eNews
Rejected by Google in 2013, entrepreneur returns as boss of startup division
GURUGRAM: Life moves in circles, not straight lines. Ragini Das, who fumbled Google’s final interview round in 2013, has just been handed the keys to Google for Startups India this October—a delicious plot twist that took 12 years, two groundbreaking ventures and one failed final round to materialise.
Back in 2013, Das had two shots on goal: Google and Zomato. Google said no. Zomato said yes. That rejection turned into a six-year masterclass in building consumer-tech brands. She went from selling ad space across Hyderabad, Bangalore and Delhi to spearheading Zomato Gold’s meteoric rise from zero to 2 million users, launching the subscription service across ten international markets from Australia to Lebanon. The company awarded her its first-ever “spark award” for spreading Zomato’s culture inside and outside the firm.
In 2020, Das took the entrepreneurial plunge, co-founding leap.club—India’s largest social-professional network for women. Over five-and-a-half years, she scaled it to 25,000-plus paid members and $3 million-plus in revenue, creating an online app and India’s first women-only offline club. The venture raised $2.2 million from venture capitalists and angel investors, with women comprising half the cap table. “If member love was an actual currency, leap.club would have been a unicorn,” Das wrote when announcing the pause in operations this June.
After the shutdown, Das spent the summer recharging: creating art, chasing fitness goals, travelling and photographing Jimmy, her dog. Then August arrived with a role at Google that sat squarely at the intersection of everything she’d built—zero-to-ten ventures, founders, growth. Two months of conversations later, the job was hers.
Now Das leads Google’s mission to connect Indian startups with the right people, products and practices to scale. She’s also taken on a voluntary role as chair of FICCI’s women in startups committee, championing visibility, capital access and policy influence for women-led ventures. A member of the 6 am club, she reserves weekends for mentoring young women in business and, naturally, Jimmy.
Twelve years ago, Google’s rejection stung. Today, Das walks through the front door—as the boss. Full circle doesn’t begin to cover it.
eNews
Piyush Thakur steps down as Inshorts’ chief revenue officer
Former vice president and cro says exit marks a new chapter after close to a decade of building revenue and partnerships at Inshorts Group.
NOIDA: Piyush Thakur has stepped away from Inshorts Group after nearly 10 years with the company, marking the end of a long tenure that culminated in his role as chief revenue officer.
In a farewell note, Thakur said he was “turning a new page” after almost a decade at Inshorts, calling it one of the hardest professional decisions he has made. He added that his exit was not driven by uncertainty about the future, but by reflection on a long association with the company.
Thakur joined Inshorts in October 2016 as vice president and spent around seven years in the role before being elevated to chief revenue officer in April 2024, a position he held until April 2026.
He said his tenure was defined by “thousands of mornings, late nights, product debates and breakthrough moments”, as the company evolved into a large-scale digital news platform used by millions.
In his note, Thakur emphasised that Inshorts’ growth was a collective effort across teams, adding that engineers, designers, sales teams and customer support staff all contributed to building the platform. He said the company’s success was not the result of individuals but of “everyone who stayed, passed through, and left their mark”.
Before Inshorts, Thakur worked across several digital media and business development roles. At ESPN, he served as senior regional manager from October 2015 to October 2016, focusing on growth initiatives, strategic opportunities and video distribution.
At Times Internet, he worked for nearly three years, including as head of business development from April 2015 to September 2015 and chief manager from January 2013 to March 2015. His responsibilities included monetisation of mobile platforms, managing media and developer partnerships, and driving revenue across digital properties such as The Times of India and The Economic Times.
Earlier, he worked at Brandmovers as head of business development from June 2012 to June 2013, handling digital, mobile and social media marketing solutions, client development and strategic consulting. During this period, he also worked on advertising revenue, brand strategy and CRM-based solutions.
At Inshorts, Thakur’s role focused on revenue strategy, mobile and media partnerships, and growth initiatives across platforms. His profile highlights experience in mobile product management, digital business models, partner ecosystems and revenue expansion in high-growth environments.
