VG Siddhartha passes away: Rajiv Bajaj calls him uncommonly humble, Mallya says he's indirectly related
India Inc expressed shock and concern at Café Coffee Day owner's revelation.
Four days before he was found dead at Mangalore's Hoige Bazaar on Wednesday, the Coffee Day Enterprises founder had left a heart-wrenching letter for his CCD family. In this painful letter, he confessed to have failed as an entrepreneur, but never wanted to cheat or mislead anybody.
Emphasising on the mounting financial pressure, Siddhartha said, "... I gave it my all. I am very sorry to let down all the people that put their trust in me. I fought a long time, but now I give up as I couldnt take any more pressure... This is my sincere submittion, I hope someday you will understand, forgive and pardon me."
India Inc leaders expressed shock and concern at Siddhartha's revelation, and paid tribute to the 60-year-old businessman.
In an interview with ET Now, Rajiv Bajaj - Managing Director of Bajaj Auto - stressed that 'no well-intentioned man or his family deserves the crushing confirmation'. He further added that Siddhartha's helpless pain enveloped him in deep sadness.
May God bless his kind soul, give every strength to his folks, & help the world mend it's ways: Rajiv Bajaj.… https://t.co/2E1N5ohUDJ
— ET NOW (@ETNOWlive) 1564545303000I am indirectly related to VG Siddhartha. Excellent human and brilliant entrepreneur. I am devastated with the cont… https://t.co/OLFGOFBdsG
— Vijay Mallya (@TheVijayMallya) 1564523998000Biocon chairperson and Managing Director, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, shared her condolences on Twitter to Siddhartha’s family.
Cafe Coffee Day Owner's Body Found By River 2 Days After He Went Missing - My deepest condolences to VG Siddhartha… https://t.co/5xpWiJ4zU9
— Kiran Mazumdar Shaw (@kiranshaw) 1564547640000After Siddhartha's note went viral, Amit Ranjan called it a 'Black letter day for startups & entrepreneurship in India!'. Co-founder of SlideShare said that CCD has always been a boon for startups before co-working spaces became big.
RIP #VGSiddhartha Last 20 yrs, amongst retail spaces (malls, shops, markets) the place where I've spent my most ti… https://t.co/LXSFrsAVB6
— Amit Ranjan (@amitranjan) 1564551534000Varun Agarwal stressed that the entrepreneur (Siddhartha) was never a failure. Agarwal is a co-founder of an online store, Alma Mater, which provides memorabilia and apparel to the alumni community of schools and colleges across India.
A company, and idea or a product can fail but an entrepreneur never fails. RIP Mr Siddhartha. You never failed.
— Varun Agarwal (@varun067) 1564549624000Kunal Shah, founder of CRED, didn't mention the businessman in his tweet, but the emotions coveyed his entrepreneurial spirit driven by Siddhartha's news.
For a founder, boundaries between them and their companies often cease to exist and often downfall of their creatio… https://t.co/Dnn1CeBa4F
— Kunal Shah (@kunalb11) 1564541839000Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra said that entrepreneurs should not allow their professional failure to destroy their self-esteem.
I did not know him & have no knowledge of his financial circumstances. I only know that entrepreneurs must not allo… https://t.co/MBP9ILHREZ
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) 1564503230000During Siddhartha's disappearance, Sachin Bansal - Executive Chairman of Flipkart - lauded the inspiring entrepreneur and investor.
I had known #VGSiddhartha personally and was always amazed at his energy and positivity. Distressed by his disappea… https://t.co/nJB5TgG7xD
— Sachin Bansal (@_sachinbansal) 1564491592000
The disappearance and demise of Café Coffee Day owner VG Siddhartha left the country in shock. On Saturday, the coffee tycoon wrote a letter addressed to his 'Coffee Day' family where he apologised to them for failing as an entrepreneur and opened up about the pressure he had been dealing with. On Monday he went missing from Mangaluru, and 36 hours later his body was recovered by the fishermen in the city's Hoige Bazaar.
The tragic episode saw tributes pour in for the billionaire businessman, whose 'A lot can happen over a coffee' idea brought enthusiasts closer and sparked the trend of coffee dates in India.
Despite running a mega empire, the camera-shy 60-year-old tycoon preferred to stay away from the limelight and mostly maintained a low-profile.
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