Ashish Chauhan tells founders at a JIIF event that market valuation is a consequence of genuine growth, not a goal to be pursued on its own terms
There is a particular trap that catches ambitious founders early in their listed-company journey. The share price becomes the scoreboard. Every quarter, every analyst call, every market movement gets filtered through a single question: is the number going up? NSE Managing Director and CEO Ashish Chauhan used a prominent platform this week to push back against exactly that mindset.
What He Actually Said
Speaking at the 9th JITO Incubation and Innovation Foundation Day, Chauhan emphasized that company market valuation shouldn’t lead it but rather occur afterwards. He suggested that the share price of the company is not able to be managed directly, but can be obtained through sound fundamentals with consistent profitability and solid growth.
“If the company’s profit increases, the share value should increase,” he said. “You cannot keep increasing value without creating actual business growth.”
His advice to entrepreneurs was straightforward: stay focused on the core business, resist the pull of market trends and peer pressure, and trust that companies which consistently deliver results eventually get recognised.
Why Listing Still Makes Sense
Chauhan did not dismiss the public markets at all and in fact stated that a company that earns Rs 2 crore a year could potentially have a market cap of Rs 40-50 crore once public, giving them the ability to access capital, partners, and growth opportunities that were unavailable as a private entity.
Once public, a company also develops its own currency (stock) which can be used to acquire companies, develop strategic partnerships, and provide employee stock options as an attraction method for future talent. He shared examples of the founders of Infosys (N.R. Narayana Murthy and Nandan Nilekani) using ESOPs to attract talented employees when they could not afford to pay them otherwise.
On Innovation
A business can do things in a different or better way than before, he stated, and this is considered innovative as well and is a practical approach for many founders who are dealing with short-term, early-stage challenges and the theories of innovation or the disruption they may experience.
