Abhishek Mahto: From Khunti to Building for the World

Abhishek Mahto’s entrepreneurial journey began in Khunti, Jharkhand, a place known more for its struggles than its startup culture. Growing up around limited opportunities, he saw many young men being drawn toward armed groups. His own path changed in Class 7 when he joined an ethical hacking workshop at DAV Khunti. His parents, despite financial difficulties, bought him a laptop, opening a door to a world he had only seen from a distance. Abhishek Mahto

At just 14, Abhishek launched Khuntimart after noticing that Amazon deliveries stopped about 30 kilometres away from Khunti. He created an online shopping website for his town, personally delivering local orders and sending outside orders through India Post. The business made close to ₹4 lakh in its first year. For him, the bigger question was always why a person’s birthplace should decide what they can access or build.

That belief continued through every venture. He built food delivery services across three cities, created Indian alternatives to short video apps after the TikTok ban, and later founded Nomoex after seeing the difficulties faced by Indian crypto traders. His latest venture, 2DotsPay, is focused on helping people and businesses in India and Southeast Asia move between local currencies and stablecoins.

The journey was far from easy. His food delivery company Swizza shut down during COVID. His apps Famecam and IndoBuddy gained tens of thousands of users but struggled to raise capital. In 2022, the collapse of Luna, Celsius and FTX brought further losses. Abhishek sold his hosting company MBHost for ₹40 lakh and put the money into Nomoex.

Then came his breakthrough. In 2023, at the Global Startup Summit in Bengaluru, Abhishek entered with an ordinary attendee pass and ended up winning the competition with his first ever pitch. Nomoex went on to raise $2 million, with its token reaching a peak market capitalisation of about $45 million in April 2025. He was also named among FOX Story India’s Top 100 Emerging Entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs Today’s 25 Under 25.

His mother has been a major influence throughout his journey. Abhishek says she taught him that leadership is service, while his family continues its work in Khunti through welfare, farming and community development. His own ambition now extends across crypto, financial services, artificial intelligence, energy, space and defence, with a long term goal of building MBT Ventures into a $10 billion venture group by 2030.

His message to young entrepreneurs is simple: “Your pin code is not your ceiling.” For Abhishek, a laptop became the tool that took him from Khunti to the world, and he wants others from small towns to believe they can build something just as far reaching.