A Walmart sunrise
In 2007, a Hyderabad-based software freelancer ordered the book Leaving Microsoft to Change the World after seeing a link posted by Flipkart founder Sachin Bansal on the former's technology blog. For a fledgling e-commerce portal that positioned itself as a supplier of books, the challenge was to find the book first since the distributor said it was out of stock. Sachin, along with co-founder Binny Bansal, rummaged through warehouses and bookstores to finally trace a copy to Sapna Book House in Bengaluru. When they asked the Hyderabad techie if he still needed the book as its delivery was delayed, the person replied, "I have waited two years for the book. I can wait for two more days." Those were the days when customers who placed orders online barely believed the product would arrive in time and in good shape. But Flipkart had a different philosophy. "We went to extremes to ensure customers got products on time. Every single order used to teach us so much," Sachin had told india today in an earlier interview.
Cut to May 9, 2018. After months of negotiations, Flipkart, which the Bansals launched with a Rs 4 lakh investment, was bought by the $500 billion US retail
