Doglapan: The Hard Truth about Life and Start-Ups

by Ashneer Grover

This is the unfettered story of Ashneer Grover-the favourite and misunderstood poster boy of Start-up India.

Raw, gut-wrenching in its honesty and completely from the heart, this is storytelling at its finest.



A young boy with a 'refugee' tag growing up in Delhi's Malviya Nagar outpaces his circumstances by becoming a rank-holder at the pinnacle of academic excellence in India-IIT Delhi. He goes on to do an MBA from the hallowed halls of IIM Ahmedabad, builds a career as an investment banker at Kotak Investment Banking and AmEx, and is pivotal in the making of two unicorns-Grofers, as CFO, and BharatPe, as co-founder.



As a judge on the popular TV show Shark Tank India, Ashneer becomes a household name even as his life turns upside down. Controversy, media spotlight, garrulous social media chatter descend, making it difficult to distinguish fact from fiction.

Genres: Business, Biography, Nonfiction, Autobiography, Entrepreneurship, Memoir, Startup

202 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 10, 2022

Reviews

[Ashwin · Rating 1 out of 5]

This books explains why we can't have world class products or brands from India. The whole book is some 160 plus resume which has been turned into book.

[Sanket Sheth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an autobiography of Ashneer Grover. Attribute it to Ashneer's writing ability or his life journey, the book is very interesting and will compel you to complete in one sitting. I completed it straight in one night in 3.5 hours from 1:30 AM to 5 AM.

The book starts with the scene from Bharatpe Saga in January 2022 and then quickly moves on to Ashneer's childhood. Ashneer has described his childhood, his trips as a middle class refugee boy, his background and the profession of parents quite vividly.

The interesting part of book starts post his MBA at IIM-A. His attempt to woo Madhuri, his awkward moments with his extremely rich in laws are incidents which will coax you to chuckle. While Ashneer was a middle class Punju, Madhuri was from a uber rich Bania family of Haryana. He describes how he with his wife moved into a 1BHK in Mumbai at a reasonable salary after getting his first job with Kotak. At Kotak, he explains the investment deals he cracked as a member of Kotak IB Team and how that shaped his investment raising abilities which later came to his aid during his BharatPe Stint. He then goes on to describe about his career at Amex, Grofers and PC Jewellers. Of particular interest is his career defining moments at Grofers, a legal case filed by a customer for an order of Rs. 500 that had Grofers spend over 25 Lacs to get it settled at Supreme Court. The outstanding points of this book are:

1) He has described his salaries at every job along with bonuses he earned and how he spent them. Quite frank, I must say.
2) His personal relations with his seniors as well as CXOs during his tenure at Kotak, Amex, Grofers and PCJ.
3) Explanation of how he made 22.5 crore in a single day through Zomato IPO (Probably also the reason why he got so spooked when he missed Nykaa IPO)
4) His fund raising journey at BharatPe and how he built a 3 Billion Dollar Valuation behemoth that it is now.
5) His Shark Tank selection as well as appearance, that made him startup poster boy.

There are a lot of juicy and interesting details woven around the above 5 points. He also described how founder of startups make money in the ecosystem.

While up-till this point, all the details and explanation seem convincing and straightforward. However, the details about battle that brewed at BharatPe leaves much to be desired. He portrays himself as a victim of boardroom politics, however it is not convincing enough as to why would he be targeted. Going by his life journey, it is pretty clear that Ashneer believes in 'Winner takes All' Mantra. He is aggressive and dominating. This must have made Bhavik-Shashwat and a lot of other stakeholders insecure. Any person will train their guns towards any individual only when they feel threatened. So while Ashneer cries hoax about being betrayed, it is surely some action of his or may be a culmination of it that lead to this day. So instead of confronting Ashneer, some super smart chap in the boardroom orchestrated the entire drama. The Nykaa-Kotak IPO clip played a perfect catalyst. Ashneer innocuously played perfectly to the tunes of the super smart chap targeting everyone at the board and at the company, in turn making everyone his enemy. Ashneer had burnt both the bridges - one with VCs (especially Shailendra from Sequoia) and other with co-founders, management and board directors. This ultimately led to his downfall. He tried to be the Elon Musk of Indian Startup Ecosystem, but ultimately landed up being Ashneer Grover

In a perfect white cloth that Ashneer's career is, BharatPe is probably a big black stain. He either hasn't understood why he was wronged or has conveniently left this plot out of the book. The probability of latter seems high.

