Varun Khaitan

From Qualcomm and BCG to co-founding Urban Company, the home-services marketplace that listed on the stock exchange in 2025.

Country: India
Known for: Co-founding Urban Company (formerly UrbanClap)
Industry: Home services, consumer internet
Education: B.Tech, Electrical Engineering, IIT Kanpur (2009)

Education and early career

Varun Khaitan studied electrical engineering at IIT Kanpur and graduated in 2009, receiving the institute's Ratan Swarup Memorial Prize that year. He began his career at Qualcomm's research and development team in California, then joined The Boston Consulting Group as a consultant, advising large companies on strategy and operations.

From CinemaBox to UrbanClap

Returning to India, Varun first launched a venture called CinemaBox. In 2014 he co-founded UrbanClap with Abhiraj Singh Bhal and Raghav Chandra, and he has been with the company since December 2014. The idea was to replace the word-of-mouth way of finding plumbers, beauticians and cleaners with a platform where customers could discover, book and rate trained professionals.

Running operations

As Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director, Varun is responsible for business operations across the company's services and products businesses in India and overseas. Urban Company sets itself apart from a simple listings site by training its professionals, standardising prices and service quality, and supporting customers throughout. That makes operations the hardest part of the model, and it is where his role sits.

Rebrand, expansion and Native

UrbanClap became Urban Company in 2020. The company expanded beyond India to the UAE, Singapore, Australia and Saudi Arabia, and in 2023 it added its own products business, Native, starting with water purifiers. According to IIT Kanpur's alumni profile, the platform now serves more than 5 million customers in over 35 cities through a network of 40,000-plus trained professionals.

Going public

In 2021 Urban Company raised $190 million at a valuation of around $2 billion. In September 2025 it opened a ₹1,900 crore IPO, made up of a ₹472 crore fresh issue and a ₹1,428 crore offer for sale, and listed to strong demand, with shares closing about 64% above the issue price on the first day. For FY25 the company reported ₹1,144 crore in revenue and ₹240 crore in net profit.

Timeline

2009Graduates from IIT Kanpur and wins the Ratan Swarup Memorial Prize.
Before 2014Works at Qualcomm in California, then at The Boston Consulting Group; launches CinemaBox.
2014Co-founds UrbanClap with Abhiraj Singh Bhal and Raghav Chandra.
2020UrbanClap is rebranded as Urban Company.
2021Urban Company raises $190M at about a $2B valuation; Varun receives IIT Kanpur's Young Alumnus Award.
2023Launches Native, its own products business, starting with water purifiers.
2025₹1,900 crore IPO and stock market listing in September.
FY25Reports ₹1,144 crore revenue and ₹240 crore net profit.

Recognition

Forbes 30 Under 30 (2017)
Fortune 40 Under 40 (2018, 2019 and 2021)
Economic Times 40 Under 40 (2019)
GQ Most Influential Young Indians (2017 and 2019)
Young Alumnus Award, IIT Kanpur (2021)
Ratan Swarup Memorial Prize, IIT Kanpur (2009)

The takeaway: marketplaces win on consistency, not listings. Varun's role shows that the unglamorous work of training, quality and operations is what lets a platform earn trust again and again at scale.

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Sources

Written from public information, including Urban Company Investor Relations, IIT Kanpur's alumni profile and The Founder Nation. Further reading: The Official Board. Funding, IPO and financial figures are as reported in those sources.