Pepperfry boss Ambareesh Murty's 'brilliance challenged us to be our best', says rival Urban Ladder

Pepperfry cofounder Ambareesh Murty was an avid biker and also loved hiking. (Image: @ambareeshmurty/Instagram)

Tributes poured in from all quarters for Pepperfry co-founder Ambareesh Murty who died of cardiac arrest in Leh on Monday. Among those who mourned the 51-year-old entrepreneur were rival online furniture company Urban Ladder and its cofounder.

“We are deeply saddened to hear of the sudden passing of Mr Ambareesh Murty. Over the last 11 years, Pepperfry and Urban Ladder have engaged in a spirited rivalry, spurring each other to greater heights of innovation. Ambareesh’s brilliance challenged us to be our best,” Urban Ladder wrote in a poignant social media post.

“Rest in peace, dear Ambareesh. You’ll be deeply missed.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Urban Ladder (@urbanladder)

Rajiv Srivastava, the co-founder of Urban Ladder, too expressed his shock at Murty’s death.

“This is shocking. It's tough enough to be an entrepreneur. It's tougher to be one, in a category like furniture and building the brand @Pepperfry across a decade. Have heard great things about him. RIP @AmbareeshMurty,” he tweeted, responding to a post by Pepperfry co-founder Ashish Shah.

This is shocking. It's tough enough to be an entrepreneur. It's tougher to be one, in a category like furniture and building the brand @Pepperfry across a decade.

Have heard great things about him.

Story continues below Advertisement

Remove Ad

RIP @AmbareeshMurty

Condolences to the team and family. Prayers for the… https://t.co/oOqsn2OaBC

— Rajiv Srivatsa (@telljeeves) August 8, 2023

Murty co-founded Pepperfry in 2011 after stints with Cadbury, ICICI AMC (now ICICI Prudential) and Levi's.

Pepperfry, which counts Goldman Sachs, Fevicol-maker Pidilite Ventures and Bertelsmann India Investments among its investors, is worth $500 million.

After doing engineering at the Delhi College of Engineering in 1994, Murty earned an MBA from IIM Calcutta. He called himself a closet sociopath on his X profile and professed a love for history-reading epic fantasies.

An avid biker and trekker, Murty had told Outlook Business last year that if he didn’t go for a ride every three to four months, he would get “withdrawal symptoms”.

"I am told by everybody around me that I am a much better person after I come back from my bike trips. Therefore, I am also doing it for the greater good,” he had joked in the interview.