‘Support to young entrepreneurs’ : Indian start-up ecosystem mourns the loss of WebChutney CEO Sidharth Rao
The adtech entrepreneur passed away on April 21 following a cardiac arrest. He was the Founder and CEO of WebChutney which was acquired by Dentsu in 2013.
- Apr 24, 2023,
- Updated Apr 24, 2023 4:37 PM IST
The adtech ecosystem was in for a rude shock when the news of WebChutney’s CEO Sidharth Rao surfaced on the internet. The entrepreneur suffered a fatal cardiac arrest on April 21 at his home in Karjat. Rao is survived by his wife and parents.
Several acquaintances and friends of Rao expressed shock and highlighted his contribution to the industry. Yashraj Akashi, Senior Ambassador at TEDX program wrote, “Sid was a friend and an edge member. Lovely, curious & passionate human. Always gung-ho about new ideas and connecting people. He was quite a support to so many young creative minds and entrepreneurs. Rest in peace. Sad day. :(”
Rajan Navani, CEO of JetSynthesis wrote, “Deeply saddened to hear of the passing of my dear friend Siddharth Rao. I am still coming to terms with this news and will miss him dearly. His talent and creativity in the marketing space were truly unmatched. My heartfelt condolences to his loved ones during this difficult time. #RIP.” Akshay, Founder and CEO of a start-up called iWebTechno wrote, “RIP #siddharthrao of @webchutney your book #howIalmostblewit will be a guiding force for entrepreneurs in the years to come!”
Rao founded India’s one of the most prominent digital agencies, WebChutney in 1999 which was later acquired by Dentsu in 2013. In July 2021, Rao was chosen to serve as the global CEO of Dentsu McGarrybowen. The agency won awards for ‘The Unfiltered History Tour’ for Vice Media at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in 2022. Dentsu WebChutney also posted an ode for Rao on professional networking platform, LinkedIn, which read, “Just like all of you, we're still coming to terms with the sudden and unfortunate demise of Sidharth Rao. All of us who've been at Webchutney, knew him not just as our founder or our super boss. For us, he was exactly how he'd like to call himself - 'Daddy @ Webchutney.' He was the guy who always had the loudest cheer at award functions. The guy who ensured that we worked hard and partied even harder. The guy who would always be more excited than us on our ideas. The guy who, god knows how and why, always had more faith in us than we had in ourselves. The guy who never shied away from casually instilling confidence by saying, "Tu karlega/karlegi." The guy we all never knew would leave us so damn early. RIP Sid. The OG fauji.”
The adtech ecosystem was in for a rude shock when the news of WebChutney’s CEO Sidharth Rao surfaced on the internet. The entrepreneur suffered a fatal cardiac arrest on April 21 at his home in Karjat. Rao is survived by his wife and parents.
Several acquaintances and friends of Rao expressed shock and highlighted his contribution to the industry. Yashraj Akashi, Senior Ambassador at TEDX program wrote, “Sid was a friend and an edge member. Lovely, curious & passionate human. Always gung-ho about new ideas and connecting people. He was quite a support to so many young creative minds and entrepreneurs. Rest in peace. Sad day. :(”
Rajan Navani, CEO of JetSynthesis wrote, “Deeply saddened to hear of the passing of my dear friend Siddharth Rao. I am still coming to terms with this news and will miss him dearly. His talent and creativity in the marketing space were truly unmatched. My heartfelt condolences to his loved ones during this difficult time. #RIP.” Akshay, Founder and CEO of a start-up called iWebTechno wrote, “RIP #siddharthrao of @webchutney your book #howIalmostblewit will be a guiding force for entrepreneurs in the years to come!”
Rao founded India’s one of the most prominent digital agencies, WebChutney in 1999 which was later acquired by Dentsu in 2013. In July 2021, Rao was chosen to serve as the global CEO of Dentsu McGarrybowen. The agency won awards for ‘The Unfiltered History Tour’ for Vice Media at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in 2022. Dentsu WebChutney also posted an ode for Rao on professional networking platform, LinkedIn, which read, “Just like all of you, we're still coming to terms with the sudden and unfortunate demise of Sidharth Rao. All of us who've been at Webchutney, knew him not just as our founder or our super boss. For us, he was exactly how he'd like to call himself - 'Daddy @ Webchutney.' He was the guy who always had the loudest cheer at award functions. The guy who ensured that we worked hard and partied even harder. The guy who would always be more excited than us on our ideas. The guy who, god knows how and why, always had more faith in us than we had in ourselves. The guy who never shied away from casually instilling confidence by saying, "Tu karlega/karlegi." The guy we all never knew would leave us so damn early. RIP Sid. The OG fauji.”