Pepperfry co-founder Ambareesh Murty dies of cardiac arrest in Leh
New Delhi, Aug 8: Ambareesh Murty, the co-founder and CEO of Pepperfry, died of a cardiac arrest in Leh, the online marketplace for furniture and home decor's another co-founder said.
He was 51.
"Extremely devastated to inform that my friend, mentor, brother, soulmate @AmbareeshMurty is no more. Lost him yesterday night to a cardiac arrest at Leh. Please pray for him and for strength to his family and near ones," Ashish Shah said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Murty was a bike enthusiast and used to go on motorcycle trips from Mumbai to Leh. He had posted photos and videos from his trip to Ladakh on Instagram.
He founded Pepperfry in 2011 after stints with Cadbury, ICICI AMC (now ICICI Prudential) and Levi's.
Pepperfry, which counts Goldman Sachs, Fevicol-maker Pidilite Ventures and Bertelsmann India Investments among its investors, is worth USD 500 million.
Tributes poured in with people posting their fond memories with Murty.
"So sad & shocking to hear of Ambareesh Murty's sudden demise due to cardiac arrest. May his soul rest in peace. An amazing entrepreneur & inspiration to many... may his legacy with Pepperfry live on. RIP," Swati Bhargava, co-founder of CashKaro.com, wrote on X.
Murty's body is being flown to Mumbai for last rites.
"Very sad my second boss and what a mentor he was... I messaged him two days back and he was okay. Got him added to PruICICI group where a reunion is getting planned," commented Kalpesh Teli.
After doing engineering at the Delhi College of Engineering in 1994, Murty pursued management studies at IIM Calcutta. He called himself a closet sociopath on his X (formerly Twitter) profile and professed a love for history-reading epic fantasies.
Murty joined Cadbury as a sales and marketing professional in June 1996. After a five-and-a-half-year tenure with the chocolate manufacturer, he joined Prudential ICICI AMC (now ICICI Prudential) as VP of Marketing and Customer Service.
After spending nearly two years in the financial sector, he had a brief stint of five months at Levi's. This was followed by his entrepreneur journey, with its first venture, Origin Resources.
He shuttered the startup in 2005 and joined Britannia as a marketing manager.
Seven months later, Murty joined eBay India and was the country manager for the Philippines, Malaysia, and India. Six years later, Murty started Pepperfry in June 2011 along with Ashish Shah.
Pepperfry competes with Home Centre, Urban Ladder, Furlenco, Wakefit and others. The Mumbai-based startup raised its first round of capital in December 2011 from Norwest Venture Partners - a USD 5 million check. It went on to raise USD 244 million in investment. It raised its last round in November 2021, when General Electric, Mukesh Sharma Family Trust and others infused USD 10 million in the company.
"Om shanti. Heartbroken and stunned to learn about Ambareesh Murty's untimely departure due to a cardiac arrest. May his soul find eternal peace. An extraordinary entrepreneur and a true inspiration to countless... may his legacy with Pepperfry endure #RIP," CEO and founder of NirogStreet, Ram N Kumar posted.
Managing Partner at Climatora, Debadutta Upadhyaya expressed her shock, offering her prayers and thoughts to the Pepperfry team. "Travel well Ambareesh," she wrote on X.
Murty was an avid biker and also loved hiking.
Managing Director for Spotify India Amarjit Batra expressed his grief, saying he had lost "a great friend and an amazing leader".
"Really sad and shocked to hear this tragic news. May his soul rest in peace. Heartfelt and deepest condolences to his family and the Pepperfry team," he posted.
Founder of Droom Sandeep Aggarwal shared he knew Murty from the time he was exiting eBay.
"So shocked and sad to hear about this. Knew him from the time he was exiting eBay. Amazing human being, very learned and great soul. Our prayers for his family and Pepperfry family. Om shanti!!," he posted.
Since its inception, Pepperfry has built a market leadership as the largest furniture marketplace by offering great value, a large variety of curated merchandise with over 1 lakh items from over 10,000 merchants.
