Be Unique, the Flipkart Way: Unravelling Unprecedented Corporate Entrepreneurship

The book traces the history of the unprecedented growth of Flipkart from its inception in 2007
till 2022, owing to the successful adoption of corporate entrepreneurship and the nurturing of
entrepreneurial culture.
When Flipkart was created in 2007 in Bangalore, the e-commerce industry was hardly present and
the entrepreneurial ecosystem for tech start-ups was at its infancy. The book analyses the way the
founders of Flipkart and its management overcame multiple challenges and created supply capability,
on the one hand, and generated demand on the other. In the process, the founders and management
undertook process innovations, financial innovations, and market innovations for supply creation and
demand generation. Thus, the simultaneous focus on supply and demand has been the outstanding
feature of growth model of Flipkart.
Flipkart kept nurturing entrepreneurial culture among its employees leading to many periodic strategic
renewal, ‘start-ins’ and M&As. Another significant outcome of Flipkart’s entrepreneurial culture is in
the form of emergence of more than 200 start-ups by its former employees (ex-Flipsters). Flipkart
has contributed to India’s start-up ecosystem not only in the form of entrepreneurship generation,
but also investment funding, market support, mentoring, incubation, and accelerator support system,
among others. A near-unanimous convergence of opinions of management, executives and ex-
Flipsters on the presence of entrepreneurial culture reflects the strength of the company. Based on
extensive research and authentic data, the authors conclude that the successful pursuance of corporate
entrepreneurship in Flipkart is contributed by pro-active, risk-taking, and motivated executives with
high education qualifications.
This book is a game-changer for start-ups and start-up ecosystems.