Grofers co-founder Saurabh Kumar exits company, to continue as board member & shareholder

Grofers co-founder Saurabh Kumar has decided to step down and is leaving the company after 8 years. CEO Albinder Dhindsa said that Kumar will continue as a Board member and shareholder in the online grocery delivery platform.

The development comes at a time when the company is looking at launching an initial public offering (IPO).

Taking to Twitter, Saurabh Kumar shared an e-mail he had written to employees announcing his exit.

"After almost 8 years of building Grofers, I have decided to call it time on my current Grofers journey...I have been reflecting on my life and personal ambitions for some time. And my decision to step away is the outcome of that. I want to wander again," he said.

Bidding adieu to his partner, Dhindsa wrote,

'SK is moving on to other challenges'

In the tweet, Dhindsa said he spent the last 8 years building Grofers with Kumar and that "SK is moving on to other challenges". In a blog post, he wrote, "So, while SK will no longer be involved in day-to-day responsibilities at Grofers, he will continue to be a board member and a shareholder at the company. This is the end of an era for Grofers, and I know all of us will absolutely miss having him around everyday."

He also wrote, “Over the last 6 months, SK (Saurabh Kumar) had been yearning to invest in his own personal evolution, to grow beyond a growth driver to become a designer, enabler and coach. And diving deeper has convinced him that this is another area he can have a huge impact on, if he can build on it from scratch." 

The online grocery delivery service witnessed vivid growth in their business amid nationwide pandemic as curfew and lockdown fostered convenience of online shopping and compelled people to buy more and purchase basics like everyday grocery items. It was a corollary to social distancing compulsions and at the ease of smartphones.

Grofers competes against online giants like Amazon, Flipkart, Alibaba- backed BigBasket and Mukesh Ambani's JioMart. While reports suggest that Grofers is in talks for a USD 100-120 million investment, to date the company has raised close to USD 600 million.