David Back is the co-founder of Zoomcar, the first car rental company in India to focus on “western-style” rentals with no chauffeur. Zoomcar launched in February 2013 with 7 cars in Bangalore. By the time Back left day-to-day management at the end of May 2015, it had grown to about... Read more
David Back is the co-founder of Zoomcar, the first car rental company in India to focus on “western-style” rentals with no chauffeur. Zoomcar launched in February 2013 with 7 cars in Bangalore. By the time Back left day-to-day management at the end of May 2015, it had grown to about 1,500 cars in 6 cities. The business continues to grow, and now has over 9,000 vehicles in more than 45 Indian cities. Zoom is helping India’s cities grow in a smarter, more sustainable way, with diverse transportation options for different needs.
Zoomcar’s investors include Ford Motor Company, Mahindra&Mahindra, Sequoia Capital, Nokia Growth Partners, FundersClub, EmpireAngels, Former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai, British politician and businesswoman Lady Barbary Judge, Former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, as well as professors at Wharton, Harvard Law School, and Cambridge University’s Judge School of Business.
David Back graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania and cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he had teaching fellowships on the history and future of globalization under Niall Ferguson and under Larry Summers. Back received a full scholarship to pursue an MBA at Cambridge University’s Judge School of Business. He dropped out after one term to launch Zoomcar in India.
Back has worked as a consultant at McKinsey & Co, as an investment manager at Goldman Sachs, and as a research analyst for the General Counsel at the Kauffman Foundation. He also served as the Director of Government Relations for The Hydrogen Expedition – an attempt to circumnavigate the globe in a hydrogen fuel cell powered boat to raise awareness about alternative fuels. He serves on the board of advisors of several start-ups in the US, India, and UK.
David Back was also the editor of 365 Of The Wittiest, Most Cutting Insults From History, a page-a-day desk calendar sold to Barnes & Noble Publishing. It features insults from the likes of Winston Churchill, Mark Twain, Voltaire, and even Gandhi.