In an industry where employee retention and morale are constant challenges, Deepak Ravindran, co-founder of AI-powered quick-commerce platform KiranaPro, has taken an unprecedented step—giving away 1% equity to each of his 42 employees as a personal birthday gift.
The announcement was made in the early hours of the morning via an internal Slack message, where Ravindran instructed senior management to allocate the shares. “Distribute 1% each to all our employees as a gift from my end,” he wrote, tagging the entire company.
This rare act of generosity has sparked conversation across India’s startup ecosystem, with many viewing it as a bold statement on inclusive ownership. At a time when layoffs and funding challenges dominate headlines, Ravindran’s move bucks the trend, prioritising shared success over traditional hierarchical ownership.
KiranaPro, co-founded by Deepak Ravindran and Dipankar Sarkar, operates in India’s highly competitive quick-commerce space. Unlike large-scale delivery giants, the company focuses on empowering local kirana stores with AI-driven technology, enabling them to offer 10-minute deliveries and flexible revenue models. Currently operational in seven cities, KiranaPro is positioning itself as a game-changer in the small retail ecosystem.
Adding a quirky twist to the announcement, Ravindran referenced the number 42—a nod to Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, where it is humorously described as “the answer to life, the universe, and everything.” Ravindran shared this announcement with the world through a LinkedIn post with a caption, “It’s my birthday. My gift to my employees at KiranaPro today 🎂.”
Whether other startups will take a similar approach remains to be seen, but Ravindran’s bold move has undoubtedly raised the bar for how founders can build deeper trust and loyalty with their teams in India’s fast-moving startup world.