Apoorva Mehta
Apoorva Mehta | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1986 (age 37–38) |
| Education | University of Waterloo |
| Occupation(s) | CEO and co-founder, Cloud Health Systems |
| Known for | Founder of Instacart |
Apoorva Mehta (born 1986) is a billionaire Canadian-American businessman and the founder of Instacart and Cloud Health Systems.[1][2] As of September 2023 he had a net worth of $1.3 billion, owing to his 10% ownership share of Instacart and his stake in Cloud Health Systems.[3]
Biography
[edit]Early life and education
[edit]Mehta was born in 1986 in Jodhpur, India.[4] He moved to Libya shortly after he was born, where his father worked for electric transmission line company.[4] In 2000, when he was 14, he and his family moved to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.[4] He graduated from the University of Waterloo with an electrical engineering degree.[5][6]
Early career
[edit]Mehta worked for four months as a design engineer at Blackberry[4] and Qualcomm before joining Amazon in 2008[4][5][7] as a supply-chain engineer.[4][7] In 2010, Mehta left Amazon and moved to San Francisco to become an entrepreneur.[7] Between 2010 and 2012, he launched 20 startups, almost all of which failed.[4][5] Failed businesses included an advertising startup for gaming companies and a social network for lawyers.[8]
Instacart
[edit]After getting inspiration from being low on groceries without owning a car[8] as well as his trips to the grocery store by bus in the cold while growing up in Canada,[9] Mehta founded Instacart in 2012 at age 26. He tried to apply for funding through Y Combinator but missed the deadline. He eventually got a meeting by using the Instacart mobile app to deliver a six-pack of beer from 21st Amendment Brewery to a Y Combinator partner[8] and was admitted to the summer of 2012 batch.[7][10] Y Combinator helped Mehta raise $2.3 million in funding[8] and enabled him to meet his two co-founders, Max Mullen and Brandon Leonardo.[9]
In July 2021, Mehta resigned as CEO and became the executive chairman. He left the company entirely in September 2023.[11]
Cloud Health Systems
[edit]In 2022, Mehta founded Cloud Health Systems, a medical consulting venture. The company raised $30 million in seed funding, led by venture capital firm Thrive Capital, and was valued at $200 million.[12]
Awards and recognition
[edit]Mehta was included on Forbes 30 under 30 in 2013.[7] In 2021, he was included on the Time 100 Next.[13]
References
[edit]- ^ Wolny, Nick (November 16, 2020). "The One Thing Instacart's Now-Billionaire CEO Changed After 20 Failed Startup Ideas". Entrepreneur.
- ^ "Meet Aproova Mehta, the founder of grocery delivery app Instacart, who's the newest member of the billionaires' club". GQ. June 19, 2020.
- ^ Carson, Biz; Lung, Natalie (19 September 2023). "Instacart Founder Exits With $1.3 Billion Fortune After IPO". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g Sorvino, Chloe (January 27, 2021). "Instacart Survived Covid Chaos — But Can It Keep Delivering After The Pandemic?". Forbes.
- ^ a b c LIEN, TRACEY (January 27, 2017). "Apoorva Mehta had 20 failed start-ups before Instacart". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Rogers, Taylor Nicole (June 17, 2020). "Instacart founder Kedar Mehta is now a billionaire, Forbes says". Business Insider.
- ^ a b c d e Wang, Jennifer (June 17, 2020). "Instacart Founder Apoorva Mehta Becomes A Billionaire After New Funding Round". Forbes.
- ^ a b c d Huddleston Jr., Tom (September 20, 2023). "37-year-old quit Amazon and started 20 companies before coming up with Instacart—now he's worth $1.1 billion". CNBC.
- ^ a b "Q&A with Apoorva Mehta, Founder & CEO, Instacart". Y Combinator. October 17, 2018.
- ^ Novellino, Teresa (December 31, 2014). "How this ex-Amazon engineer launched $2 billion startup Instacart". American City Business Journals.
- ^ "Instacart founder Apoorva Mehta exits with $1.1 billion fortune after IPO". Times Internet. Bloomberg News. September 20, 2023.
- ^ Jin, Berber; Vartabedian, Marc (November 29, 2022). "Instacart Co-Founder Raises $30 Million for New Healthcare Company". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ "2021 Time100 Next: Apoorva Mehta". Time. February 17, 2021.