BARBIES: Short for Bachelors Abroad and Returned to Build in the Indian Ecosystem. From Zepto to Lenskart, these are the founders who went abroad for undergrad and returned are behind many big consumer startups
In the Indian startup ecosystem, one constantly hears about how IITs and BITS produce some incredible founders. But there is a large cohort of founders that doesn’t get as much airtime despite quietly outperforming any single IIT when it comes to unicorn creation. Meet the BARBIE founders — those who did their Bachelors Abroad and Returned to Build in the Indian Ecosystem. The term, coined by Sajith Pai, a Partner at Blume Ventures, has gained traction as a shorthand for this distinct founder archetype.
From Lenskart co-founder Peyush Bansal to Zepto’s Aadit Palicha, these founders have moved back to India to build audacious, ambitious and enduring businesses in the country. The numbers speak for themselves — of the roughly 300 BARBIE founders we identified, 3.7% have gone on to build unicorns, a rate higher than IIT Delhi (2.7%) and IIT Bombay (2%). BARBIE founders have started 11.5% of all active unicorns in the country.
From Lenskart co-founder Peyush Bansal to Zepto’s Aadit Palicha, these founders have moved back to India to build audacious, ambitious and enduring businesses in the country. The numbers speak for themselves — of the roughly 300 BARBIE founders we identified, 3.7% have gone on to build unicorns, a rate higher than IIT Delhi (2.7%) and IIT Bombay (2%). BARBIE founders have started 11.5% of all active unicorns in the country.