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Raw and Real: Tarun Mehta on his IIT Madras days, NOT doing MBA & founding Ather Energy | BP2B S2E18

When we think of successful entrepreneurs or founders, we think of people who are restless, impatient and just waiting to build something. We think of people who spend every minute working and believe in the results of hard work and effort. Ever heard of a founder who said he believed in doing the bare minimum? Tarun Mehta has been frequently mentioned across many episodes of the Best Place to Build Podcast and our host Amrut owns an Ather EV himself and is a vocal supporter of Ather Energy. In today’s episode of the Best Place to Build Podcast, Amrut and Tarun sit down for a chat between friends at the Ather Energy office. Watch today’s episode to find out why playing computer games is a good way to learn strategy, what doing the bare minimum actually means, what it takes to build a company with zero attrition, how attending international conferences can lead to pivotal insights about careers and what makes Tarun and his co-founder such a good team. In today’s episode, Tarun talks about: ⚡ Why he chose IIT Madras ⚡ How Ather Energy was born ⚡ What it really takes to build an EV startup ⚡ A Flipkart Easter egg Chapters: [00:01:46] From Gaming Guy to IITM [00:07:57] Moving to Chennai [00:12:32] Stanford Trip and the idea of Entrepreneurship [00:17:52] The beginning of Ather Energy [00:22:33] Final Year Placements and Dream Job [00:28:29] Engineering Jobs and first EV [00:34:39] Building the first battery swap vehicle [00:40:59] Pivoting from battery swap to EV [00:45:00] The research and tech DNA in Ather [00:48:46] The story of the Chennai Store [00:52:48] Challenges of building the EV Supply Chain [00:55:21] Losing the market to competition and Regaining it [01:00:58] Ather IPO and the Sachin Bansal story [01:07:16] Meeting his Co-Founder and their dynamic [01:09:15] The mark of a good builder and closing thoughts #AtherEnergy #EV #ElectricScooter #CFI #E-CellIITM #Ather #BestPlacetoBuild #IITMadras

Tarun Mehtaguest
Jan 15, 20261h 13mWatch on YouTube ↗

At a glance

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Tarun Mehta’s IIT journey, Ather’s pivots, and builder mindset lessons

  1. Tarun describes a non-stereotypical IIT pathway—heavy on games, comics, and minimalism—yet driven by curiosity and building when boredom created mental space.
  2. A one-week Stanford exposure rewired his understanding of entrepreneurship from resume-building to creating value without institutional permission or “structure.”
  3. Ather began as a deep, long-term obsession (first Stirling engines, then energy), later crystallizing into EVs through hands-on battery work, customer interviews, and weekend prototyping at IITM labs.
  4. The company’s most important early strategic pivot was dropping consumer battery swapping after real engineering/use-case validation, while keeping the core “build a great electric scooter” thesis intact.
  5. Ather’s durability came from conviction-led decision-making, vertical building (hardware, software, tooling, standards), community-driven feedback loops, and a rescue investment led by Sachin Bansal during a near-failed fundraise.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Boredom and constraint can be powerful idea generators.

Tarun argues the most compelling ideas emerge either from desperation or from having enough unstructured time to get genuinely bored—then choosing one thing to pursue deeply.

A short, high-signal exposure can permanently reset your ambition ceiling.

Stanford worked as a “vacuum-filler,” showing him students can start companies and create value without needing a big organization, title, or permission.

Conviction comes from depth, not hype.

Ather’s decisions felt “obvious” internally because the founders spent disproportionate time reading, analyzing Tesla’s architectural choices, and stress-testing economics and feasibility before committing.

Talk to users before you’re ‘ready’—even before you have a product.

They found EV customers via online reviews/comments, emailed them, met them for hours, and paired that with real usage (buying a cheap EV scooter) to ground product direction.

Limit your downside to make bold moves easier.

Tarun quit because he felt he had no “golden handcuffs”; the real risk was only losing a small amount of savings, which reduced decision paralysis.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

You don’t need a company behind you to create value.

— Tarun Mehta

Genuinely good ideas… come when you are either desperate… or you are completely bored.

— Tarun Mehta

I had no golden handcuffs… my downside is so limited.

— Tarun Mehta

If it does not exist, just build it. Done.

— Tarun Mehta

All the thoughts that you think you have… they’re actually Paul Graham’s essays.

— Tarun Mehta

Growing up gaming/comics; “bare minimum” academicsChoosing IIT Madras Engineering Design; adapting to ChennaiCTides/E-Cell as resume culture vs real entrepreneurshipStanford trip as entrepreneurship awakeningStirling engine exploration and early patentsEarly jobs, free time, and deep research habitsBattery swapping origins and 2015 pivot awayCustomer research: meeting EV owners via online reviewsBuilding everything in-house: software-first scooter DNACommunity building: open houses, forum, Chennai launch storyCompetition forcing clarity and software feature accelerationFundraising lows; Sachin Bansal round leadership storyCo-founder dynamics with SwapnilTwo types of builders; startup-fit implicationsFounder traits translating to parenting: patience, humility, optimism

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