Bhavik Koladiya quits BharatPe just months after clash with Ashneer Grover

BharatPe co-founder Bhavik Koladiya has resigned from his position at the firm, just months after Ashneer Grover's exit. Koladiya was associated with BharatPe as a consultant for technology and product areas.

An ugly affair: BharatPe has been in the news over the past few months, since Ashneer Grover’s appearance on Shark Tank Season 1. While Grover's popularity soared on the reality TV show, clashes between him and his company BharatPe dominated the headlines. It began with a leaked audio clip that Grover called 'fake', and had him - allegedly - abusing and threatening a Kotak employee over allocation of Nykaa shares. Grover was then accused of misusing company’s funds.

Bhavik Koladiya’s name popped up during this ugly exchange of words, with Ashneer Grover's wife Madhuri Jain Grover taking potshots at Koladiya on Twitter.

Grover resigns: On March 1, 2022, Grover resigned from BharatPe.

Koladiya quits: Now, after all the controversies, Koladiya has also decided to move on from the company. He has been appointed as the Managing Partner at Finix Partners. Koladiya said in a statement that he wanted to focus on balancing work and family.

“I have been relentlessly at it for five years. I want to focus on balancing my work and family. I am a zero to one guy who likes to keep innovating with new ideas. From the day I and Shashvat founded BharatPe, we have always believed and worked towards making BharatPe into a movement that will outlive and outgrow our own ambitions,” he said.

BharatPe speaks: "Bhavik Koladiya has been associated with BharatPe as an independent consultant, guiding our product and technology teams. His contract tenure ended on July 31, 2022, and he expressed his desire to spend time on other assignments outside BharatPe," the company said in a statement to Business Insider.

For the unversed: Koladiya and Shashvat Nakrani founded BharatPe in March 2018 with 50% ownership each. Three months later, in June 2018, Grover joined the company as the third co-founder. This changed the company’s shareholding. In June 2018, Koladiya owned 42.5% stake of the company, Grover owned 32% and Nakrani owned 25.5%.

In an interview to ET soon after leaving BharatPe, Ashneer Grover said that Bhavik Koladiya's stake was bought out by Sequoia, Nakrani, angel investors, and Grover himself. 

Koladiya, who was the face of the company later, disappeared after Sequoia joined as an investor. The shareholding of the company continued to change as investors joined in.

BharatPe had also told ET that Koladiya was an 'independent consultant and does not have any direct management role in the company'.