CEO of startup lobby group 'Indiatech' quits over differences with founders

Within six months of joining as a CEO of the online lobby group Indiatech.org, former IAS officer and economist Gyanendra Badgaiyan has now left the firm. Badgaiyan has quit, the high profile lobby group floated by the founders of Flipkart, Ola, Hike, and Quikr among others, due to differences with promoters over the future of the organisation.

There was a difference in opinion on how the organisation should be taken forward as Badgaiyan wanted it more like a think tank and diversify it into other parts of the economy.

Besides, Badgaiyan who joined the group in October last year was not comfortable turning it into a lobby group serving only tech startups. Also, he has been advocating for Indiatech to emerge like an Ashoka University or an Indian School of Business, looking at the broader national interests which gives them a higher standing and that is how he came on board.

However, the founders wanted to “prioritise” their fight against Uber and Amazon and on some regulatory issues concerning the tech industry.

Citing sources, ET report added that Badgaiyan had put in his papers about three weeks ago and the founders of the lobby group finally accepted his resignation last week. There is also a speculation of starting a new think thank by the former head of National Centre for Good Governance (NCCG).

Led by Sachin Bansal, Indiatechorg is a non-profit entity. The organization aims to become the Nasscom for the startup space and help companies to lobby for policy support with the government and other stakeholders.

In 2016, Bansal and Aggarwal iterated on multiple occasions about measures required to be taken to safeguard the interest of home-grown startups against foreign players. However, the foreign rivals have refuted any such narrative, claiming they are incorporated in India and are as much of an ‘Indian’ company as others.

SoftBank, who has made significant investments in Indian internet companies such as Flipkart, Ola, Oyo Rooms, Paytm, Grofers and Snapdeal also hinted to offer financial and strategic support to a new lobby group to fight foreign rivals.

The development also comes at a time when the five to six months old organisation seems to be losing its plot. The report further added that not a single employee works for it at present and there is not much action happening there now