Mahesh Murthy#Pinstorm

Mahesh Murthy was born and raised in a Tamil Brahmin family. His father served in the Indian Army and retired as a colonel.{{Cite news|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/company/corporate-trends/35-and-burnt-out-retire-and-re-retire/articleshow/1833476.cms|title=35 and burnt-out? Retire and re-retire|first=Viren|last=Naidu|newspaper=The Economic Times}} Murthty was accepted into Osmania University to study chemical engineering, from where he dropped out at the age of 17.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rediff.com/money/2006/sep/26inter.htm|title=Murthy: From college dropout to big entrepreneur|website=www.rediff.com}}{{cite web|last1=Dubey|first1=Tanya|title=Mahesh Murthy's Unique Art of Survival- From Being a Vacuum Salesman to an Ace Investor|url=http://www.businessinsider.in/Exclusive-Mahesh-Murthys-Unique-Art-of-Survival-From-Being-a-Vacuum-Salesman-to-an-Ace-Investor/articleshow/58177182.cms|work=Business Insider|accessdate=17 October 2017}}

After leaving college, he worked as a vacuum cleaner salesman for Eureka Forbes and subsequently founded his first company, a cleaning service called Vaclean.

He worked for the advertising agency FCB (then FCB/Ulka) and Grey Advertising (then Trikaya Grey) in India, where he won multiple advertising awards for his work on HCL, Network and other clients.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zQATnk9yyMwC&q=mahesh+murthy+trikaya+grey&pg=PT74|title=The Dum Dum Bullet|last=Goyal|first=Sandeep|date=2004|publisher=Popular Prakashan|isbn=9788179915837|pages=67–68|via=Google Books}}

He then moved to Ogilvy & Mather, Hong Kong as a creative head for clients across Asia.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yIhTAAAAYAAJ&q=cks+mahesh+murthy+yahoo|title=Communication Arts: Advertising annual|date=1995|publisher=Coyne & Blanchard|edition=96|page=210|via=Google Books}} While at Hong Kong, in 1993, he wrote and directed a set of six films for MTV with Shashanka Ghosh,{{Cite web|url=http://www.bafians.com/eminent/Shashanka_Ghosh.htm|title=Eminent Bafians|website=Bafians|access-date=3 November 2017}} for which they won the New Directors Showcase award at the Cannes Lions.{{Cite news|url=https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/25-years-saatchi-saatchi-new-directors-showcase/1352932|title=25 years of Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors' Showcase|website=Campaign|author=Andy Gulliman|date=24 June 2015|access-date=3 November 2017}}
- {{Cite web|url=http://saatchi.com/en-in/new-directors-showcase/new-directors-showcase-years/|title=New Directors' Showcase 1994|publisher=Saatchi & Saatchi|access-date=3 November 2017}}

He then moved to CKS Partners in Portland as Creative Director and General Manager,{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/08/28/business/people.html|title=People|first=Stuart|last=Elliott|newspaper=The New York Times |date=28 August 1997}} where he worked on the first graphical UI for Yahoo!, and later led the work on the web design as well as advertising for Amazon.com's "Earth's Biggest Bookstore" campaign.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4GhLAQAAIAAJ&q=%22mahesh+murthy%22+ogilvy+hongkong|title=Communication Arts|date=September 1995|publisher=Coyne & Blanchard|page=129|volume=37|via=Google Books}}

He then went moved from advertising to e-commerce, as vice president of marketing for iCat,{{cite magazine|title=Speed: The E-Commerce Mantra|url=https://www.wired.com/1998/04/speed-the-e-commerce-mantra/|magazine=WIRED|author=Heather McCabe|date=29 April 1998}} the Seattle-based publisher of e-commerce software that was acquired by Intel.{{cite web|title=Intel To Acquire iCat|url=https://www.intel.com/pressroom/archive/releases/1998/Cn113098.htm|publisher=Intel|date=30 November 1998}}

Murthy then was hired from the US and returned to India to run the rival to MTV, an Indian music television channel called Channel V. He acted as the General Manager for India and also helped create and launch its community youth site, vIndia.com.{{Cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mAgEAAAAMBAJ&q=channel+v+gm+mahesh+murthy&pg=PA46-IA4|title=A Radical Refocus Aims At The Upscale Youth Market|magazine=Billboard|author=Myay Bhushan|page=46|date=7 August 1999|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|via=Google Books}}

In 2000, Murthy founded an angel fund, Passionfund, which funded companies such as Compassbox, Tulleeho, WebDunia, Geodesic and EBSDirect.{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.in/mahesh-murthys-unique-art-of-survival-from-being-a-vacuum-salesman-to-an-ace-investor/articleshow/58177182.cms|title=Exclusive: Mahesh Murthy's Unique Art of Survival- From Being a Vacuum Salesman to an Ace Investor|website=Business Insider}}

Murthy wrote columns for Business Today and BusinessWorld.{{Cite web|url=https://www.businesstoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/doityourself-web-advertising-12225-2007-05-17|title=Do-it-yourself web advertising|date=17 May 2007|website=Business Today}} He also wrote columns in the Wall Street Journal. Mahesh was an entrepreneur-in-residence at global business school INSEAD, where he taught entrepreneurship.

