Another Exit From IPO-Bound Cars24, Co-founder Mehul Agarwal Steps Down

Cars24 co-founder Mehul Agrawal has resigned from his operating role at the company.

This is the second such exit within a week as the company prepares for a public market listing.

On Wednesday, co-founder Gajendra Jangid had said that he would be stepping back from an active role in the used-car marketplace.

Agarwal announced the decision in a post on his LinkedIn profile. “4000 relentless days of blood, sweat and heart! And today I’m stepping back from my operating role at Cars24!” he said in the post.

The IIM alumnus said that the decision to step back has been taken ahead of the inflection point in the company’s journey, hinting at the public listing.

Reflecting on the long journey of the company, he mentioned the days when the startup used to operate from a petrol pump.

The dedication towards the company, however, made it a $3 billion business, he said. Agarwal said that today Cars24 is in its strongest phase and it was the time to pass on the baton.

“There is never a perfect timing for these decisions. But I know this is the strongest we have ever been. We just closed our first globally profitable quarter! That feels like an inflection point - for Cars24 and for me,” he said.

Amid the talks of the IPO of the company, the back-to-back resignations may draw investor scrutiny. However, startup founders generally step down from their active roles as the company sets out on its public market journey.

Agarwal said that there was no dearth of people to lead the company and that being a founder is not a designation but a mindset.

“We always said founder is not a designation but a mindset. Looking at the builders across this organisation today, across levels, geographies, countries, I see tons of founders already,” he said.

The Gurugram-based company is looking to get listed on the domestic bourses in the next six to 12 months.