'Be Positive': Snapdeal Co-Founder & Shark Tank India Judge Kunal Bahl Recalls H1B Visa Rejection At Microsoft, Shares Inspiring Post

Mumbai, September 20: Entrepreneur, investor and Shark Tank India judge Kunal Bahl shared an inspiring post on social media about how a setback in his career turned into a life-changing opportunity. Kunal Bahl, who is the former CEO and co-founder of Snapdeal which is one of India’s largest e-commerce platforms, shared the social media post after US President Donald Trump hikes H‑1B Visa fees to USD 1,00,000.

Recalling the incident from 2007, Bahl wrote that while working at Microsoft, he received an email informing him that his H-1B visa had been rejected. He said, “It was crushing and numbing at that moment.” He described in the post how the news initially felt like a huge blow to his ambitions.

However, instead of halting his journey, the rejection redirected his path. With the visa no longer an option, Bahl moved back to India. He went on to build Snapdeal, which later became one of the country’s biggest e-commerce success stories.

In his message, Bahl extended support to those facing similar disappointments today. He said, “Be positive. There is something much bigger and better in store for you.”

He also said earlier, "Because of the new H1B rules, a tremendous number of talented individuals are going to be headed back to India. It will no doubt be tough in the beginning to move base, but will work out for them given the tremendous opportunities in India. The talent density in India is going."

One of the users replied to his post and said, "It will only over crowd the talent market in India where opportunities are getting lesser day by day. One job opening and you see 1000 already applied. Such is the competition. Beside I don't think coming back to India would be their first option. These people chose to stay away for a reason and India ain't proving that at the moment. What is for sure is the chaos."

His social media post has gone viral online, inspiring professionals and entrepreneurs by showing that what feels like a career setback or failure can often be the start of a much bigger opportunity.