From Auto Driver to CEO: How a 12th pass boy built Rs 400 crore business that shocked IIT–IIM graduates

Dilkhush Kumar

In a small town in Bihar, a young man named Dilkhush Kumar stood in line for a job he didn't even want. He had passed his 12th grade, but in the world of opportunities, that often wasn't enough. He was applying to be a security guard. The man ahead of him got the position. Dilkhush was turned away. The reason? His "limited education."

For many, that moment would be a final, crushing blow. But for Dilkhush, it was just a sign that he was knocking on the wrong doors. He decided then that he would have to build his own house.

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His real classroom wasn't a school, but the roads of Bihar. As he drove his auto-rickshaw, he saw a problem everyone faced: travel was broken. For long distances, taxis were expensive and unreliable. If you wanted to go from one city to another, finding a safe and affordable ride was a struggle. While others just complained, Dilkhush saw an opportunity. He didn't have a degree from a fancy college, but he had a driver's view of the problem and a dreamer's vision for a solution.

In 2016, with more courage than capital, he started "Roadbez." The name was clever – it was like "roadways" mixed with a friendly promise. His idea was simple but powerful. Roadbez wouldn't own a single taxi. Instead, it would be a trusted network, a database that connected people needing a ride with certified and reliable local taxi drivers. It was about building trust in a system where there was little.

The journey was anything but smooth. In another interview, he was shown an Apple logo. Having never seen an iPhone before, he didn't recognize it. He was rejected again. But these rejections didn't break him, they fueled him.

He started with services that made perfect sense for Bihar. Roadbez offered one-way taxis, so you didn't have to pay for a round trip. They promoted carpooling and ride-sharing for trips over 50 km, making long-distance travel affordable for the common person. He was slowly transforming the travel experience of his entire state.

Then, he took a huge leap. In 2021, he launched an app to connect every city in Bihar. His idea was so solid that investors believed in him, giving him an initial fund of Rs 40 lakh. He even introduced a game-changing guarantee: if a Roadbez driver was at fault and you missed your flight, the company would book you a new ticket. No other service in the region was offering that kind of promise.

His small startup, born from the seat of an auto-rickshaw, grew into a business with a turnover of hundreds of crores, providing jobs to thousands of people in Bihar.

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The ultimate validation came when he walked onto the set of Shark Tank India. He stood confidently before the nation's most brilliant business minds, many of them IIT and IIM graduates, and asked for Rs 50 lakh for 5% of his company. He wasn't a slick city entrepreneur, he was a man from Bihar who had solved a real problem for his people.

The Sharks were impressed. They saw his deep understanding of the market and his incredible journey. In the end, Ritesh Aggarwal of OYO and Namita Thapar of Emcure Pharmaceuticals made a deal, investing Rs 50 lakh.

Dilkhush’s story isn't about shocking IIT graduates. It’s a powerful reminder that the best ideas don’t always come from boardrooms, sometimes, they come from the driver's seat. He proved that your greatest teacher can be the problem you live every day, and that with hard work and courage, you can build a road to success, no matter where you start.