Amarendra Sahu

Act I: The Catalyst

Amarendra Sahu graduated in Electrical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Rourkela and earned his MBA from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore. After working in technology and semiconductor design with Cisco and Alcatel-Lucent, Amarendra co-founded BrizzTV, a digital media tech venture. When Amarendra and his friends moved between cities, they observed that India's urban housing crisis was not a supply problem—tens of thousands of flats sat locked and empty—but a trust deficit: homeowners feared bad tenants, while young migrants could not afford 10 months of cash deposits.

Act II: The Genesis Bet

In 2015, Amarendra teamed up with Jitendra Jagadev, Deepak Dhar, and Smruti Parida to launch NestAway. As Chief Executive Officer, Amarendra gave NestAway its societal mission: build India's largest managed online rental marketplace that eliminated the broker, lowered security deposits to just two months, and created safe, furnished, and dignified living spaces for young professionals.

Act III: Zero-to-One PMF

Under Amarendra's leadership, NestAway designed end-to-end digital property management: virtual 3D home tours, biometric digital locks, digital rental agreements, and automated utility bill payments. Homeowners signed up thousands of vacant properties because NestAway guaranteed rent on the 5th of every month, turning locked real estate into predictable income.

Act IV: The Flywheel of Scale

NestAway raised over $110 million from marquee investors including Tiger Global, Goldman Sachs, IDG Ventures, and Ratan Tata, scaling its managed portfolio to more than 70,000 houses across 12 major Indian cities. Amarendra expanded the company's offerings to include family homes, acquiring ApnaComplex (society management software) to create an integrated residential property ecosystem.

Act V: Crucible of Fire & Inflection Points

The COVID-19 pandemic and remote work delivered an unprecedented blow to urban co-living, causing revenues to plummet as tenants returned to native towns. Amarendra demonstrated immense personal resilience—staying at the helm, restructuring operations, supporting homeowners through vacancy cycles, and orchestrating NestAway's acquisition by listed enterprise Aurum PropTech in 2023.

Act VI: Ecosystem Architecture

Amarendra Sahu is widely respected for his moral conviction, tenacity, and human empathy in business. He proved that digital platforms could transform archaic social norms in real estate. An active mentor and angel investor, Amarendra advises founders in PropTech, community living, and marketplace logistics.

Act VII: The Long Horizon

Amarendra is focused on pioneering community-centric urban redevelopment and sustainable housing solutions. His vision remains steadfast: leveraging technology to ensure that every human being moving to an urban center has access to safe, affordable, and dignified housing.