'Bhai tune phod dia hai': Start-up founder shares how Ashneer Grover inspired him

It was 2022 when Dev Taneja co-founded Anime Devta along with Himangshu Goswami to offer anime merchandise to the youth at affordable prices.

A year later, the start-up's founder and managing director Taneja revealed how BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover helped him make another risky step towards his dream.

"When Ashneer Grover Sir said 'Bhai, tune phod dia hai' that was all I needed to make another risky step towards my dream," he said on LinkedIn.

The founder further revealed that it happened in IIT Roorkee on March 10 when he had to steal mic from one of the volunteers, who had already prepared questions for the guest (Ashneer Grover) and were not encouraging any actual questions from the attendees.

"I openly asked him to join us on board to help revive India's forgotten roots. The first thing he said was 'Bhai on campus itti sale kari hai, to bhai tune phod dia hai'," he added.

Taneja also talked about how recognition is an important factor for entrepreneurs and mentioned that it was a long time since he actually got motivated by a positive remark.

"We had already taken so many risks and doubled our sales and other stuff in this year 2023. This remark just made me go all out and evolve once more. With a new idea and a new strategy here we go!," the entrepreneur stated as he revealed details of the biggest anime merchandise sale. 

Taneja is pursuing Electronics and Communication Engineering from UPES University, as per his LinkedIn profile. He has also enrolled himself in an online course on Strategic Management from IIM Bangalore.

The company's co-founder Himangshu Goswami is pursuing Graphic and Communication Design from UPES.

Based out of Jaipur, Rajasthan, Anime Devta provides offers products across categories such as clothing, posters, stickers, among others. According to UPES, the company received a funding of Rs 15 lakh from investor Rahul Narvekar, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The India Network, through the Runway Incubator in 2022.

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