Urban Company: UrbanClap To Rs. 1,900 Crore IPO, Three Strugglers Who Built A Rs 25,000 Cr Unicorn

Urban Company's Rs. 1,900 crore IPO has shaken the Indian startup sector as it was subscribed over 103 times overall. The share allotment was finalised on September 15, 2025, and was priced between Rs. 93 and Rs. 103 per share, which speaks volumes about investors' trust in the company. After a long wait, BSE and NSE featured Urban Company's listing on September 17, 2025, with shares debuting at Rs. 161 on BSE and Rs. 162.25 on NSE. The substantial increase of nearly 57 to 58 per cent over the issue price has been dominating headlines across various media platforms.

Urban Company's Rs. 1,900 crore IPO debuts at Rs. 162 on NSE and BSE: 103x subscribed and GMP Rs. 50-53

Not only this, the Grey Market Premium (GMP) stood at around Rs. 50 to Rs. 53, which has pointed towards the possibility of the listing price falling somewhere between Rs. 155 and Rs. 156. QIB, Retail, and NII investors have been actively checking their IPO allotment status, while market researchers have already labelled it as one of 2025's most subscribed IPOs. For the uninitiated, Urban Company's IPO comprises a fresh issue of 4.58 crore shares worth an estimated sum of Rs. 472.24 crore.

Additionally, an offer for sale of 13.86 crore shares, valued at Rs. 1,428 crore, by existing investors is on the table. Urban Company has clearly mentioned in its Rs. 1,900 crore IPO guidelines that retail investors are required to apply for a minimum of 145 shares at Rs. 14,935. While Kotak Mahindra Capital has been serving as the book-running lead manager, MUFG Intime India Pvt. Ltd. managed the registrar work. It is a huge moment for Urban Company's co-founders, Abhiraj Singh Bhal (CEO), Varun Khaitan (COO), and Raghav Chandra (CTPO), who are definitely on cloud nine at the moment.

Urban Company's success story: Meet the three startup failures who transformed UrbanClap into a unicorn in just six years

Urban Company is one of India's most famous and reliable online services marketplace for home and beauty categories. Some of Urban Company's most recognised services include pest control, plumbing, appliance servicing and repair, carpentry, skincare, hair grooming, massage therapy, and painting.

Currently, Urban Company has over 48,000 active service professionals, serving more than 13 million customers across four countries and 59 cities. The unicorn was founded in October 2014 by three young individuals, Abhiraj Singh Bahl, Varun Khaitan, and Raghav Chandra. The trio chose the name "UrbanClap" for their startup, which they rebranded as Urban Company in 2020, to facilitate international expansion.

How did "three failures", two engineers from IIT Kanpur and one University of California alumnus, build Urban Company worth around Rs. 25,000 crore?

Abhiraj Singh Bahl, Varun Khaitan, and Raghav Chandra founded Urban Company in 2014; however, all three had previously failed in their respective startups. Abhiraj Singh Bahl and Varun Khaitan studied together at IIT Kanpur in 2005 during their engineering studies. After completing their degrees, Varun went to work with Qualcomm in California, while Abhiraj pursued an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad. The IITians joined Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in 2011, and after some time, they founded a startup named Cinema Box. It was a movie streaming platform that failed miserably.

Meanwhile, Raghav Chandra, who had completed a degree in computer science and engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, was also working on his startup named Buggy. It was a cab service platform that failed to make an impact in the market and subsequently shut down due to its significant shortcomings. Abhiraj and Varun were seeking a tech co-founder for their next startup, and it was when one of their mutual friends introduced them to Raghav. The three aspiring entrepreneurs who had failed miserably in their startups united to found UrbanClap in Gurgaon in 2014, and the rest is history.

In April 2015, Abhiraj Singh Bahl, Varun Khaitan, and Raghav Chandra secured Rs. 12 crore in seed funding and acquired HandyHome, a home appliance repair company, in January 2016. The trio created a buzz in the startup sector when they raised Series D funding of Rs. 375 crores in November 2018. Finally, after six years of hard work and determination, Abhiraj, Varun and Raghav's Urban Company achieved the "Unicorn" status in April 2021 with a valuation of Rs. 7,500 crore.

In December 2021, UC's valuation rose to Rs. 21,000 crore, and by September 2025, it had reached the mammoth figure of Rs. 25,000 crore. Amidst their journey to become a unicorn, Urban Company reported losses of Rs. 312 crore in FY 2022-23 and Rs. 93 crore in FY 2023-24. Despite such huge losses, the trio's strategic plans helped the company emerge from these troubled situations. Abhiraj, Varun, and Raghav continue to build on the company's success, striving to add more zeros to its valuation.

What are your thoughts on Urban Company's success story, featuring three aspiring entrepreneurs who failed miserably but came together and built one of India's biggest unicorns?

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