Bangalore: The largest democracy in the world, India is a land of diverse religions and communities. Among these groups is the Bania; a merchant class of people who live throughout India. Everything for this community depends on acquiring wealth. They are all focused on acquiring wealth in any way they can. For a bania, business begins at home. A bania child learns accounting, bargaining, selling right from his childhood.

Some of the biggest corporate houses in India have been established by the banias, who account for about 24pct of the income tax and 20pct of the country’s GDP. Banias have a lot of money but they don’t show it much. They could afford a car and chauffeur or a bigger house but prefer to make their home in their place of business. For this, they are also mocked as “Kanjoos”.

Though this community does business the conventional way, they are not behind in this modern ecosystem of Indian startups. Many of the recent ventures have a bania as their co-founders. Let us have a look at some of these startups:

5. Flipkart.com

Bania Co-Founders: Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal

Flipkart was started by the Bansals in 2007.