IIT graduates are leading a few of the most successful companies in the country right now. It's not difficult for IIT graduates to land a high paying job but many of them believe in their vision and start their own company. Securing investment for their startup is not uncommon for an IIT graduate but to get the attention of one of India’s most celebrated industrialists, Ratan Tata, is an achievement on its own. One such lucky IIT graduate duo that managed to start a company worth over Rs 17490 crore with backing of Ratan Tata includes Abhiraj Bhal and Varun Khaitan. Founders of Urban Company, formerly known as UrbanClap, Abhiraj Bhal and Varun Khaitan while pursuing their graduation at IIT Kanpur. Although both of them went on to pursue different career paths after graduations, their friendship continued outside the college walls.

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While Varun joined semiconductor giant Qualcomm, Abhiraj opted to earn an MBA degree from Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad. He then landed at the Boston Consulting Group which his IIT friend Varun also joined a few months later. Both had one thing in common which was passion for entrepreneurship. In fact, before finding success with their current venture, Varun and Abhiraj had founded on-the-go streaming service Cinemabox. However, their first venture lasted just six months.

After some time, the IIT graduate duo met with Raghav Chandra who also had a failed venture under his belt. The three of them were able to find an opportunity in the home services sector and then went on to start Urban Clap. With initial success, the company was able to make a mark in the industry. After being in business for around a year, the startup got undisclosed investment from billionaire Ratan Tata. With over 50 lakh customers and a 30,000-strong service professional network, the company currently has a valuation of more than Rs 17490 crore.