Figuring Out with Raj Shamani · Sep 26, 2026 · 3h 24m · 168m saved
With Asish Mohapatra, Co-Founder and CEO of OfBusiness and co-founder of Oxyzo
Asish Mohapatra said only four kinds of business in India make money for two decades: large manufacturing with a regulatory advantage, rural micro-distribution, lending, and cost arbitrage between rupee costs and foreign-currency revenue.
Most Indian startups raise equity first and talk loudly about growth. Mohapatra ranks equity last of five sources of capital, and said his company stays quiet about its profits partly so customers do not bargain harder.
"Yes, I'm 100% sure of that — if you want a business at scale, at most, you'll build in one of the four."
Asish Mohapatra, co-founder and CEO of OfBusiness, on Figuring Out with Raj Shamani. His company sells steel, chemicals and other raw materials to small manufacturers, lends them the money to buy it, and has SoftBank among its investors. He said the group ended last year at close to 21,500 crores of revenue with a profit after tax a shade above 600 crores.
The full interview is covered here so you can skip it. 204 minutes of audio, 36 minutes of reading.
Here are the 31 lessons that matter.
Key Takeaways
Only 4 business types in India make money for 20 years, in his view: large regulated manufacturing, rural micro-distribution, lending and cost arbitrage
Traders add 8 to 10% to the price of bulk materials by the time they reach a small manufacturer
OfBusiness sells about 5% cheaper and lends at 1.25–1.3% a month, against 2–2.5% from traders
Industrial chemicals is the largest opportunity in India, he said, as production leaves Europe and the US
An entrepreneur should enter an industry during upheaval, not when things are normal
Trust comes from taking losses yourself and not talking about it
Equity is the most expensive capital, behind profits, customer advances, supplier credit and debt
He pays staff around the median but has bought back employee shares 8 times, against 6 fundraises
SoftBank's Masayoshi Son offered about 3x what OfBusiness had in mind and pushed it to split lending from trading
About 40% of the 20,000 crores of commerce revenue is self-manufactured, and he said those customers practically never leave
He stopped trusting his "Midas touch" after an agri-products business lost money for quarters in a row
1. Milestones Test an Idea
Asked how he knows whether an idea is good, Mohapatra said it only becomes clear with time. He sets small targets and counts the misses.
Easy milestones, and two or three misses end it
"A good idea is one that gets reinforced with every single milestone getting met. A bad idea is one where we're consecutively missing it." — Asish Mohapatra
"I have a very simple rule — when I think of an idea, I put very easy milestones in front of it: a day-one milestone, a day-two, a day-three milestone. And if I miss two, maybe three, I believe it's a bad idea." — Asish Mohapatra
Four things attract capital
He listed a deep market, where the profit pool is large or will become large; a team that attracts and retains talent; a cheap price; and a business model the investor finds personally appealing.
"I think four things attract capital." — Asish Mohapatra
Sacrifice, not pain tolerance, marks an entrepreneur
The host asked whether a founder needs a high tolerance for pain. Mohapatra said moments of extreme pain come with moments of extreme joy.
"What differentiates is: can you sacrifice? Not many people can sacrifice willingly, without anybody asking — that's what defines entrepreneurship, because entrepreneurship needs sacrifice." — Asish Mohapatra
