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‘Nobody listened to me’: Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal recalls childhood bullying over skin tone and the ‘biggest hurt’ before his success

Drawing a comparison with today's generation, Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal highlighted that millennials knew very little about themselves for a long time.

3 min readNew DelhiJan 4, 2026 11:54 AM IST

Deepinder Goyal that his introverted nature had proved to be lucky for him

Deepinder Goyal added that his introverted nature had proved to be lucky for him

Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal reflected on his own early-life struggles and experiences with discrimination. Speaking on Raj Shamani’s podcast, Figuring Out, Goyal opened up about being bullied during his childhood because of his skin colour.

He recalled that some of his friends’ parents discouraged their children from talking to him, leaving a lasting impact on his formative years. “I was 12 years old. I used to be a very short, dark, stammering kid. I used to be bad at my studies as well,” he said, adding, “My friend’s parents used to tell them, ‘don’t be friends with him’.”

Goyal further revealed that one thing that bothered him during his childhood. “No one listened to me whenever I wanted to say something. Mid-sentence, people would start talking about something else, look away, and stop listening,” he said. “This was the biggest hurt,” Goyal emphasised.

When asked if stammering still bothers him, Goyal admitted, “It makes me nervous, like this (podcast) also. It is not easy and comfortable for me to do this. That’s why I do less of this. But now I care less. I am like I’ll be stuck, but somehow the right word will come out of my mouth,” he said, emphasising that stammering was not a challenge for him anymore and that he had “made his peace with it”.

“Even if I stammer, people will now listen to me,” the Zomato CEO noted.

Also Read | Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal backs gig economy, says it forces consumers to confront inequality: ‘Visibility is the price of progress’

Drawing a comparison with today’s generation, Goyal highlighted that millennials knew very little about themselves for a long time. “When we were in our 20s, teens, nothing. Zero. There was no awareness,” he said.

Goyal added that his introverted nature had proved to be lucky for him. “Like Zomato is built on trust. I have a rapport with my customers,” he said, emphasising how he could be easily vulnerable around his people and that this had helped him build genuine connections.

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Meanwhile, Zomato’s Blinkit and other 10-minute delivery platforms are receiving backlash over the poor working conditions faced by gig workers.