The setback of his US work visa getting rejected eventually pushed Kunal Bahl to build a billion dollar company in India.
The Indian corporate ecosystem has several inspirational stories of individuals making it big after refusing to be bogged down by disappointment. One such story is that of Kunal Bahl, who became a successful entrepreneur and eventually an investor after losing the lucrative opportunity of working in the US and being forced to return to India.
Bahl was well set to have a cushy, high-paying job at one of the most sought after companies in Microsoft. However, he faced a massive setback when his US visa application was rejected. This meant he had to return home. But that hurdle eventually pushed him to build leading ecommerce brand Snapdeal, which was once valued as high as $6.5 billion. The rejection was ‘serendipity’ for Bahl, who acknowledged it in a LinkedIn post last year. He had the good fortune of making it into the Indian startup ecosystem’s history books by founding the 4th unicorn ($1 billion valuation startup) of the country.
Born in national capital New Delhi, Bahl studied at the reputed Delhi Public School, RK Puram before leaving for the US to pursue further education. While studying at the University of Pennsylvania, he also began a detergent business, selling on Walmart. He then landed a great job with Microsoft after graduation. As things were looking smooth, Bahl’s work visa was rejected. This became a “catalyst” for the future successful entrepreneur to move back to his home country.
With the Indian startup ecosystem in its initial stage, Bahl began an offline couponing business with his school friend Rohit Bansal in 2008. This led to the birth of Snapdeal in 2010. Bahl, together with his peers, built Snapdeal into a formidable company which rivalled the likes of Flipkart. In just six years, the company became India’s second largest ecommerce company with a peak valuation of $6.5 million.
Once pushed to leave the US due to visa rejection, Bahl eventually got investments from several US investors in the firm he built in India. He then turned into an investor with his VC firm Titan Capitals and invested in several companies in the US, bringing his tryst to a full circle of sorts. Snapdeal, which had plans to go public in 2021, decided to shelve its IPO because of market conditions. The company that Bahl built assumed the corporate identity of AceVector in 2022, with Snapdeal becoming a part of the group along with other businesses like Stellaro Brands and Unicommerce.
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 "Kunal Bahl: Former Microsoft employee who built India’s 4th unicorn after facing visa rejection in US")
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