still had Rs 3 crore in the bank. Sales were growing, even though we were loosing money. We kept telling ourselves that if we stick out for another two years and kept going at this rate, we would become profitable.

Nobody thought that we would become a Rs 100-200 crore business. A lot of knowledge is very dangerous, so just the right kind of knowledge is enough. If you have too much knowledge, you go and do too much of analysis, then you get paralyzed. So, we didn’t know about the internet at that time.

Oberoi: It’s very had to make money on the internet. If you are No. 3, and No. 2, you are still okay. By being No. 1, you make great money and get a lot of market share.

In jeevansaathi, we are No. 3. We are not making money. We have a plan to get to No. 2 and then to No. 1, but its very difficult to make money if you are a me too. It is best if you target a new segment, and solve a different problem which nobody is trying to solve. You may not build a Google, but you will build a successful business.

A: We are always open to acquitions, provided the right opportunity comes along. We are looking at more investments, so we just invested in a company called Study Places, which is in the education space.

We have signed a few terms, which I can’t talk about right now. They are startups like ours. We are even working and partnering with other companies and are looking at a few other places which we think will boom going forward. A lot of the floats that we have done on the internet in India is still under construction.

Q: What was that like to do to bring Ram Shriram to get into company and get ventures on board?

A: Ram has been a great sort of mentor for all of us. He opened our eyes to what was happening in the US. He wanted us to become more technology and product focused. We have been to the conferences abroad. So, he has opened our mind to what is possible in this internet world.

Hitesh’s game plan is to focus on concentrating on making Info Edge on making a product of a technology-led company, to beat the competition,  scoring a winning goal in the Indian internet market and going to click in more of a way.

Q: You see that model as the big thing going forward?

A: Absolutely, India is a very different market and that is what it will work for Indian companies in the long run. It’s very difficult to compete with foreign players from the technology side. But Indian companies understand the Indian market place and the Indian consumer. They know that it is very difficult for people in India and they don’t buy online. The corporates are not going to pay you by credit card; you will have to meet them face-to-face.

Q: So there won’t be a pure play sort of company in India?

A: There will be but it will take some time. Its a huge opportunity because all of India will never be on the internet. So, it makes sense to have an offline pay so you can try and get people who are not on the internet, faster than the competition.

Q: How are you balancing all of it?

A: Take a Jeevansaathi business; it’s a pure consumer-to-consumer sort of a play. So, it’s not easy to put an offline play. We encourage people to pay online but we also set up carry sales operations. We are now looking to invest in centers where parents can walk in because they don’t find it easy to use the internet.