Sanjeev Bikhchandani recalls his days in advertising amid 90-hour work-week controversy

Amid the ongoing controversy surrounding Larsen & Toubro (L&T) chairperson SN Subrahmanyan, sparked by his comments on employee work hours and a controversial remark about personal lives — "What do you do sitting at home? How long can you stare at your wife?" —Info Edge founder Sanjeev Bikhchandani has come forward with his own story.

In response to a Storyboard18 video featuring advertising industry icon Piyush Pandey, Bikhchandani recalled his early years in adland.

Bikhchandani, whose firm is the largest shareholder in Zomato, said, "I spent the first three years of my career in advertising. As a trainee executive in Client Servicing I was at the bottom of the food chain and was at the receiving end of all delays by every last person in the advertising creation value chain - copy, art and production."

He shared, "I had responsibility and accountability but no authority. It is a bad model when when that happens. There was no such thing as work life balance for client servicing in advertising - only work life integration. Not that I minded - I was working with people who had become my friends."

Speaking about Pandey's stance, he added, "It is refreshing to see people in advertising expressing concern about work life balance."

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) Bikhchandani also offered a defense of the L&T business leader. Bikhchandani, who founded the job portal Naukri, shared his perspective on Subrahmanyan following a meeting with him in November of last year. Recalling their encounter, Bikhchandani described Subrahmanyan as "humble, amiable, and affable," with the L&T chairperson displaying genuine curiosity about Bikhchandani’s journey in entrepreneurship and startup investments. The meeting, which lasted for an hour, was initiated by Subrahmanyan, who was keen to discuss matters of mutual interest. Bikhchandani, walking out of L&T's corporate office in New Delhi, said he was "impressed" by the experience.

Sharing a screenshot of the email invitation he received from Subrahmanyan’s office, Bikhchandani recounted the unexpected nature of the invitation. "A couple of months back I got this email out of the blue. I had never met Mr. Subrahmanyan, but it’s not every day that the CMD of a giant company like L&T calls you for a meeting," he said. "So I went. He spent an hour with me. There was no agenda except for his interest in learning about my story—about entrepreneurship, about investing in startups."

A couple of months back I got this email out of the blue. I had never met Mr. Subramanyan, however it is not everyday that the CMD of a giant company like L&T calls you for a meeting. So I went.

He spent an hour with me.

He was curious about my story. Entrepreneurship.… pic.twitter.com/60jNnnjZhU

— Sanjeev Bikhchandani (@sbikh) January 12, 2025

The conversation, according to Bikhchandani, also turned to L&T's financial position, with Bikhchandani advising Subrahmanyan on the potential benefits of deploying some of the company’s vast cash reserves into the Indian startup ecosystem. "India needs domestic venture capital," Bikhchandani explained. "A company with a balance sheet like L&T’s could take the lead." He also detailed the success Info Edge has seen with investments in companies like Zomato and PolicyBazaar.

As the meeting concluded, Bikhchandani was struck not just by Subrahmanyan's business acumen but by his personal warmth. "He was decent enough to walk me to my car," Bikhchandani noted, a gesture that left a lasting impression.