From serial entrepreneurship to making $500mn furniture company: A look at the extraordinary life of late Pepperfry CEO Ambareesh Murty

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Entrepreneur. Daredevil traveller with a penchant for danger and thrill. Skilled biker. He wore many hats, successfully in his lifetime. The sudden death of Ambareesh Vedantam Murty, the CEO and co-founder of virtual furniture company Pepperfry has left shockwaves throughout the corporate world. The 51-year-old businessman, who was on a tour in Leh, was seen in high spirits, chatting about the beautiful roads of Ladakh in an Instagram video titled, ‘Motorcycle Diaries’, describing the roads as the perfect spot where “angels could party.” Hours after the video was posted, the news of his death was shared by Ashish Shah the co-founder of Pepperfry. “Extremely devastated to inform that my friend, mentor, brother, and soulmate @AmbareeshMurty is no more. Lost him yesterday night to a cardiac arrest at Leh,” wrote the entrepreneur.

An alumnus of the prestigious Delhi College Of Engineering and IIM Calcutta, Murty’s first brush with entrepreneurship began during his graduation days. He tutored high school students in physics and maths in the 1990s when he realised that a good amount of money can be made in connecting students to good tutors. He set up a small business venture called Tutors Bureau that ran for two years. While running this business he prepared for his CAT exam.

After graduating from IIM, he began his career as a sales trainee at Cadbury in 1996. Within a decade, he rose to the position of brand manager. He masterminded the Cadbury ‘Temptations’ one of the most successful products of the company. This was followed by a stint with Prudential ICICI AMC as VP of Marketing and Customer Service, as well as a role as a brand leader at fashion giant Levi