Hello friends, in this article we have given you basic information about Azhar Iqubal. Friend, how did he start Inshorts app? What difficulties he had to face and much more, we have told in this article. I hope you will learn something new from this article.
Who is Azhar Iqubal?
The son, Azhar Iqbal is a formidable entrepreneur who has made a name for himself by becoming the CEO of InShorts. InShorts is a top news app which keeps posting new news in 60 words. Man, he is something different – this boy has also become a judge of Shark Tank India Season 3 where he checks new startups and also invests in them. In this article we will understand his life, achievements and his impact on business and technology.
Birth of Azhar Iqubal
Azhar Iqbal was born in 1992 in Kishanganj, a small town in Bihar. His family was middle class – father worked in a government job and mother was a housewife. Since childhood, this boy was crazy about learning new things and was also very fast in studies. He had scored 95% in 10th and 93% in 12th!
Azhar Iqbal’s studies
In 2009, he took admission in the famous IIT, Delhi for a double degree in Mathematics and Computer Science. He was a top performer in his batch and started taking keen interest in coding and web development. It also participated in several hackathons and competitions where it met its future co-founders Deepit Purkayastha and Anunay Arunav.
Azhar Iqubal personal life
Azhar Iqbal is single and does not talk much about his personal life. He is very workaholic and spends most of his time on his company and investments. Sala is also a big bookworm and likes to read books on subjects like Business, Psychology, Philosophy and History. Her favorite books are Zero to One (Peter Thiel), The Lean Startup (Eric Ries) and The Power of Habit (Charles Duhigg).
Inshorts Company Success Story
Azhar Iqbal, along with Deepit and Anunay, started InShorts in 2013 when he was studying at IIT Delhi. These people left college and started focusing full time on this venture. The idea behind InShorts was to give people a concise and unbiased news summary in less than 60 words. These people thought that it would meet the needs of busy and impatient smartphone users who wanted to stay updated with the world but did not want to spend much time and effort.
He launched an app named News in Shorts in 2013 and received positive response from users. He also took seed funding from Times Internet, Flipkart founders Sachin and Binny Bansal and other angel investors. In 2015, he changed the name of the app to InShorts and also expanded his team and operations. Also introduced new features like personalized news feed, offline reading and social sharing.
InShorts is one of the most popular news apps in India today. It has more than 10 million active users and more than 2 billion monthly page views. It covers news from politics, sports, entertainment, business, technology and other categories. It has over 300 content partners including top media outlets like Times of India, NDTV, Hindustan Times and Economic Times.
InShorts is one of India’s most valuable startups with a valuation of around Rs 3,700 crore (about $480 million). It has raised over $60 million in funding from investors like Tiger Global, SIG, Edition and Tanglin Venture Partners. It is also profitable – it had revenue of Rs 81 crore (about $10.5 million) and net profit of Rs 16 crore (about $2 million) in FY 2020-21.
Azhar Iqubal Net-Worth
Azhar Iqbal’s net worth is around Rs 500 crore (about $65 million). It has major stakes in InShorts and other startups in which it has invested. He is one of the top paid CEOs of India with an annual salary of Rs 3.6 crore (about $470,000).
Azhar Iqubal entry in SharkTank India
Azhar Iqbal is the judge of Shark Tank India Season 3 which premiered on 9th February 2024 on SonyLIV. It is included in the panel of 5 Sharks – Founders and CEOs of Ritesh Aggarwal (Oyo), Ankiti Bose (Zilingo), Kunal Shah (Cred) and Sanjeev Bikhchandani (InfoEdge) are also on the panel.
Shark Tank India is the Indian variant of the famous American reality show in which entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to investors and they decide whether to invest in them or not. As a Shark, Azhar checks the potential and feasibility of startups, and also provides his expertise and mentorship to the entrepreneurs. It also talks about the terms and conditions of the investment such as equity stake, valuation and milestones.
Awards and honors received by Azhar Iqubal
Azhar Iqbal has received many awards and appreciations for his contribution to the tech industry and the Indian startup ecosystem. Some are like this:
- Business World Young Entrepreneur Award in 2015
- The Most Enterprising Brands Award from The Economic Times in 2016
- Under 40 in the Business World Award from Business World in 2017
- Under 30 in Forbes India Award from Forbes India in 2018
- Under 30 in Forbes Asia Award from Forbes Asia in 2018
- Leaders of Asia Award from The Economic Times in 2019
- Under 30 in Fortune India Award from Fortune India in 2020
Conclusion
Azhar Iqbal is an inspiration for ambitious entrepreneurs coming from small towns and average families who want to make it big in business and technology. It has shown that everything is possible with passion, creativity and hard work. It has made a positive impact on the society by giving people a medium to read news in a convenient and interesting manner. It has also supported and mentored other startups, invested in them and shared its insights and experiences. He has been an icon and leader for India’s young and ambitious generation.