So what's the verdict? Well, this is a perfect read for middle class Indian boys who hustle everyday with the hope of 'Apna Time Aayega'

[Amit · Rating 3 out of 5]

What you see of the man is what you get in the book. Love him or hate him don’t think you will be able to ignore him.

[Charan Kumar · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had not watched even a single episode of Shark Tank India or the USA so far. I just knew Ashneer Grover as the founder of BharatPe and picked this book just to understand his entrepreneurial journey.

This is nothing but a book of complaints. A shallow book indeed (with irresistible Hindi words in between). The hard truth of life and startups are just a selling point tagline in my opinion. I'm an avid lover of entrepreneurial journeys. I chose this book with the impression that this journey is from my own country and I want to know this. But I was wrong!

This book is fully about how Ashneer Grover is right and others are wrong. He may be right indeed, but why should a reader pick this book? Just to learn how many wives and affairs Suhail has and eventually became CEO without a 'fire in the belly'? Or how Shashvat bagged crores by being quiet the entire time? Or how did Bhavik having criminal charges end up in the entrepreneurial journey with Grover? What exactly is the hardest truth here?

Unfortunately, I need to compare this book. See, I had read 'Shoe Dog' (Nike's journey) as well as 'That will never work' (Netflix's journey). In both books, the entrepreneur explains how they survived or how they lost something in their valuable journeys. For example, in Shoe Dog, Knight would explain how he was disappointed when Tiger Onitsuka gave him a hard time in shoe distribution in the USA, in the case of Netflix, Randolph journey with an 18 months runway for saving Netflix with a layoff and most importantly how he came up with the 1-month free trial (a master stroke model till date) saved Netflix and made it enter the FAANG group is an extraordinary inspiration in itself.

There is nothing in this book like that. Ashneer's connections are mostly big shots. You and I will never have a circle in life and in spite of having such huge connections and people like Grover himself was unable to withstand a termination from a company that he himself built (as he claims to be).

Lastly, imagine if Steve Jobs writes a book narrating each incident on how John Sculley fired him. Would you read it he calls it the hard truth of life and startups? It is an inspiring story that became a couple of films only because Steve Jobs bounced back and became the Greatest of All Time CEOs of Silicon Valley. Else no one would've batted an eye at his unceremonious termination from Apple.

Ashneer Grover is a "Straight A's" and his first and the biggest failure of his life led him to think, that this is the hardest truth of life. I respect him for a meteoric rise through his business model to tap the 1 Trillion Dollar Indian market using an interoperability QR Code, but this is not worth reading. Absolutely a book of lamenting and not at all inspiring.

The best takeaway from this book possibly is "A job cannot make you rich.". Which we already knew.

[Abhijeet Kumar · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had been a fan of Ashneer's brutal blows in Shark Tank India. Lost respect after reading Doglapan. He knows business how-to, of course, but he shouldn't have tried to write and sell a book.
It's a dismal effort towards portraying Ashneer as a leader. As a good but unfortunate guy. The book in no way represents the personality we know him for. Absolutely disappointed.
SKIP-worthy!
Gave two stars just because the first few pages were engaging. Then, the book delved into the details of Ashneer's stints at startups.

[Navdeep Pundhir · Rating 2 out of 5]

Finished in one sitting. Good attempt for someone from our creed to pen down a story. I hope he is not another Chetan Bhagat 😂

[Ravi Teja · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

Is it a great book? No.
Could it have been written better? Absolutely yes.
Is it a one sided narrative? Yes.
Should you read or listen to it? Listen, is my advice.
Should the frequency of the phrase "in fact" have been reduced? An emphatic yes.
Does it have lessons in it? Definite yes.
Should you read it even if you are not interested in entrepreneurship? Yes.
Is it a must read? Probably yes.


It's definitely not possible that one person was a saint surrounded by veritable sharks, (pun unintended), but the drama and saga makes me think maybe Ashneer has been targeted after a fallout of some sort.

Irrespective of it, read it to understand business, to understand how to grow, to understand a little of the job market particularly for the senior roles, to understand what kind of value needs to be delivered to be able to demand a certain level of returns.

[Abhishek R. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not a book, but a PR toolkit.

It is full of complaints, self-boasting, and clearing of all the questions which were raised on him related to anything but his venture.

[Salonee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonder if the book was vetted by a lawyer. Some of the stories seem downright in the grey area if not actually illegal. A glimpse inside the startup world albeit a one sided story.

