Shark Tank India 3: Meet Azhar Iqubal, IIT Dropout Who Transformed A Facebook Page Into Rs 3700 Crore Company – News18

The popular reality show Shark Tank is all set to return with its third season. The stage offers support to numerous budding entrepreneurs, as the sharks on the show make investments that enable them to elevate their businesses to the next level. Recently, the show introduced two new sharks, Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal and OYO founder Ritesh Agarwal. Now, an exciting new promo has confirmed the addition of another young entrepreneur Azhar Iqubal to the show. The promo was shared by Sharktank India on Instagram with the caption, “The news is out, introducing the newest Shark. Azhar Iqubal, Co-founder and CEO, Inshorts to the Tank. Stay tuned for more exciting updates!”

Who is Azhar Iqubal?

Azhar Iqubal is a dropout of the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi (IIT). He is most famous as the CEO and co-founder of India’s top-rated English news app, Inshorts. In 2013, Azhar started a Facebook page named “News in Shorts” alongside his classmates Anunay Arunav and Deepit Purkayastha who are also IIT dropouts. The app was dedicated to providing concise news summarised within a 60-word limit.

In the following year, they introduced the Inshorts app, which was available for smartphones. Then, in 2015, Inshorts expanded its accessibility to iPhones. According to Fintrackr’s estimate, Inshorts, a Noida-based company is said to be valued at Rs 3700 crore.

In 2019, Azhar ventured into a new company called Public, a location-based social network that consistently delivers updates and uploads noteworthy events. Its primary emphasis is on providing a factual experience. Public has since grown to become India’s largest location-based social network, boasting over 50 million active users and witnessing the creation of more than 1 million videos each month.

Azhar also expressed his excitement and shared insights on his journey on Instagram. He wrote, “10 years ago, as I was stepping into my 20s, I took a leap of faith and dropped out of IIT Delhi to start the news app Inshorts. The last decade has been a wild ride, full of excitement. Those tireless nights resulted in making a mark in the social media industry. A decade later, as I step into my 30s, we are today one of the largest players in our space with 1.2 crore Indians using our apps every day.”

He further wrote, “On Shark Tank India Season 3, I want to tell all the young people of India that where you come from and whether you have a degree or not does not matter. What matters is whether you have hunger, discipline, and focus. And if you have these things in you, I am here to support you in fulfilling your entrepreneurial dream.”

Azhar will be seen alongside Peyush Bansal, Amit Jain, Aman Gupta, Anupam Mittal, Namita Thapar, Vineeta Singh, Deepinder Goyal, and Ritesh Agarwal.