Deepinder Goyal: Zomato, 10-Min Delivery, Founder Mindset & Business In India | FO453 Raj Shamani

In today’s episode, we have Deepinder Goyal, Founder and CEO of Eternal, the parent company of Zomato, Blinkit, District, and Hyperpure. He’s also the founder of Continue Research, Temple, and LAT Aerospace. We talk about why he wanted to build a successful startup, the early days of Zomato, and the tough decisions that shaped it. He opens up about hiring, firing, and leadership, and what it really feels like to make calls that never seem easy from the outside. We also talk about Blinkit and why Grofers became Blinkit, the quick-commerce battle, and how Indian companies like Zomato and Swiggy beat global players like Uber Eats and DoorDash. Deepinder shares his thoughts on scale, structure, succession planning, and the idea behind Eternal. He also talks about personal insights, measuring brain flow with Temple, stepping out of his comfort zone, and why discomfort and self-doubt are still part of his journey, even after success. Timestamps - 00:00 - Intro 05:27 - Who is Deepinder Goyal? 07:02 - Childhood bullying 10:18 - Does stammering still bother him? 19:49 - Imposter syndrome, according to him 20:34 - One incident where he got very lucky 23:46 - Relationship with his parents 26:01 - One thing he wasted money on 27:45 - What cheating in childhood taught him 30:24 - IIT coaching in Chandigarh & feeling out of place 35:35 - Friendship with Albinder 46:41 - Doubts about Zomato’s success 55:16 - Athlete mindset vs vulnerable leadership 1:01:33 - The cost of working alongside Deepinder 1:04:16 - Views on the right to disconnect bill 1:09:16 - Balancing peace and obsession 1:12:43 - Why 5 co-founders left within four years 1:21:47 - Why he hurts people intentionally 1:32:00 - Complacency after IPO 1:36:46 - Firing himself and the role of teamwork 1:40:48 - Downsides of working at Zomato 1:47:51 - His thoughts on expensive talent 1:55:38 - Why Swiggy was ahead of Zomato 2:03:53 - Shark Tank as a business decision 2:07:43 - What angers him today 2:10:13 - Acquiring Blinkit 2:17:19 - His views on Zepto 2:22:58 - His Inhuman side 2:25:23 - What is AI Karma? 2:26:15 - Random firings 2:28:13 - Fake promises made to employees 2:31:07 - Zomato salesperson's story 2:35:13 - Number of people terminated monthly and why 2:43:01 - Why Indian customer support is better than global teams 2:51:42 - How much gig workers earn through Zomato 2:52:48 - Accusations of worker exploitation 2:55:23 - Truth behind 10-minute delivery 3:00:07 - What needs to improve for delivery partners 3:03:38 - Reasons behind delivery partner deaths 3:04:35 - Protocol when a delivery partner dies 3:09:01 - Paying ₹20 lakh for a chief of staff role 3:12:21 - Is Chief of Staff and important role? 3:13:50 - Opinion on international expansion 3:18:21 - Managing multiple businesses and research 3:21:58 - Why he named his company Eternal 3:24:32 - Story of Temple, Continue & LAT 3:57:08 - What if the Gravity Aging Hypothesis is wrong? 3:59:56 - Reaching out to prominent bodies 4:06:01 - What global researchers missed 4:08:11 - Is it just a marketing plan? 4:09:48 - What brain flow measures? 4:11:31 - Deepinder's responsibility 4:13:13 - Conflict between Zomato and Deepinder's research 4:16:12 - Why he keeps building new businesses 4:18:55 - Does he care about power? 4:20:39 - Ever walked in a room and felt inferior? 4:25:00 - His views on Ego & Insecurities 4:34:56 - BTS 4:36:18 - Outro