Then there’s the ‘why’ from the users’ perspective. Why do Indians prefer bikes for certain trips? Firstly, affordability. Less than 1 percent of Indians can afford to ride a four-wheeler. A bike taxi ride is significantly cheaper than a car ride, often by 30 to 60 percent, making it accessible to a much broader demographic. For daily commutes, this cost saving is critical. Secondly, convenience. In our notoriously congested cities, a two-wheeler can weave through traffic in a way a car simply cannot. This means faster travel times, especially for short-to-medium distances, directly addressing one of the biggest pain points in urban mobility. And while some might question safety, Rapido’s focus on helmets, GPS tracking and other features brought a level of organised safety even for women customers, who felt safer on a two-wheeler compared to cars as well as public transport.
We observed a discipline at Rapido that was missing in some of the larger players. While others were diversifying rapidly and burning cash, Rapido remained laser-focussed on their core bike-taxi offering limited to mostly just Bengaluru with a small test market in Gurugram. This focussed execution allowed it to build a robust product and strong market leadership in their specific vertical. It showed us that capital isn’t always the ultimate competitive moat in India smart, frugal and patient execution can be just as powerful, if not more so. Rapido proved that by focusing on a specific, underserved problem with a highly relevant solution, you can build a formidable business, even when competing with deeply funded behemoths.
Ultimately, we saw Rapido addressing a critical gap in the market with a sustainable, cost-effective, capital efficient and highly scalable solution. We got in early—our seed cheque in 2016 yielded a 50x return. It wasn’t just about the numbers it was about backing a team that understood the nuances of the Indian market and had the grit to build a valuable business in a hyper-competitive space, by simply leveraging the pervasive two-wheeler.
(The writer is founder, AdvantEdge)
First Published: Jul 17, 2025, 10:47
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