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New Delhi, Feb 27 () Jason Kothari, who has the distinction of transforming several distressed Indian Internet firms, shares the turnaround story of his journey from a rebel, train-wreck kid to one of the top ten paid young executives in the country.As a college student at Wharton, Kothari scraped together money from family and friends to save his childhood favourite comic book company, Valiant Entertainment, from bankruptcy and bring it back to life. A few years later, he transformed Valiant into the third-largest superhero entertainment company in the world after Marvel and DC Comics and sold it for USD 100 million.Jason then became a professional turnaround leader and went on to transform distressed Indian Internet firms Housing.com, FreeCharge and Snapdeal, and advise giants like technology investor Softbank and real estate developer Emaar.In his book "Irrationally Passionate: My Turnaround from Rebel to Entrepreneur", Kothari share's his turnaround story and the many learnings from it with students and young entrepreneurs to help them in their journey.Published by Harper Business, the book tells how Kothari started as an assistant to Jackie Chan in Hong Kong, learned strategy from champion Muay Thai fighters in Thailand, tackled huge personal setbacks and became a CEO in 60 seconds, among many other stories.As the CEO of Housing.com, Kothari is credited with leading the transformation of the distressed company and a merger with News Corp's PropTiger to create the USD 350 million industry leader.Following this, he was the Chief Strategy &amp; Investment Officer of Snapdeal, where he played a lead role in transforming the distressed company from a monthly loss of over USD 20 million to a profit, the first for an Indian e-commerce company.He was also the CEO of FreeCharge, where he led the sale of the company to Axis Bank for USD 60 million.He says his book, releasing on March 11, is something all entrepreneurs are - "the risk and return profile of entrepreneurship never justifies becoming an entrepreneur".According to HarperCollins India publisher Krishan Chopra, "From a rebel teenager, to creating the third largest superhero entertainment company in the world, to his 'mission impossible' work in India's Internet space, the book tells you that you can create your own turnaround story at any stage in life."Kothari says his earliest brush with entrepreneurship was when he eight years old and he successfully negotiated with a vendor on the sun-baked streets of Agra on the way to the Taj Mahal with his parents.The vendor was charging Rs 500 for a chessboard but had to finally agree to Kothari's bargained price of Rs 30."Since that day in Agra I've been fortunate enough to negotiate dozens of deals totalling billions of dollars. But that first negotiation still holds a special place in my heart. It was the first of many steps along an entrepreneurial journey that transformed the trajectory of my life," he says.The key to success, according to him, is mastering the art of the turnaround."Not just in business but in life as well. With all due respect to my professors at Wharton, learning how to orchestrate a comeback can't be learned solely in a classroom studying business theory. And triggering a turnaround in one's personal life is even harder. But it can be done with the power of passion," he says. ZMN RBRB

Jason Kothari reveals mantra of turnaround success in book

<keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword>, India’s third leading e-commerce player, has appointed <keyword id="6504504" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Jason-Kothari">Jason Kothari</keyword> as the new <keyword id="4313866" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="CEO-of-FreeCharge">CEO of FreeCharge</keyword>, the digital payments platform owned by parent company <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/softbanks-latest-investment-in-jasper-infotech-might-bring-its-valuation-down-to-half/articleshow/57531896.cms">Jasper Infotech</a>. 
 
Kothari will be taking over from Govind Rajan, who had <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/freecharge-ceo-govind-rajan-resigns-reason-still-not-known/articleshow/57287766.cms">quit from his role</a> last month. 
 
Snapdeal also announced their plan to invest an additional $20 million in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/freecharge-integrates-with-indus-os-to-increase-30-user-base-in-the-next-6-months/articleshow/56499858.cms">FreeCharge</a>, to be used to advance accelerate innovations and growth. 
 
Also read: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/indian-govt-wants-to-go-cashless-but-it-is-attainable-within-deadline-find-out/articleshow/57079042.cms">Indian Govt wants to go cashless but it is attainable within deadline? Find out</a> 
 "As India moves towards a cashless and digital economy, we are certain that <keyword id="6377963" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Freecharge">FreeCharge</keyword> will play a pivotal role in the transition. We remain committed to the success and vision of FreeCharge. Jason is a strong, strategic and versatile business leader &amp; entrepreneur who has already been the CEO of two successful companies. We are delighted to announce his leadership role at FreeCharge," said Snapdeal CEO Kunal Bahl. 
 
Also read: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/small-business/companies/how-much-money-did-paytm-mobikwik-and-freecharge-make-from-demonetization/slideshow/55561878.cms">How much money did Paytm, Mobikwik, and Freecharge make from demonetization?</a> 
 
Kothari, who also serves as the chief strategy and investment officer at Snapdeal will continue with his earlier roles, along with being added to the board of directors of FreeCharge. 
 
"The digital payments space in India is forecasted to be over $ 1 trillion by 2025. I'm excited to join the talented team at FreeCharge at such a high-growth and dynamic time in the industry and expect FreeCharge to continue to play a key role in this digital payments revolution," Kothari said. 
 
