A Bengaluru-based startup founder has shared how working as a Zomato delivery partner helped him pay for college, stay financially self-reliant and eventually build his own company, an experience that has shaped his public defence of Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal amid criticism of gig work and rapid delivery models.
In a LinkedIn post, Suraj Biswas, founder and CEO of deep-tech firm Assessli, said he “stands with Zomato” and “stands with Deepinder”, stressing that his views come from first-hand experience inside the gig economy, not from the outside.
Biswas said that in 2020–21, before college life fully began and well before Assessli took shape, he worked as a Zomato delivery partner in Bengaluru. Reflecting on that period, he described it as “not a story for sympathy,” but one of “independence, dignity, and opportunity”.
According to Biswas, delivery work allowed him to pay his education expenses, support early members of his startup team and remain financially independent. Today, he runs Assessli, a deep-tech company that employs over 40 people across offices in Bengaluru and Kolkata.
He said his monthly earnings as a delivery partner were around Rs 40,000, and that he personally knew riders who earned between Rs 80,000 and Rs 90,000. What stood out to him, he wrote, was the absence of traditional barriers. “No degree checks. No background privilege. Just effort + tech + execution.”
Biswas also spoke about the risks involved in the job, recalling incidents of “food snatching and life-threatening moments” during deliveries. He said Zomato’s medical insurance and emergency support proved crucial during difficult situations.
“When things went wrong, Zomato coordinated with police and supported me,” he wrote, adding that this exposure to large-scale systems and technology influenced his own journey as a tech founder. “That’s when I truly understood the power of well-built tech + systems.”
Weighing in on debates around 10-minute delivery timelines and gig worker conditions, Biswas argued that delivery work is voluntary and flexible by design. “This was independent gig work, not forced labour,” he wrote, noting that many riders choose to work across multiple platforms at the same time.
He also questioned whether a fixed-salary, exclusive employment model would work in reality. “Loyalty in gig work is flexibility-driven, not contract-driven,” he said, asking how many delivery partners would actually stay if platforms imposed full-time exclusivity.
Biswas criticised calls for bans, arguing they do little to tackle unemployment. “What actually solves unemployment?” he asked. “Not bans. Not outrage. Not unrealistic expectations.” Instead, he called for more technology-led platforms that can offer income opportunities without demanding formal education or credentials.
In his post, he credited Zomato with enabling economic mobility at scale. “Zomato didn’t just deliver food. It delivered economic mobility at scale,” he wrote, adding that the platform helped students earn, migrants survive in cities and millions work on their own terms.
He ended with a clear message: “So yes, unapologetically, I stand with Zomato. I stand with Deepinder. And I stand for systems that create opportunity, not entitlement. If you’ve lived this life, you’ll understand. If you haven’t, maybe listen to those who have.”
The post sparked wide discussion online, drawing both support and criticism. In a follow-up comment, Biswas broke down what he described as the basic economics of the gig system. He noted that Zomato had around 1.7 lakh delivery partners in 2020–21, compared to roughly 7.5–8 lakh active partners across Zomato and Blinkit today, a four to fivefold rise in supply.
Demand, however, has not grown at the same pace. While total orders increased from about 647 million in FY23 to an estimated 850 million in FY25, that represents roughly 30–35 per cent growth. “If supply grows 400–500% but demand grows only 30%, orders per delivery partner must fall,” he wrote, arguing that lower average earnings today reflect a supply–demand imbalance rather than a failure of the platform itself.
Other individuals also provided their views on the post. A user wrote, “Thanks, I came across this real life story of perseverance and grit in the beginning of the new year.”
Another user commented, “This is where lived experience matters more than armchair opinions. What Suraj Biswas shared cuts through the noise because it’s not theory — it’s ground truth. Gig work, for many, isn’t exploitation by default. It’s often the first real access to income, dignity, and independence.”
Curated by James Chen
