BharatPe was founded by Shashvat Nakrani and Bhavik Koladiya, who were equal shareholders in the company. Koladiya played a significant role in negotiating with investors for funding and was the public face of the company. Later in June 2018, Ashneer Grover joined the team, becoming the third co-founder. Following Grover’s arrival, the shareholding structure was restructured, with Grover being granted a 32% stake, Nakrani 25.5%, and Koladiya holding the largest share at 42.5%.

However, in December 2018, before Sequoia came onboard as an investor, Koladiya’s name was removed from the list of founders due to his past conviction in a US court for credit card fraud. The investors were hesitant to invest in a company with a co-founder who had a criminal record. As a result, Ashneer Grover became the face of the company, and BharatPe continued its operations with Nakrani and Grover as co-founders.

However, as of February 28, 2022, Ashneer Grover resigned from his position at BharatPe. Following his resignation, the company listed Bhavik Koladiya and Shashvat Nakrani as its co-founders. Later, in August 2022, Bhavik Koladiya also resigned from his position at BharatPe, according to reports.

Ashneer Grover

Ashneer Grover was a co-founder and managing director (MD) of BharatPe until his resignation on February 28, 2022. He hails from South Delhi, India, and is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. Previously, he served as the head of new business at PCJ, headed Corp Dev for Amex India, and was appointed as the CFO of Grofers.

Grover made headlines after his voice matched with a caller who allegedly hurled abusive language and was threatening while talking with a Kotak Wealth Management employee about the failure to secure financing for Nykaa’s initial share sale. The BharatPe board then asked him to take a voluntary absence for two months on January 19, 2022. However, this was not solely due to the telephone controversy but also because of his alleged connection to a bigger financial fraud. Grover was subsequently put on mandatory leave, along with his wife Madhuri and five others, amidst a government probe.

Madhuri Jain Grover, who headed Controls at BharatPe, was later terminated from her services due to financial irregularities, which also meant that she had to part with her stakes in the company due to “misappropriation of finances.” Jain accused the company co-founder Bhavik Koladiya and CEO Suhail Sameer of misconduct, along with accusing the BharatPe board of “objectifying women.”

Grover’s financial misconduct, which was reportedly in double-digit crores, came under scrutiny from the board, and reports about his potential firing surfaced in January 2022. Alvarez & Marsal, a risk advisory firm, was appointed by BharatPe to conduct an independent audit of the startup’s internal processes and systems on January 31, 2022. Grover approached legal aid from Delhi-based law firm Karanjawala & Co. to secure his position in the company and keep his 9.5% shareholding intact.

Grover demanded Rs 4000 crore from the investors to buy him out, which implied that he needed to be paid a fair market value for his 9.5% stake in the company at a valuation of around $6 billion. However, his arbitration pleas were rejected by the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), and key investors turned down his offer to sell his stakes in the company. Grover resigned minutes after receiving the Board meeting’s agenda, which included the PWC report submission containing his conduct and the actions that would be taken against him, according to the BharatPe board.

Grover has recently disclosed that he has registered a new company, Third Unicorn Private Limited, where both he and his wife will serve as directors. They have dreams of raising another unicorn company, as per Tofler reports. Shashvat Nakrani, a BharatPe executive, has taken a dig at Grover, claiming that he created a false narrative about the company.