In the past, Kothari served as the CEO of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Meet-the-personal-investor-who-just-invested-undisclosed-amount-in-Housing-com/articleshow/51680352.cms">Housing.com</a>, prior to which he was the CEO and VC of Valiant Entertainment, a character entertainment company. 
 
(Image source: 9AMstories)

Jason Kothari is the new CEO of FreeCharge

<keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword> CEO <keyword id="219793" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kunal-Bahl">Kunal Bahl</keyword> eased concerns among employees after <keyword id="6377963" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Freecharge">FreeCharge</keyword>’s sale deal to <keyword id="6355975" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Axis-Bank">Axis Bank</keyword>. Bahl wrote to his employees saying the sale would provide Snapdeal the necessary boost in resources to continue its e-commerce journey. Dismissing lay-off concerns, Bahl said Axis Bank intends to not just retain all Freecharge employees but also invest significantly in the team and brand. "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end. Building Freecharge has been a tremendously enriching experience for us. And now, it is time for us to focus our energy and passion on continuing the Snapdeal journey. They intend to retain entire team (and build on it), invest behind the brand and leverage the world class technology platform to the fullest," Bahl said. Snapdeal sold FreeCharge at 90% discount for Rs 385 crore. Snapdeal had bought FreeCharge for Rs 2,400 crore in 2015. In another mail, <keyword id="6504504" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jason-Kothari">Jason Kothari</keyword>, the current CEO of FreeCharge, sought to assure employees that the mobile wallet would continue to operate as a standalone business. "I'm thrilled to say, in the case of Axis Bank, FreeCharge will continue to operate as an entrepreneurially run standalone business, and the business will retain the 'FreeCharge' brand, technology and full team," he wrote.

This is what Kunal Bahl wrote to employees after FreeCharge’s sale to Axis Bank

<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=housing.com&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Housing.com</a> raised funds from former business head of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=99acres&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">99Acres.com</a> Vineet Singh, who will now work closely with the management team in a senior advisory role. 
 
The amount invested in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=softbank&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Softbank</a>-backed <keyword id="1960231" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Housing-com">Housing.com</keyword> was not disclosed. 
 Singh, who is presently co-founder of Buildczar.com, scripted growth of <keyword id="1336736" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="99acres">99Acres</keyword>.com and Naukri.com from startups to scaled companies. 
 
"On board as a personal investor, Vineet will also serve as a senior advisor to the company working closely with the management team. We believe that his association will further fuel the ambitious growth plans of Housing.com," said Housing.com CEO Jason Kothari. 
 In January, <keyword id="163404" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Softbank">SoftBank</keyword> had made a fresh investment of Rs 100 crore in Housing.com to help the realty portal consolidate its position in the heavily contested online property segment. 
 
Housing.com, which competes with the likes of Rupert Murdoch-backed PropTiger, Magicbricks and Commonfloor, had received USD 90 million funding in December 2014. 
 
(Image: Thinkstock)

Meet the man who just invested an undisclosed amount in Housing.com

Realty portal <keyword id="1960231" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Housing-com">Housing.com</keyword> has appointed <keyword id="3104511" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Mani-Rangarajan">Mani Rangarajan</keyword> as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to strengthen its senior management team. 
 
Mani has held executive level roles in companies such as Citigroup and Yahoo. He has also been involved with several start-ups in India in advisory roles, the SoftBank-backed portal said. 
 
"A Silicon Valley veteran with over 20 years of experience, Mani will be responsible for driving the company's financial strategy and planning while also playing a key role on the senior management team," a company statement said. 
 Housing.com, which was founded in 2012, has made some major appointments at senior level after its board on July 1 this year sacked co-founder and then CEO <keyword id="536283" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Rahul-Yadav">Rahul Yadav</keyword>. 
 
Rishabh Gupta was appointed interim CEO in July, while Jason Kothari was appointed as the Chief Business Officer in August to drive the company's growth in India. In September, Housing.com appointed Keerthi Kiran as Vice President, New Real Estate Projects. 
 
"As an ambitious company that's evolving and growing, Housing.com's endeavour is to continually strengthen its senior management team. Mani brings with him, a rich and varied global finance and operational experience, which I believe will add significant value to the company and help steer our future strategy," company's interim CEO and COO Rishabh Gupta said. 
 
Mani holds an MBA from the Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, a PGDM from IIM Kolkota and is also a Cost &amp; Works Accountant, Mumbai-based Housing.com said. 
 
"In the short time since its inception, the company has already achieved many milestones both in terms of scale as well as innovation," Rangarajan said on his appointment. 
 
With presence in 50 cities and employing about 2,500 people, Housing.com provides independently verified listings of homes. It has raised over USD 100 million from investors, including Softbank. 
 
Image credit: Indiatimes

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Jason Kothari reveals mantra of turnaround success in book

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Jason Kothari is the new CEO of FreeCharge

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This is what Kunal Bahl wrote to employees after FreeCharge’s sale to Axis Bank

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Meet the man who just invested an undisclosed amount in Housing.com

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Housing.com appoints Silicon Valley veteran Mani Rangarajan as CFO

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