At 12, Vishnu Dhas had a simple ambition. Leave the slum in Pune where he lived with relatives in a small room shared by 10 people. He was not thinking about building a company or earning crores. He wanted to escape poverty and create a different life for himself. Decades later, Dhas has become an entrepreneur in agricultural technology, co-founding platforms including KhetiGaadi and KhetiGuru.
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He has now launched TractorNext, a venture designed to help farmers choose machinery suited to their requirements instead of spending money on equipment they may struggle to use or repay. In a 2025 Josh Talks presentation, Dhas described how he moved from small jobs as a child to corporate roles and eventually entrepreneurship.
Growing up in a family forced to leave its village
Dhas comes from Pimpalgaon Dhas in Barshi taluka of
Maharashtra’s Solapur district. His parents worked as farm labourers, but recurring drought made life in the village increasingly difficult. According to The Indian Express, the family survived for about a decade after the severe drought of 1972, before drought returned in the 1980s and prompted his parents to move to Pune. His maternal grandparents lived in the city, making it a practical destination for the family.
As Dhas explained in his Josh Talks presentation, he was sent to live with a maternal uncle so that he could continue his education while reducing the family’s expenses. His uncles’ joint family lived in a small room in a slum, where the surroundings were dirty and fights were common. He decided at the age of 12 that he wanted to leave.
To earn money, he began taking up small jobs while still attending school. He removed peanut shells for 50 paise per kilogram, bent steel rods into rings for Rs 80 a week, worked as a golf-course caddie and sometimes sold vegetables.
Working life began after Class 10
Image courtesy: Instagram/@thekrazyvish
Dhas’s formal working life began after Class 10, when he enrolled in an evening college so that he could work during the day. “I started my professional journey doing jhadu-pochha in a medical store in KEM Hospital. Slowly, I grew up selling the products in the medical store. I worked there for around five years,” he said. Initially responsible for sweeping and mopping the floor, he gradually took on counter sales, basic accounts and payment collection. His salary rose to Rs 800 a month, and he worked there for around five to six years. After graduating, he joined a communications company, in its finance and accounts department, earning Rs 4,200 a month.
Around this time, his father wanted him to become a software engineer because India’s information technology sector was expanding. Dhas enrolled in an IT engineering course despite having little interest in the subject. His family sold its house in the village and borrowed additional money to pay for his education. He said the resulting debt was around Rs 1 lakh in 1998. The course did not work out as he had hoped, but he continued working. His salary was not enough to clear the debt quickly.
From corporate jobs to his first business
After two to two-and-a-half years, Dhas received an offer from another company. He joined as an associate consultant at Rs 12,500 a month and spent around eight years there, eventually becoming an associate director. He resigned in 2013 and repaid the education debt his father had taken on. It was his first major career break.
Within six months, he joined the Mason Group of Companies as director of global affairs and corporate affairs. After about two to two-and-a-half years, he left because he wanted to build something of his own, particularly in agriculture and business consulting.
He expected his experience to make finding another job straightforward. Instead, he spent eight to nine months facing repeated rejections. The experience pushed him towards entrepreneurship. He began his own consulting firm rather than continue applying for jobs.
How KhetiGaadi began
In 2016-17, Dhas met Pravin Shinde, who was developing an idea around farm mechanisation. Shinde came from a farming family and had experience in agriculture, while Dhas brought experience in communications, finance and business.
Dhas said in his Josh Talks presentation that he accepted Shinde’s invitation to join the venture because he had long wanted to work in agriculture. They launched KhetiGaadi in 2016 as a platform where farmers could find information about tractors and agricultural equipment and explore buying, selling and renting options.
For about 18 months, they approached businesses and worked to bring them onto the platform. Gradually, dealers and manufacturers began joining, and the business started growing. KhetiGaadi subsequently expanded beyond machinery listings into an e-commerce platform offering agricultural equipment and other farm-related products. The company also launched KhetiGuru in April 2022 as a free agricultural advisory service.
In his Josh Talks conversation, Dhas described the platform’s subsequent reach, saying, “Today, KhetiGaadi has expanded across India. We have served more than 72 lakh farmers.”
Why he launched TractorNext
Dhas’s latest venture addresses another problem faced by farmers: buying expensive machinery without fully assessing whether it suits their farm or can generate enough income to justify the cost. TractorNext was launched on October 25, 2026. The platform asks farmers about their crops, land, water access and intended use of equipment before recommending suitable options.
A farmer buying machinery only for personal use may need a different product from someone planning to rent it out to other farmers. Similarly, equipment that works for a farmer with reliable irrigation may not be suitable for someone whose crops depend on uncertain rainfall. TractorNext is free for farmers. According to Dhas, the business plans to earn revenue by generating leads for manufacturers and dealers and through advertising.