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Bitten yet again by the entrepreneurial bug, Advitiya Sharma is gearing up for his next “disruptive” venture and this time it could be either in finance, education or clean technology. But first, it would be a short holiday and a self-imposed exile for the 26-year-old.
In a move that surprised many in the industry, Sharma, who was among a group of 12 students from IIT-Bombay to start the real estate portal Housing.com in June 2012, had put in papers last week. Hailed as a trouble shooter, fire-fighter and a “level-headed person”, he quits at the time when the sea is calm after many a storm.
“From managing the show, dousing fires and scouting for funds, I have done it all in the last four years, which were the most difficult phases of my life. I think this (the move to step down) is a correct decision, as I am leaving the company in the able hands of Jason (Jason Kothari, who was promoted as Chief Executive Officer in August) and team,” Sharma told BusinessLine .
Sharma had anchored the company at the time of all crises such as co-founders exits, restructuring of businesses and job losses among others.
“A lot of people contributed at that time, I was just leading from the front,” he added.
The start-up is now left with six — Abhishek Anand, Snehil Buxy, Amrit Raj, Ravish Naresh, Jaspreet Singh Saluja and Neeraj Bhunwal — of the 12 co-founders.
Much like in the social media, Sharma’s farewell letter sent on March 9 also evoked a huge response – as much as 400 at last count – from Housing.com employees. Most of the mails came with the subject line: “We will miss you”.
“It is with great attachment that I chose to walk a different path," the letter said.
New ventureAdvitiya Sharma is set to leave for Jammu & Kashmir for a holiday and on return will head to Igatpuri (near Nashik) for a 10-day vipassana (meditation).
During this self-imposed exile, a time when he cannot interact with anybody, Sharma expects to get the spark for his next “disruptive venture”.
“It could be in finance, education or clean technology,” is all that he knows now.
And when Rahul Yadav (the co-founder and CEO who was ousted in July 2015) got engaged last week, Sharma said that he doesn’t have any immediate plans for a marriage. Not at least for the next two-three years.
“I want to do proper justice to my next venture,” he added.
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