What began as a 14-year journey of exploration, false starts, and uncomfortable pivots culminated in a pivotal moment for Saahil Goel and his company: rebranding as Shiprocket. This change wasn't merely cosmetic; it signified the organization's collective realization of its true purpose and direction within India's e-commerce landscape. Saahil Goel shared this transformative experience with Abhishek Singh, Deputy Editor of LiveMint, during the popular 'Rollin' with the Boss' series, highlighting how the company finally aligned on a shared belief after years of arduous learning.

Goel's entrepreneurial spirit was kindled early, stemming from his Punjabi Bagh childhood and a deep fascination with technology. His mother, an early adopter of FoxBase, introduced him to computers in the eighth standard. By ninth standard, he was self-taught in HTML during the late 1990s, when the internet was still largely unstructured. He quickly became the 'computer guy' at school, eventually building and monetizing a jokes website with a friend in Class 11, which earned them a significant $1,000 a month and 100,000 visitors, proving the internet's tangible potential.

After college, Goel met Gautam Kapoor, who would become his co-founder. Their partnership thrived on complementary strengths: Goel's product and technology acumen combined with Kapoor's resourcefulness and operational sharpness. Despite working in tech after his MBA and MS in the US, Goel felt a clear pull towards building his own venture. Initial discussions with Kapoor around 2009 for a business in India were premature, as Indian e-commerce was still nascent, underscoring Goel's belief that 'timing is extremely important'.

The catalyst for Goel's return to India in January 2012 was the glaring absence of a Shopify-like solution for Indian businesses. He convinced his wife to move back, framing it as a limited-risk venture. Kapoor had already secured a small office – Goel's father's unused shop in Jasola, rented for ₹5,000 a month. Pooling ₹10 lakh each, they launched CartRocket, a store builder. While it attracted around 1,000 merchants, Goel soon realized that the business struggled with scale, failing to meet their larger ambitions.

Their early thesis, inspired by Shopify to simplify enterprise software, proved ill-suited for India. Goel observed, "India is not website first," as by 2014-15, commerce was largely shifting to social media. Integrating payments and shipping was difficult; logistics companies were skeptical, and cash on delivery was viewed as impractical. The company faced repeated pivots as it ran low on funds. A subsequent venture, Craftly, a marketplace for long-tail sellers, revealed the core problem: unreliable logistics for small sellers, inconsistent pickups, delays, high returns, and thin margins due to cash on delivery. Shipping, Goel understood, was not an afterthought; it was the entire customer experience.

By 2016-17, the problem statement crystallised: shipping needed to be treated as a fundamental layer of e-commerce, akin to payments. Inspired by payment gateways, they envisioned a single platform connecting multiple logistics providers, accessible to small businesses, and abstracting operational complexity. Goel emphasized, "If you take away delivery, the customer will not buy." This realization spurred the company's most decisive pivot and its rebranding to Shiprocket, a move that finally brought the entire organization into alignment.

Shiprocket's unwavering vision is to empower MSMEs in India to go digital, recognizing India's fragmented retail market where MSMEs are the largest employers, and marketplaces alone cannot serve the entire economy. Their approach is to equip individual merchants, whether selling via websites, WhatsApp, or Instagram, by providing a unified platform for payments, fraud checks, shipping, and cash collection. The model is outcome-based: the software is free, and Shiprocket earns when its merchants earn, effectively 'building infrastructure for India'.

Today, Shiprocket supports approximately 200,000 paying businesses, processing an annual Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of ₹25,000–30,000 crore. It accounts for roughly 4.5–5% of India's total e-commerce and 20–25% of direct commerce, with over half of its deliveries reaching tier-2 cities. Cumulatively, Shiprocket has delivered to about 140 million consumers, representing 55% of India's shopping population. With an average order value of ₹1,500, the platform is witnessing a new wave of online shoppers, particularly from smaller towns, fulfilling a long-held ambition.

Beyond the company's growth, Goel offered personal insights. He reflected on how parenting has made him a more patient and perspective-driven manager, and deeply credited his wife, Neha, for her invaluable support in managing their home. Music, a lifelong passion, remains his anchor; a former band member and Metallica fan, he now jams with his daughter. Rejecting the concept of work-life balance, Goel champions 'integration,' advocating for seamless blending of personal and professional responsibilities, believing ownership extends equally to work and family.

Shiprocket has filed its DRHP, signaling its plans for an IPO, though Goel maintains a focus on the long-term. His commitment is unwavering: "We’re not in this for five years to sell out. We’re in it forever." The 14-year journey from a Punjabi Bagh childhood to becoming a critical logistics infrastructure provider for India exemplifies a story of persistence, learning from missteps, and staying dedicated long enough to build a lasting impact.