[Sameer Gudhate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ashneer Grover was the Managing Director and Co-founder of BharatPe, until February 28, 2022, when he had to resign and renounce his positions in the company. He co-founded the company along with Shashvat Nakrani in 2018. Within four years, they have turned BharatPe into one of the largest used payment apps in India. BharatPe founder Ashneer Grover was also seen on the judging panel of the Shark Tank India reality show. Though Ashneer Grover had a good start in terms of education, career, and business, he also faced multiple challenges in the journey. This article discusses the complete story of Ashneer Grover right from his early life and career to the controversies and challenges faced by him recently.

Doglapan by Ashneer Grover is a hasty autobiography. The author discusses his personal experiences and lessons learnt as a serial entrepreneur and investor in this book. He provides an open and truthful look at the obstacles and reality of establishing a business, including the sacrifices and difficult decisions that must be made along the way. Grover's willingness to be candid and discuss his personal shortcomings and disappointments is one of the book's virtues. He isn't afraid to address the painful parts of his journey, and his candour makes the book feel relevant and true. Grover not only shares his personal experiences, but he also offers practical and concrete advise for navigating the startup industry. He covers issues like fundraising, team development, and risk management, and his writing style is fascinating and simple to read.

The biggest flaw I notice in this book is too much self-praise about his skills, which appears on nearly every page. If you've seen or read Ashneer's interviews, you'll recognise the language in the book: casual, unconstrained, with liberal doses of Dilli-style Hindi one-liners. Even if you don't know Ashneer, the book will educate you a lot about the business world and what it takes to establish a new company.

This is a must-read for anybody thinking about establishing their own business or wanting to learn more about the startup environment.

[Tajeshwar Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating read about a guy who everyone has an opinion on. Good to hear his perspective on the hard truths about corporates. Inspirational too in parts.

[Akshay Sapre · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is written straight from heart and best part is epilogue.

[Prakarsha Pilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

What made Ashneer a favourite shark at SharkTank was his attitude of calling a spade a spade. He didn't fake it in cliched English words. Nor did he do that in his book.

The book starts from Ashneer's middle class childhood to the most envied education in IITD-IIMA to his flourishing corporate career before joining BharatPe. Ashneer's writing style, just like his SharkTank judging style, is characterised by honesty and brevity.

His journey was inspiring to say the least. He achieved what almost every student dreams of - studying at the best institutes of the country and marrying the person they love. He also writes in detail about what you came here for - BharatPe exit controversy.

What I learnt from his book:
- In his nine years at the corporate, not only did he earn money but learned how things work, how to talk to people and how to negotiate. It played a major role in his building up of BharatPe. He closely observed how the super-seniors worked.
- His belief in his idea of QR Codes. Not once did he worry whether this idea would work. He identified the area where banking didn't reach and covered the lacuna. No wonder his own pitch presentations got BharatPe funded in magical numbers.
- His quitting AmEx for Grofers which was a start-up back then and paid him comparatively lesser. It isn't easy for any person who has a family to take up a lesser paying job but like he says, you should have that fire in your belly. Then, his quitting Grofers when he believed that he wasn't paid his worth.
- The BharatPe controversy. Our media is known for its abilities to make a mountain out of a molehill. In this book, he calls out the media for running entertaining stories which were not only exaggerated but unnecessary. They published whatever they got from their 'sources' without waiting for Ashneer's statement for anything. Clashes among founders of a start-up aren't something to be surprised but our media made the BharatPe story nothing less than a movie. I am not the same so I won't talk about the exit here. You can read it in the book.
- At the end, Ashneer listed his dos and don'ts for founders.

[Aiman Khan. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I often avoid autobiographies and success stories because they seem idealistic, too much to take in one go (read: 'Gyaan pelne vale'). Success is either glorified and celebrated too much or failures are completely denied. But, for the first time, my perception shifted for good after reading Doglapan - by Ashneer Grover. To me, it's 'a lived story'. One that made me walk in alleyways of failures as much as it made me imagine the satisfaction of succeeding in what you love to do.

I so agree with Ashneer Grover saying 'Truth is stranger than fiction.' The truth of failures, mistakes, lessons learned the hard way, burnouts, long hours of wait, and falling on our way up isn't something we shed light on. We try too hard to portray that 'There is a stairway to success.' We're uncomfortable accepting that we did make mistakes and too self-absorbed to acknowledge the contributions of other people.

