Founder Stack

Every startup story usually begins with an idea. But for these founders, it began with a friendship, one that was tested, trusted and eventually turned into a business. This Friendship's Day, founder-friends across India share how their bond became a business partnership. Every startup story usually begins with an idea. But for these founders, it began with a friendship, one that was tested, trusted and eventually turned into a business. This Friendship's Day, we invited founder-friends to share how their bond became a boardroom. From childhood friends to college roommates, colleagues who became co-founders, and even a friendship that turned into a marriage, here are twelve stories of businesses built on trust that came first, and strategy that followed. Anupam Kumar and Arvind Bhardwaj's story did not begin with a business plan. It began with two colleagues who met while working together, both bringing deep expertise in lithium-ion battery R&D. Talking shop came easily, and the more they talked, the more they recognised a growing problem. As battery adoption increased, so did the waste, with valuable critical materials lost once batteries reached the end of their life. That professional chemistry grew into genuine friendship, and eventually into a shared conviction that they could build something meaningful together. Both left their jobs and pooled their savings to get started. In 2021, MiniMines was born. Based in Bengaluru, MiniMines recovers critical minerals such as lithium, nickel and cobalt from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries using its patented Hybrid-Hydrometallurgy™ process, helping India reduce its dependence on imported critical and rare earth minerals. Ankit Jain and Shefali Patwal met as articled assistants at the same CA firm, two trainees sharing long audit seasons, impossible deadlines and endless chai. The friendship came easily, and so did the realisation that they thought about clients the same way. Somewhere between those audits,they made a pact: once they both cleared CA, they would build something of their own. In 2015, Ankit began as a sole proprietor. A year later, Shefali joined, and they reconstituted the practice into a partnership, Jain Ankit and Co. In February 2022, they extended that partnership to their personal lives and married. Founded in 2015 and headquartered on Racecourse Road, Dehradun, with a branch in Gurugram, JAC offers auditing and assurance, domestic and international tax, corporate law, consultancy andbookkeeping to clientsacross retail, pharmaceuticals, automotive, real estate, media and the not-for-profit sector. From a two-member team, the firm has grown to 50+ professionals. Some partnerships are built in boardrooms. This one began around the family table. When Vidushi Jain married Saloni Shah's brother, they became family. What brought them closer, though, was a shared passion for jewellery, creativity and the dream of building something of their own. Their conversations soon turned into ideas