Extremely devastated to inform that my friend, mentor, brother, soulmate @AmbareeshMurty is no more. Lost him yesterday night to a cardiac arrest at Leh. Please pray for him and for strength to his family and near ones. 🙏
— Ashish Shah (@TweetShah) August 8, 2023
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UDF leaders see local body poll trends as pointer to 2026 Assembly elections in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Buoyed by the strong performance of the Congress-led UDF in the local body polls, KPCC president Sunny Joseph said on Saturday that the front's results indicated the people had rejected the LDF government.
According to early trends, the UDF was leading in more grama panchayats, block panchayats, municipalities and corporations than the LDF.
The local body polls were held in two phases in the state earlier this week.
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Speaking to reporters here, Joseph said the people of Kerala had extended their support to the UDF.
"We could expose the LDF government’s anti-people stance and the people understood it. The LDF’s fake propaganda was rejected by the people. The UDF is moving towards a historic victory," he said.
He said a united effort, proper preparations, good candidate selection and hard work had resulted in the Congress and the UDF’s victory in the elections.
Asked about the prospects in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, Joseph said the party was studying the matter and would comment later.
LDF convenor T P Ramakrishnan said the results would be closely examined.
According to him, the government had done everything possible for the people.
"Why such a verdict happened will be examined at the micro level. People’s opinion will be considered and further steps will be taken," he said.
He added that decisions would be taken after analysing the results. "If any corrective measures are required, we will initiate them and move forward," he said.
AICC leader K C Venugopal said the results showed that people had begun ousting those who, he alleged, were responsible for the loss of gold at Lord Ayyappa’s temple.
"This trend will continue in the Assembly elections as well. It is an indication that the people are ready to bring down the LDF government," he said.
Venugopal said the UDF had registered victories even in CPI(M) and LDF strongholds.
"I congratulate all UDF workers for their hard work. Congress workers and leaders worked unitedly," he said.
Referring to remarks made by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan against the Congress on polling day, Venugopal said the voters had responded through the verdict.
"I do not know whether the chief minister understands that the people are against him. Otherwise, he does not know the sentiment of the people. The state government cannot move an inch further," he said.
He said the results indicated a strong comeback for the UDF in Kerala.
Asked whether the Sabarimala gold loss issue had affected the LDF in the local polls, Venugopal said the CM and the CPI(M) state secretary did not take the issue seriously.
"We took a strong stand on the matter. The BJP played a foul game in it," he alleged.
On the BJP's role in the local body elections, Venugopal alleged that the party operated with the CPI(M) 's tacit support.
"The CPI(M) supported the central government on issues such as PM-SHRI, labour codes and corruption in national highway construction. The CPI(M) is facing ideological decline, and the state government’s policies are against the party’s own decisions," he said.
Meanwhile, LDF ally Kerala Congress (M) leader Jose K Mani said the party could not win all the wards it had expected in the elections.
He congratulated winners from all parties and said the party would closely examine the losses and identify shortcomings. "Later, we will take corrective measures," he added.
Senior Congress leader and MP Rajmohan Unnithan said the trends in the local body elections indicated that the UDF would return to power in the 2026 Assembly elections.
"We will win 111 seats as in 1977 and return to power in 2026. The anti-government sentiment of the people is reflected in the elections," he said.
Unnithan said the people were disturbed and unhappy with the present government.
"The trend indicates the end of the LDF government," he added.
CPI(M) MLA M M Mani said the people had shown ingratitude towards the LDF despite benefiting from welfare schemes.
"After receiving all welfare schemes and living comfortably, people voted against us due to some temporary sentiments. Is that not ingratitude," he asked.
Mani said no such welfare initiatives had taken place in Kerala earlier.
"People are receiving pensions and have enough to eat. Even after getting all this, they voted against us. This is what can be called ingratitude," he said.
Muslim League state president Panakkad Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal said the results were beyond expectations.
"The outcome points towards the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram, indicating that a change of government is imminent. We are going to win the Assembly election," he said.
