When Ratan Tata met Shark Tank India judge: 'Small-town twinkle-eyed entrepreneurs'

CarDekho boss Amit Jain shared a photo of him and his brother with Ratan Tata. (Image credit: Amit Jain/LinkedIn)

Industrialist Ratan Tata turned 85 on Wednesday and birthday wishes poured from all quarters. Among those who paid tributes to the chairman emeritus of Tata Sons was CarDekho co-founder and CEO Amit Jain. The entrepreneur recalled how Tata mentored him and his brother when they started their company.

“Way back in 2015, Ratan Tata ji became a mentor to us as we looked to grow CarDekho into the unicorn it is today,” Jain wrote in his birthday tribute on social media.

“In his decades of experience in the automobile sector, incredible insights and a genuinely warm demeanour, I can confidently say that we found the best mentor we could have hoped for.”

In 2006, Jain and his brother Anurag turned their garage into a makeshift office and launched GirnarSoft, a software outsourcing company. The idea for CarDekho occurred to the brothers after they visited the 2008 Auto Expo in New Delhi. CarDekho turned profitable after 7 years and the company secured Series-A funding of $15 Million in 2013.

Jain has replaced BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover as a judge or “shark” in the upcoming second season of Shark Tank India, the Indian adaptation of the global startup reality show.

“Everyone deserves a gentle, guiding hand that both supports you when the going gets tough and pushes you to deliver your best,” Amit Jain, an IIT-Delhi graduate wrote.

“Just ask the two small-town twinkle-eyed entrepreneurs from Jaipur who knew their life was about to change after they met Ratan Tata ji.”