Priyanka Sahay
Moneycontrol
It was March 17, 2016 – in an anonymous tweet, a Twitter handle posts this - "Flipkart to Amazon - Kya hum rishta pakka samjhe in endless loop. Amazon busy with chai and pakoras" (Flipkart to Amazon - Should we expect that it's a yes for a marriage - in an endless loop.)
The Tweet was posted citing a media report that was analysing a possible merger of the two e-commerce majors - US-based Amazon's India subsidiary and domestic rival Flipkart.
Flipkart to Amazon- Kya hum rishta pakka samjhe in endless loop. Amazon busy with chai and pakoras https://t.co/dlvyboYnqb— Unicon Baba (@uni_con1) March 18, 2016
The 98 character tweet appeared funny. But it was loaded with sarcasm on the grim reality of the e-commerce start-ups which till six months ago were the most celebrated firms in the country.
That's how the whistle-blower or the self-proclaimed preacher of India's startup ecosystem -- @UniconBaba was born.
He has a clear cut style of tweeting -- no holds barred. Abuses as well as slangs, the tweets have them all in adequate servings.
The Twitter handle is the alter ego of a person who like many others is restricted from calling a spade a spade, either due to the fear of losing a business deal or damaging industry relationships.
And most interestingly, Unicon Baba would not spare his own venture capital fund while tweeting (The owner of the handle claims to be a part of a venture capital fund).
Met some old #vc friends in CP #Delhi They joked about unicon baba & I almost coughed the beer on their face.— Unicon Baba (@uni_con1) March 19, 2016
He would take names, tag founders and make fun of them adding a dash of insider gossip on the respective companies.
Soon, 'Unicon Baba' became the topic of weekend beer table conversations in the startup ecosystem.
Needless to say Baba was enjoying every bit of his early shot to fame.
But it wasn't till he posed a slanderous tweet about Praveen Sinha, former chief executive of fashion e-tailer Jabong that he really got into the limelight.
In June, Baba alleged that Jabong's investor Rocket Internet was pursuing a case against Sinha.
The same was covered by multiple media organisations.
Sinha on the other hand, denied the charge and filed a case against Baba.
The tweet which read "Rocketinternet to pursue case against @sinha_praveen for siphoning off 100 cr+ in last two years" was also deleted by Unicon Baba.
But the whole exercise got the anonymous handle - the maximum number of Twitter followers.
Baba chose not to respond to a Moneycontrol question on the current status of the case filed against him by Jabong co-founder.
Unicon Baba also gets kicks by enticing curious followers on his real identity. Once he claimed he was an ex-Bazee executive, the other day he said his initials were "RY", hinting towards the beleaguered founder of Housing.com Rahul Yadav.
With over 6,600 followers, Baba certainly has become an influential voice in the Indian startup world. He claims that company insiders reach out to him to pass on the gossip.
According to him, a report published by a news website on Silicon Valley's anonymous twitter handle Startup L. Jackson inspired him to create an anonymous twitter handle.
With over 70,000 followers the Jackson had become quite a rage in the Silicon Valley and was seen as an authentic voice. In 2016, he disclosed his identity as a venture capitalist named Parker Thompson.
"Will there be a similar disclosure Baba in 2017?," Moneycontrol asked him.
There's no plan, said Baba.
Read full interview: 'Want to present a zero make-up side of startup world'
priyanka.sahay@nw18.com
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