Meet man who quit high-paying at Bain & Co, built Rs 2 lakh crore startup, later left that to...; Deepinder Goyal is his...

Back in 2008, two friends, Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah, left their well-paying jobs at Bain & Company to start something new in India’s online food industry. They launched FoodieBay, a website that helped people browse restaurants and their menus online. Within just nine months, it became the biggest restaurant directory in Delhi-NCR. Soon after, the company attracted investments from major firms like Info Edge India, Sequoia, Vy Capital, Temasek, and Ant Financial (a part of Alibaba).

In 2010, FoodieBay was rebranded as Zomato, and over the years, it expanded into food delivery, table reservations, online ordering, and even digital payments. The company’s big breakthrough came when Ant Financial invested USD 200 million, helping Zomato become a unicorn (a startup valued at over USD 1 billion) in the 2018-2019 fiscal year. However, that same year, Pankaj Chaddah decided to leave the company.

Pankaj Chaddah’s Journey
Pankaj Chaddah studied Mechanical Engineering at IIT Delhi and started his career at Bain & Company, where he met Deepinder Goyal. The two became close friends and realized that there was no easy way to check restaurant menus and reviews online in India. This gap in the market led them to create FoodieBay, which later became Zomato.

After leaving Zomato, Chaddah launched a new startup in December 2019 with Pooja Khanna, one of Zomato’s early employees. Together, they founded Mindhouse, a mental wellness platform. Initially, Mindhouse focused on offline meditation studios, but the pandemic forced them to move online. This change worked in their favor as demand for yoga and nutrition services grew during the lockdown. In 2022, the company was rebranded as ‘Shyft’.

Growth of Shyft
By 2021, Shyft was growing at a rate of 30% month-over-month and was generating almost USD 1 million in annual revenue. In 2022, its market valuation was estimated between USD 20-50 million, according to reports. Today, Shyft offers personalized wellness services, including yoga, meditation, and nutrition counseling.

In an interview, Chaddah shared that his experience at Zomato helped him avoid mistakes and scale his new venture faster. From helping people find great restaurants to now helping them lead healthier lives, his journey has come full circle.