Shiprocket was born out of the founders' realization that logistics and fulfillment were the biggest hurdles for small and medium-sized businesses in India, leading to the platform's focus on streamlining online selling.

Initially, their ventures KartRocket and Kraftly aimed to help merchants build online stores, but the breakthrough came when they concentrated on solving shipping and logistics issues, which became the core of Shiprocket.

Their first major investment from Pearl Uppal’s fund, 5ideas, in 2013 was pivotal in scaling the business, and now, with backing from major investors like Temasek, Zomato, and March Capital, they have raised around $260 million.

In FY24, Shiprocket posted Rs 1,316 crore in revenue, driven by growth in verticals such as Checkout, Cargo, Cross Border, and Quick, which expand their platform from checkout to cross-border logistics.

Despite skepticism from their families, founders Goel and Kapoor persisted with their vision, supported by their wives and personal sacrifices, ultimately empowering countless small shop owners across India.

The company’s early operations started from a small Delhi office supported by family savings, with early clients like Da Milano and Globalite Sport validating their model and boosting confidence.

Before Amazon entered India, the founders studied various aspects of e-commerce such as courier services, payments, and SEO to develop a platform targeting small-town businesses and artisans.

Shiprocket now serves over 100,000 profitable small businesses, facilitating Rs 25,000 crore in GMV and reaching more than 100 million Indian online shoppers, creating a vast e-commerce ecosystem.

As they prepare for an IPO, the goal is to enable one million profitable Indian businesses by making e-commerce more seamless, scalable, and accessible.

CEO Saahil Goel, with a background in coding and technology from his studies in the US, co-founded Shiprocket in 2012 with Gautam Kapoor after identifying a significant gap in India’s e-commerce infrastructure.

A key early mistake was trying to do everything at once; the founders learned that focusing deeply on shipping was essential for sustainable growth.