A dot-com boom in India is attracting major venture capitalists and other investors from the U.S. and Europe. Modeled on companies like Amazon, Groupon, eBay and Netflix, the Indian firms are overcoming infrastructural constraints such as low Internet penetration to generate impressive revenues and expand their customer bases. It’s a matter of time before e-commerce picks up speed in India, according to Wharton faculty and some dot-com entrepreneurs.
Among the high fliers is Kunal Bahl, 29, founder and CEO of Delhi-based Jasper, better known by its ecommerce site SnapDeal.com. The online retailer sells discounted “perishable distressed inventory” of products and services such as holiday getaways, beauty parlor and gym coupons, sunglasses and watches. A 2006 graduate from Wharton’s management and technology program, Bahl founded SnapDeal in February 2010. It is growing its subscriber base of four million by a million new users each month, and expects to have revenues of $20 million this year.
