Varun Khaitan

Varun Khaitan is the co-founder, executive director and chief operating officer of Urban Company.

Journey

Khaitan studied engineering at IIT Kanpur and worked at Boston Consulting Group in the United States. He returned to India to start Cinema Box with Abhiraj Bhal, an entertainment service intended for travellers. The project was shut when the founders concluded that its demand and distribution model were not compelling enough.

Khaitan and Bhal joined Raghav Chandra to found UrbanClap in 2014. The company built a platform for at-home services and gradually moved from simple lead generation towards selection, training, pricing and quality control. Renamed Urban Company, it expanded across India and selected international markets and listed in 2025. As COO, Khaitan's work is tied to category operations, supply, service standards and city expansion.

Working approach

His operating focus is visible in Urban Company's attempt to turn informal services into repeatable processes. That involves measuring fulfilment and customer outcomes while designing incentives for independent professionals.

Assessment

Khaitan has helped translate a marketplace concept into day-to-day service delivery. The difficult balance is maintaining consistent quality and company economics without shifting excessive risk or cost to service partners.