VG Siddhartha Death: Consumers And Business Leaders Anand Mahindra, Kiran Shaw, Harsh Mariwala Express Grief
In memory of VG Siddhartha - Peers and consumers pay tribute.
The death by suicide of noted businessman VG Siddhartha, founder of India’s largest coffee retail chain Cafe Coffee Day, was received with shock, dismay and grief across India’s business community. Anand Mahindra, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Mohandas Pai and several others commented on the circumstances surrounding his death, the alleged tax harassment, the terms of private equity investments and also on business failure.
In what seems like the last letter he wrote before his death Siddhartha said he couldn’t handle the pressure from lenders, a private equity investor seeking an exit and an aggressive tax department move to seize his shares. He also blamed himself for failing to “create the right profitable business model”.
Businessmen and ordinary folk reacted on social media by drawing attention to the challenges entrepreneurs face in India and why failures should not be demonised.
VG Siddhartha: Trapped By Debt
Siddhartha, the son-in-law of former Karnataka Chief Minister SM Krishna could not escape politics even in death. Both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party bickered on social media regarding the circumstances around his death.
Cafe Coffee Day outlets across the country downed shutters to mark the loss of their founder.
And many loyal customers took to social media to express their support and recount stories of how Cafe Coffee Day was an integral part of their social lives, and sometimes even work.