From Being A Chawl Inhabitant To An Owner Of A 600 Cr Rupee Firm! Anand Rai Did All By Himself

Let’s know more about his journey of acquiring a firm worth Rs 600 crore.

Anand was born in a Jaunpur, a small village in Uttar Pradesh.  His father was a farmer and did not have enough money to provide him with the necessities. After a few years, Anand ran away from his village to earn a better life. He went to Dehradun but somehow destiny didn’t allow him to stay there for long. He then came to the city of dreams, Mumbai. At that time he was 14 years old. He stayed there in a chawl in Kanjurmarg slum paying a rent of Rs.150. Soon, he started to work there as a delivery boy and managed to earn Rs.250 per month.

However, the amount he earned was very less to survive in a city like Mumbai. Life was full of hurdles for Anand. The moment he realized that things are stabilizing somehow that very moment something came as a barrier. On every day he was walking through a red light area and was looted by a group of women. All his belongings were taken by them except one lab report that he managed to save for a customer.

 Anand never gave up. He kept working in different cities. And one day he decided to start his own logistics company.  His passion to do something made out the way for him. As starting from an Rs.250 wage to having thought of opening an own logistics company is not a joke. So, taking a small shop in Paharganj, Anand started his first logistics company in the name of “Pigeon Express”.

Finally, that time came when he thought that his struggle has started to get over, VC funding hit the commerce logistics in 2013. This entry made his company Pigeon Express suffer a big loss of Rs 3.9 crore. The VC-funded companies hired Anand’s employees by offering them higher pay. But Anand somehow managed to overcome the loss with the profit he earned from last year’s business.

Guess what happened after that?!  In the year 2016-17, Pigeon Express earned a massive revenue of Rs 15 crore.

This is how over the years Anand’s business grew to crores.

Soon, Anand touched the biggest peaks when he acquired GoJavas, one of the biggest logistics companies. Anand managed to acquire GoJavas which earned Rs 650 crore that also at that time when Pigeon Express’s sales did not even touch Rs 20 crore.

When QuickDel Logistics Private Limited, the owner of GoJavas held a meeting to make alterations in the articles of association, Snapdeal asked for a passive role. Anand, who was in the logistics business for decades told his friend Praveen Sinha, the CEO of Jabong, that it won’t be possible for him to handle this business as it was not from his domain.

Overnight, Anand turned the director of GoJavas with a 51 percent stake in the company.

Now as per the last year's reports, Pigeon Express was valued at Rs 600 crore and GoJavas had a revenue of Rs 650 crore with over Rs 110 crore loss in August last year. The company employs 2,200 people.

This journey of Anand is an example of courage and self-determination. He proved how a person can mold himself from having nothing to getting everything. He started his struggle at the age of 14, the age when kids think of playing with their friends. But he made it all worth for himself!