In 2004, he founded the digital marketing firm Pinstorm.{{Cite web|url=https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/mahesh-murthy-maverick-marketeer|title=Mahesh Murthy: Maverick Marketeer|first=Shivani|last=Mohan|website=Khaleej Times}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-ICMB-129|title=What's a Good Startup in These Times: Mahesh Murthy|first=Mahesh|last=Murthy|newspaper=Wall Street Journal |date=8 February 2010|via=www.wsj.com}} Pinstorm is headquartered in Bombay, India, with offices in Amsterdam, Netherlands and Kathmandu, Nepal. Pinstorm was among the world's first advertising firms to implement pay-for-performance advertising.

In 2006, he co-founded the early-stage venture capital fund Seedfund which funded and advised companies including RedBus, CarWale, SabKaDentist, Chumbak and Sportskeeda.{{Cite web|url=https://www.outlookbusiness.com/enterprise/trend/its-not-about-the-money-2533|title=It's not about the money |website=Outlook Business}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-52870320101112|title=Mahesh Murthy on Carwale exit, internet businesses|date=12 November 2010|website=Reuters}} Seedfund was awarded "India's best VC fund" at the Venture Intelligence awards for its first fund in 2009 and also for its second fund in 2013.

He was chosen as a "LinkedIn Power Profile" for India in 2012.{{Cite web|url=https://www.news18.com/news/india/linkedin-releases-list-of-most-viewed-profiles-in-india-524968.html|title=LinkedIn releases list of most viewed profiles in India|date=4 December 2012|website=News18}} He was also chosen as a "Top Writer" by Quora in 2014.

In 2014, his firm Pinstorm did work for the Aam Aadmi Party.{{cite news | url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/how-bjp-aap-congress-and-their-candidates-are-using-social-media-to-woo-voters/articleshow/33299451.cms | title=How BJP, AAP, Congress and their candidates are using social media to woo voters | newspaper=The Economic Times | last1=Goyal | first1=Malini }}{{cite web | url=https://www.cnbc.com/2014/04/10/how-big-data-have-changed-india-elections.html | title=How big data has changed India elections | website=CNBC | date=10 April 2014 }} Subsequently, there was a sudden spate of sexual harassment allegations against him, filed before the National Commission of Women, an organisation managed by the ruling party in India. Mahesh denied all allegations.{{cite web | url=https://archive.factordaily.com/ncw-rape-complaint-mahesh-murthy/ | title=Complaint before NCW against Mahesh Murthy alleges rape; new harassment cases emerge | date=March 2018 }} The Mumbai Police registered a case against him, which was subsequently quashed by the Mumbai High Court.{{cite web | url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/bombay-hc-quashes-sexual-harassment-proceedings-against-mahesh-murthy-6001380/ | title=Bombay HC quashes sexual harassment proceedings against Mahesh Murthy | date=17 September 2019 }}

Mahesh also opposed the Facebook Free Basics plan in India for free browsing offered to poor people only on sites approved by Facebook, which he termed "digital colonization".{{Cite web|url=https://www.thequint.com/tech-and-auto/tech-news/what-facebook-is-hiding-about-activist-resistance-to-free-basics|title=What Facebook is Hiding About Free Basics|first=Mahesh|last=Murthy|date=29 December 2015|website=TheQuint}}{{Cite web|url=https://thewire.in/tech/facebooks-rebuttal-to-mahesh-murthy-on-free-basics-with-replies|title=Facebook's Rebuttal to Mahesh Murthy on Free Basics, with Replies|website=The Wire}} He helped drive a strong ground-up movement that eventually led to India's telecom regulator, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) outlawing it and Facebook dropping its plans – not just in India, but elsewhere as well.{{Cite web|url=https://tech.hindustantimes.com/tech/news/trai-s-says-no-to-content-based-differential-tariff-offers-supports-net-neutrality-story-1pOAI14aHvXYRu3AQNzMjP.html|title=TRAI says no to Facebook's Free Basics, supports net neutrality|date=8 February 2016|website=HT Tech}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jul/27/facebook-free-basics-developing-markets|title='It's digital colonialism': how Facebook's free internet service has failed its users|date=27 July 2017|website=The Guardian}}

Mahesh has recently announced his investments in the new space ecosystem. In 2017, he invested in Exseed Space, later renamed Satellize, a company that created history by launching India's first-ever private satellite to space, on board SpaceX.{{Cite web|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/features/race-for-space-startups-take-to-the-sky-with-satellites-rocket-engine/bringing-down-the-cost-of-the-satellites/slideshow/77517420.cms|title=Race for space: Startups take to the sky with satellites, rocket engine - Up, up and away!|website=The Economic Times}} Exseed Space has since launched on ISRO's PSLV as well and was chosen by ISRO as one of the companies chosen to assemble, integrate and test its large, 2,000 kilogram and greater satellites.{{cite web | url=https://science.thewire.in/aerospace/spaceshare-satellize-isro-pslv-ps4/ | title=SpaceShare, a New Indian Project to Democratise Access to Space – the Wire Science }} Exseed Space has been part of the team that helped a consortium build GSAT-30, GSAT-31 and RISAT 1A, which launched in 2021.

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Category:Indian company founders

Category:Indian venture capitalists

Category:Living people

Category:1965 births

Category:Indian businesspeople