Weeks after raising Rs. 56 crores from Tata Sons Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata and other investors, the co-founder of Repos has penned down a lengthy note to reveal how one call from the industrialist changed their company’s fortune. While starting their Pune-based energy distribution start-up, Repos Energy Co-founders Aditi Bhosale Walunj and Chetan Walunj realised that they needed a mentor, someone who has worked towards the greater good, and the first person they could think of was Ratan Tata. Revealing the same on her LinkedIn account she said, “And without any doubt, we both had one name that is Ratan Tata Sir.”
Following the same direction, next Aditi suggested that the two meet the successor of JRD Tata. And listening to this, Chetan was quick to reply, “Aditi, he (Ratan Tata) is not my neighbour that you saying let’s go meet him”. However, Aditi was determined and didn’t back out. Explaining how “excuses” lead to “failure”, Aditi said, “We both have had no formal business education but we learned one thing very early in our lives – an excuse towards anything is a foundation which one builds a house of failure.” The co-founder of the Pune based start-up added, “Everyone told us you cannot meet him (Ratan Tata) and that it’s impossible. We didn’t use this as an excuse. ‘NO’ was never an option.”
Continuing further, Aditi revealed that after preparing a 3D presentation of how their company “wanted to change the energy distribution and deliver any energy/fuel to the last mile using technology,” the two sent the industrialist “handwritten letters” and reached out to the sources who could have made them meet him. Therefore, finally after waiting outside Ratan Tata’s house “for 12 hours,” Aditi received a phone call “at 10 pm” at night when they returned to their hotel. She said, “I was reluctant but when I answered, the voice, on the other hand, said ‘Hi! Can I speak to Aditi?” Adding further, she revealed that despite knowing who it was, Aditi asked, “Yes. May I know who is this?”
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The person on the phone replied, “This is Ratan Tata here. I got your letter. Can we meet?” Then Aditi recalled experiencing several emotions at the same time. Talking about the same, she said that she was “numb”, had “goosebumps”, and “tears rolling down” her face, but had a smile on her face. She continued, “The next day we reached his house at 10.45 am at his house and waited for him in the living room with our presentation. And sharp at 11 am a tall, fair person with a blue shirt walked towards us. And it felt like silence.”
Aditi revealed that during their meeting, Ratan Tata asked her what she is expecting from him, to which she replied, “Sir, help us serve people and take our country global. Guide us.” Responding to this, the industrialist simply responded “okay”. And she added that after this when they were stepping out it felt like they were “walking out of the temple”. Aditi credited Ratan Tata for making Repos reach, where it is currently standing. Aditi called the three-hour-long meeting with him “sheer mediation for us where he heard our ideas, shared his experience, and guided us”. She concluded by thanking the deputy general at Ratan Tata’s office, Shantanu Naidu, and called him an “angel in disguise” for her company. For those who don’t know, Repos offers doorstep delivery of diesel through their app.
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