Sidharth Rao: A digital maven who made creative entrepreneurship cool in India
Sidharth Rao, who co-founded one of India’s first and finest digital agencies Webchutney, passed away on Friday evening leaving behind an institution which celebrates and promotes creative entrepreneurship.
Sidharth Rao was many things – a pioneer who believed in the power of the internet and how it can be leveraged to solve problems of brands, a serial entrepreneur and the face of digital advertising in India. But more than that he was a serial investor not just in companies but in people. His legacy was creating and breeding young, resourceful and creative entrepreneurs even before being a startup founder was considered to be rewarding.
Rao, who co-founded one of India’s first and finest digital agencies Webchutney, passed away on Friday evening due to cardiac arrest leaving behind an institution which celebrates and promotes creative entrepreneurship. Rao founded digital agency Webchutney 23 years ago when taking a bet on the internet was being done by very few. He built the agency from the ground up and it was acquired by Dentsu in 2013.
While he was building Webchutney, Rao was also responsible for mentoring, supporting and nurturing several other entrepreneurs who were navigating the upcoming internet space in India.
He was “Sid” to many and “Chief” to young talent who thrived under him.
Rammohan Sundaram, president - integrated media at DDB Mudra Group recalled how Rao supported his entrepreneurial advertising startup called NetworkPlay in 2008 even when Webchutney was going through a rough patch.
“He had no money but committed to 65L for three months and office space but his trust in me was unflinching. He never said a word on how I operated and he never even showed that this was his last bet. The outcome was eventually favourable but what it shows is the unflinching trust he had on people and the bets he could take,” recalled Sundaram in a LinkedIn post.
Rao also had a way of making people feel safe and understood. Probably, that is the reason people in his network always stayed in touch and maintained long-term bonds.
Rajesh Barnwal, chief manager - ET B2B, TIL and founding editor, ETHRWorld considered Sidharth Rao as his “friend, philosopher and guide”. Barnwal is the founding editor of startup and internet industry focussed editorial platform called AlooTechie which was incubated by Webchutney in 2005.
In an extremely personal tribute Barnwal talked about qualities that Rao possessed which only his inner circle knew. He pointed out that above everything else Rao was a compassionate leader who invested his time in grooming people and helping them become a better version of themselves.
“He gave me a job when I needed it the most. He groomed me, cared for me, trusted me, guided me and transformed me (both physically and intellectually). During office parties, he pulled me to the dance floor; while on road, he pulled me aside while a vehicle was approaching nearby; he took me to a parlour, sat with me there, guided the staff on how to cut my hair, colour it, paid all the expenses; he took me for a new wardrobe shopping; he invited me to have dinner with him at his home and stay there overnight; he came to my home for a dinner with my family; he lent me money to take my family to a hill station, before I took up a new job,” he recalled.
Barnwal said that he has learnt two things from him - How to write and edit stories and treat teammates right, how to be kind & empathetic towards them, how to lead them, and how to help them grow.
“I believe the only way I can repay him is by being a friend, philosopher and guide for my teammates, the way he had been for me. I am trying and shall continue doing so! Sidharth, I miss you!,” he wrote in a LinkedIn post.
Rao was always curious and kept taking up new challenges. After building Webchutney in a formidable company which went on to win the biggest three Grand Prix awards at the Cannes Lions festival in 2022 for ‘The Unfiltered History Tour’, a campaign created by his team for media outlet VICE World News, Rao stepped down from his role as CEO of the dentsuMB Group last year to dabble with entrepreneurship once again.
He had co-founded Punt Partners with Madhu Sudhan, which will build on the growing mar-tech space in India.
In a conversation with Storyboard18 in January, Rao spoke about the untapped potential of the martech segment, hiring the right talent and his legacy. When asked about his legacy he said it was the people who have worked with him and then ventured out on their own to achieve entrepreneurial ambitions. Rao said he's proud of his people who have done well for themselves.
"Of course, PG (Aditya) and Gautam (Reghunath), who have gone ahead and started Talented and responsible for the spectacular run at Cannes in 2022. Talented, in less than a year, has made its mark with some great campaigns for clients. And there are a number of Webchutney alumni I’m very proud of all around the world, a few of them have turned entrepreneurs themselves," he said.
One of Rao’s favourite hangouts in Mumbai was Toto’s Garage in Bandra where he would love to catch-up with people. Nikhil Pahwa, digital rights activist, and founder of MediaNama, a mobile and digital news portal fondly remembers meeting Rao the last time in January, at Toto's.
“… cynical as always, Sid was happier than I've ever seen him,” he wrote on Twitter.
Pahwa thanked him for his candor and friendship.
“And thank you for the chats, your candor, and your friendship. The next time I'm in your area, I'll drop by at Toto's, and have an RC and Coke with Laju, in your memory. Gone too soon,” he wrote.
