More about Rakesh Sidana
CEO, Managing Director at Garage Software | Founder MeriCAR - India's First Car Garages Platform
An entrepreneur, mentor, and author. He is the Founder of GARAGE SOFTWARE - a DPIIT-recognized innovative startup. It is B2B Venture to empower small multi-brands garages and repair centers and he is supporting the digitization of garages and empowering mechanics with Technologies.
He is also the founder of MeriCAR which is India's first aggregator digital platform for 5000 car garages in India that was launched in 2008.
He is an industry veteran with over 25 years of experience who innovated and created new markets in Automotive Aftermarket to inspire many startups into the same category. His innovative business model was awarded by Government and IIMA.
He visited the management Institution at convocation as a Guest of Honour and Speaker. He is a mentor for IIM students. His first career company was IndiaMart in the web technology development division.
He has built startup communities and platforms. He is a startup mentor at NASSCOM.
His strengths are building a disruptive business from "scratch to scale" and creating a large value with great $ business out of it. He is the best teacher, so, building a new team is easy for him. He still writes codes. He understands and builds technologies with a business mindset.
An entrepreneur, mentor, and author. He is the Founder of GARAGE SOFTWARE - a DPIIT-recognized innovative startup. It is B2B Venture to empower small multi-brands garages and repair centers and he is supporting the digitization of garages and empowering mechanics with Technologies.
He is also the founder of MeriCAR which is India's first aggregator digital platform for 5000 car garages in India that was launched in 2008.
He is an industry veteran with over 25 years of experience who innovated and created new markets in Automotive Aftermarket to inspire many startups into the same category. His innovative business model was awarded by Government and IIMA.
He visited the management Institution at convocation as a Guest of Honour and Speaker. He is a mentor for IIM students. His first career company was IndiaMart in the web technology development division.
He has built startup communities and platforms. He is a startup mentor at NASSCOM.
His strengths are building a disruptive business from "scratch to scale" and creating a large value with great $ business out of it. He is the best teacher, so, building a new team is easy for him. He still writes codes. He understands and builds technologies with a business mindset.
Signing up on our website is completely free! If you encounter any issues with profile or notice something unusual, please don't hesitate to report it to us. We're here to help ensure a smooth and secure experience.
Featured speaker at previous eChai events:
Founders and startup folks who joined past eChai startup events
The eChai Effect - In Their Words
"eChai has played a truly pivotal role in HummingBird’s journey — even before Day Zero. From ideation to establishment and into growth, it’s been a constant source of support. It connected me with incredible people who’ve become more than just friends. One of the biggest reasons I chose to stay in Ahmedabad is because of the eChai community. It has shaped my growth — both personally and professionally — in ways that are hard to articulate. Honestly, words fall short when I try to express what eChai means to me. I’m deeply thankful and forever grateful to eChai for being such an integral part of my journey."
Harsha Bhurani
CEO, Hummingbird, An eChai Company
"The eChai platform has been super valuable for me - it has helped me gain a deeper understanding of domains in the startup and tech ecosystem. What stands out most is the celebration of knowledge, professional growth, and entrepreneurship - it’s one of the best for the Indian ecosystem. Along the way, I’ve also been fortunate to make some great friendships and connections too."
Shalin (Shawn) Parikh
Founder, MyCPE One
“You don’t plan to build a company via eChai. You just keep showing up … and one day, you realize you did.” I’ve known Jatin since 2012, when I was still deciding what kind of second innings I wanted to play as an entrepreneur. Over the years, through events, chai breaks, intros, and seemingly small conversations, eChai helped shape not just Upsquare but also refined the lens through which we see collaboration. At Upsquare, we’ve hired talent, met partners, discovered co-investors, and built lifelong friendships. One of our joint ventures exists today only because a casual eChai memory sparked a deeper trust. Now, as we build House of Starts — our venture builder — eChai continues to fuel our mission: co-creating a shared future. eChai isn’t just a startup network. It’s a trust network. And for business builders like me, that makes all the difference."
Utpal Vaishnav
Founder @ Polynxt (EightQor Capital, Upsquare, House of Starts) • Architect & Capital Allocator
eChai Partner Brands
eChai Ventures partners with select brands as their growth partner - working together to explore new ideas, open doors, and build momentum across the startup ecosystem.