What stood out to me about this book is the brutal honesty with which it's written. Quoting the man himself, 'Mai measured ya politically correct bande ka banda nahi hun.'

This book made me think that success isn't as fancy as it seems from a distance. What goes behind the success celebrated is often too difficult to put into words. You could be a 'persona non grata' any day you wake up. But, if you're prepared to fail as much as you are prepared to win, and believe in the bigger picture, better opportunities await you.

People might let you down, backstab you, and your naivety might not see through it at the right time, but do yourself a favor and remember this: 'Loyalty is tested and needed in bad times.' Allow yourself some time to find the loyal ones when the going gets rough.

Another thing that I noted while reading this book is that numbers and designations might be powerful but the most powerful acknowledgment would be 'The only thing lavish about me are my dreams and my ability to achieve them.'

I could relate a lot with:

'In bad times, the people you will find standing beside you will be your family. You cannot even rely on your friends of twenty years - they may go completely silent on you.'

I'm glad I read this book as my first book of 2023! It was like waking up after a 2022 slumber and 'taking things at face value.'

You can be 'a late bloomer.' However, once you get going, what matters is your faith in yourself that you're worthy of blooming in both the smooth and rough terrains of life. So, you might as well 'live your story.'

[Imran Shorif Shuvo · Rating 5 out of 5]

After describing all the things happened with him at BharatPe, Ashneer concludes the book with some valubale remarks. I just want to point those out:

The 5 things which propelled him towards success:

1. Fire in Your Belly
2. Naukri Karke Koi Raees Nahi Bana (A Job Cannot Make You Rich)
3. ‘Rees’, or the Innate Desire to Live the Life of Someone More
4. Delegate, Delegate, Delegate
5. Don’t Be Transactional

Now the learnings from his failings as a founder (according to him). Here is a list of five things that, in his experience, you shouldn’t do, or, at the very least, do differently:

1. Don’t Forget, as a Founder, That the Game Is between You and Your
Customer Alone
2. The Investor Isn’t above You, nor Is He a Validation
3. Give Your Family a Seat at the Board—Do Not Go by the Western Concept of Arm’s Length/Related Party
4. Don’t Be a Martyr to Your Own Cause: Founder Liquidity First
5. Beware of Certain Professions

[Nilesh Rebello · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book as I was intrigued with his personality. Felt it would be interesting to understand the psyche of the man. I have mixed feelings about this book though. It was a page turner for me. This book is full of Ashneer spilling beans on the happenings of the startup world. Made me realise how the real game of exchange of money is just an everyday thing for these folks. Loans being discussed and okayed via WhatsApp, deals in crores, a network of their own connections to reach out to, the game is being played at a whole other level. It whets your ones appetite about the way things are done in start ups.
But that's where the good stuff ends.. Ashneer spends a lot of time whining about how others have wronged him, to the point where it gets cloying. He keeps on pointing out wrongdoings of the others who he's got beef against. My assessment of him is that he likes to have the last word in any conversation, manipulative, and has something negative to say about anything where he feels he's got the short end of the stick. You've gotta be accepting of anything that comes in life. I think he'd benefit from some quiet self reflection everyday, and realising he's not his thoughts. But then he's called all of this 'esoteric BS' and is very vocal that his motive is just to make money. I hope he realises someday how much money is 'enough' and gets off the wagon wheel, cos gosh, his judgement is spot on and his insights are invaluable.

[Abhinav Jindal · Rating 5 out of 5]

After hearing a lot of hype about the book, I read it & totally worth it. The book is written straight from heart with brevity. It is captivating right from beginning till end. With every para, one can now correlate behind the scenes of startup news article. At one point, it feels like not reading but a close friend narrating incidents in detail in a IIT hostel room.
For a slow reader like me (avg time per non-fiction book ~ 1qtr) , this is one of the quickest reading (~ 4 days) & is now placed before 'Big billion' (~ 7 days).

