Arora encouraged him to spend aggressively to solve the problem, including a $350 million acquisition. That helped Snapdeal draw 10 million customers for its digital wallet within 33 days of launch, though it remains in third place in India, behind Amazon and rival Flipkart.

“When your largest shareholder and key strategic partner says ‘Go for it,’ that gives you a great sense of confidence,” Bahl said. “I don’t think this would’ve been possible without the backing of SoftBank and, especially, Nikesh.”