In a surprising incident, Bengaluru-based billionaire Harsh Goenka reacted to a viral claim by an entrepreneur about an auto driver's earning between Rs 5 and Rs 8 lakh each month without even driving his vehicle. The post is now doing the rounds on social media.
The post was first shared by Rahul Rupani, the co-founder of VenueMonk, who claimed that the driver earned the money by offering to keep the luggage for those visiting the US Consulate in Mumbai.
Noticing the post on the internet, Goenka reacted to the same and called the hustle a 'pure Indian jugaad.'
According to the viral LinkedIn post shared by Rupani earlier, he stated that he was outside the US Consulate this week for his visa appointment when the security personnel informed him that he was not allowed to carry his bag inside.
Additionally, there were no lockers or suggestions. The guard just told them to 'figure it out.' While he was standing there clueless and on the footpath, he noticed an auto driver who waved at him and said, 'Sir, bag de do. Safe rakhunga, mera roz ka hai. ?1,000 charge hai.＊ (Sir, give me the bag; I will keep it safe, and I only charge Rs 1,000.) I hesitated. Then gave in. And that＊s when I discovered this guy＊s brilliant business," he added.
Noticing Rupani's post on LinkedIn, Goenka couldn't stop himself from reacting to the same; he called it a genius idea and wrote, ※A Mumbai rickshaw driver saw long visa queues at the US consulate〞the no-phone, no-bag rule〞and had a genius idea. He started charging ?1,000 to hold people＊s bags outside the US Consulate."
Goenka called it a pure 'Indian Jugaad.' He further noted that Ashok, the auto driver, earns Rs 8 lakh a month just by offering a 'bag-holding' service, and no app was involved in this, no MBA; it is just 'Pure Indian Jugaad.'
The entrepreneur also added a picture of the driver in the X (formerly called Twitter) post.
As soon as the post surfaced on X, it grabbed the attention of netizens and received a mixed bag of reactions. One said, "How come no competition for him yet? A vanity van offering lounge-kind of services along with baggage-holding service will be the next level."
"Real innovation doesn＊t always need funding or fancy tools. It needs awareness, courage, and execution. Ashok did all three," another added.
One said, "Most of the population of India earns with their time and not with their mind. Be like Ashok & earn with your mind."
"Ashok＊s genius jugaad !! Harsh ji After the post there may be heavy competition as the word spreads ?"