[Read With Taran · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Doglapan" (meaning hypocrisy) - the catchphrase that took the internet by storm in 2022. Doglapan is the memoir of controversy's favorite child and founder of BharatPe, Mr. Ashneer Grover. Ashneer takes us briefly through his journey right from his middle class upbringing to becoming an IIT and then IIM graduate. He talks about his short stint at Kotak and then Amex. Followed by this, we get a glimpse of his startup journey at Grofers and then becoming the head Honcho of one of India's largest Unicorn startups all the way to being surrounded by controversies(especially the 1 crore table and the leaked tapes)
The narrative feels like Ashneer's life events playing out right in front of your own eyes like a movie. While many may think it is an attempt at clearing his name, the author basically shares about the curveballs lifes has thrown at him and how he survived this rollercoaster. The book concludes with some valuable advice on achueving what you desire and of course some wisdom for aspiring startup owners. It is one memoir I've thoroughly enjoyed after a long time.

[Swagat · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book has a lot of power packed drama from Ashneer's real life. He has fairly put forth a point of view based on his arguments that are somewhat compelling. But in the second half, it's much more of an image remake and ranting. The book is less about life and start-ups in general and much more about how unfair the world has been to the author. If anyone wants to read something that is less time consuming and easy-to-read, this is a go to read.

[Umang · Rating 3 out of 5]

Instinctively, I feel Ashneer speaks the truth but often hides lies behind this persona. Perhaps, the reader is expected to believe all of what he says since parts of what he says are obviously true. There is no way that the leaked call recordings are fabricated. Even AI isn’t advanced enough for that exchange to be so precise and relevant to the events that unfolded. One key learning that is reinforced is that loss of objectivity breeds failure. For all of one’s powers of dissection, insight and judgement- one can lose all that is gained if there is no shield against the attacks of one’s own mind. It is by no means an easy task to see through one’s impulses and assess that which is objectively costly or beneficial. I hope he comes back stronger with lessons learned.

[Vignesh ವಿಮರ್ಶೆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Admired the book purely because the narration intrigues reader to understand the journey of a startup from its inception by Founder till the IPO. Loved the ideas of Postpe, 12%Club & interoperability of QR by Ashneer.

Last few chapters spoke a lot about Ashneer’s side of the story behind his exit..

Last few lines about Founder of a startup reminded me of Sachin Bansal’s exit from Flipkart..

[Pranay Purohit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unputdownable

This is a straight up window to India's startup culture,along with an elaborate Machiavellian corporate mahjong. Ashneer true to his character goes no holds barred in this enthralling read, with lots of insights on how to run a successful startup and perils of being a public figure. A highly recommended read.

[Arushit Mudgal · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing was okayish-good. There were few interesting insights I got from the book, rest of the book is just Ashneer trying to prove to the reader how he is a victim and the world took advantage of him because of his goodness.

The book lacks any depth in Ashneer’s character and stays on the surface level. Either Ashneer did not do enough introspection till now or does not want to make it public.

[Usama Siddiqui · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a below-average read for me. The book talks more about Ashneer's personal life and his ousting from BharatPe than start-ups. If you have listened to his podcasts, Doglapan will hardly have anything new for you.

The book emphasizes how good of a guy Ashneer is while his ex-colleagues were all bad.

For me, the last chapter was the highlight of the book where Ashneer shared lessons from his success and failure.

You can save time by watching some interviews and podcasts featuring Ashneer Grover.

[Rakshit Tiwari · Rating 2 out of 5]

Essentially a write-up of cleaning his image post the fiascos that happened in his life in the last 1 year. Probably also useful to some extent in helping him gain a positive public narrative that he didn't do anything wrong.

[Saharsh Rathi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolute banger.

[Deep Driven · Rating 3 out of 5]

When a man decides and plans to do some things differently in this world. It's face hard reality of the world like Ashneer Grover and all he felt and faced revealed it in Dogalapan.

[Rubiya · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good book. I read and completed this in just two days..
Very much interesting. So much value adding point through Ashneer entrepreneurs journey..

[kishensuraj · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading about the startup journey of Ashneer, my IITD senior. What I liked most about him is he speaks his mind. And how he balances family life with the hustle of startup life.

The story involved the journey of Ashneer relentlessly pursuing many things in his life, IITD, IIMA, Relationships, and Bharatpe. It's filled with a lot of family and startup drama.

Though Ashneer repeatedly claims to chase value instead of valuations. Today when I look at Bharatpe, it has revenue of 500Cr at a money splurge of 1500Cr in FY 22. Though, Ashneer claims to strongly backs new-age startups like Zomato, Nykaa, and Paytm in the book. On the contrary, Ashneer exited the Zomato IPO in 2hrs after cashing in on the retail investor fomo. I would take his story with a pinch of salt.

[Arun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good to read for startup efforts and author side of story