10 years ago, we didn't have an office, app: CEO Vidit Aatrey marks a decade of Meesho

Vidit Aatrey said their grassroots approach of learning from homemakers, shopkeepers, and nascent entrepreneurs, shaped Meesho's unique model.

As e-commerce platform Meesho marked its 10th anniversary on Tuesday, its co-founder and CEO Vidit Aatrey took to X to reflect on the company's humble yet ambitious beginnings, emphasising a decade of "democratising access" in India's dynamic online retail landscape.

In a candid post, Aatrey shared that a decade ago, Meesho had no office, no app, and no pre-defined strategy. "Just curiosity and a deep desire to solve," he stated, recalling how the initial idea was to explore if e-commerce could truly serve the millions of Indians still untouched by the internet's reach.

The journey began not in corporate boardrooms, but on the ground in Bengaluru's Koramangala. Aatrey reminisced, "Back then, we were sitting quietly in shops across Koramangala, watching how real people sold and bought. On WhatsApp, through photos, with trust as their only infrastructure." This grassroots approach, learning from homemakers, shopkeepers, and nascent entrepreneurs, shaped Meesho's unique model.

Aatrey highlighted that the founders weren't from retail backgrounds and were unfamiliar with "growth hacks." Their education came from the very individuals they sought to empower. "From those who joined us in the early years with raw belief, to those who came in more recently asking, 'How can we do this better?', this journey belongs to you just as much as it belongs to us. Somewhere along the way, we found you: our team. The believers, the builders, the problem-solvers," he wrote, acknowledging the collective effort.

Over the past decade, Meesho has evolved from a social selling platform to a full-fledged e-commerce marketplace. Despite the growth and technological advancements, Aatrey stressed that the core mission remains unchanged: "To democratise access. To opportunity. To markets. To trust."

As Meesho celebrates this significant milestone with traditional cake-cutting, Aatrey affirmed that the company's approach will continue to be problem-centric. "Go back to the problem. Talk to a seller. Listen to a user. Sit with a Valmo partner. Learn from a creator. And ask ourselves: what more can we unlock?" he said, signaling a forward-looking strategy.

"Because the future isn’t waiting. And at Meesho, we’re already building it together," Aatrey concluded, underlining Meesho's commitment to continuous innovation and impact in the years to come.