For Anuj Kacker, it was a question of one inch at a time. That’s because he and his two friends and serial entrepreneurs, Bala Parthasarathy and Kunal Varma, were entering uncharted waters with digital consumer lending startup MoneyTap in September 2015. None of the three co-founders had a fintech background. Kacker had had stints in the advertising world with Lowe and JWT, apart from co-founding a skills assessment platform; Parthasarathy, the most experienced of the trio, had donned the hats of venture capitalist, entrepreneur as well as worked with multiple companies, including ZipDial; and Varma, a computer science engineer from IIT Roorkee, ran two startups, besides working at Texas Instruments.
What is more, lending is a ruthless business. Kacker explains the dynamics of the credit business by borrowing Hollywood actor Al Pacino’s life and football analogy from the 1999 film Any Given Sunday: “One-half step too late or too early, you don’t quite make it. One half second too slow or too fast, and you don’t quite catch it. The inches we need are everywhere around us,” said the actor, who played the role of a football coach.
In 2016, Kacker and his team began hunting for their inches across the cafeterias of 100 companies, including factories, information technology companies, multinationals, and startups in Bengaluru. “Please download the app if you ever need access to flexible and affordable money” was the pitch. The catchment area was huge, and the target group was salaried people looking for a quick loan towards the end of the month, for which MoneyTap had tied up with RBL Bank as a financial partner who offered the loans.
Denne historien er fra December 4, 2020-utgaven av Forbes India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra December 4, 2020-utgaven av Forbes India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Home-Cooked Meal Is Now Greatly Valued
The pandemic has also brought with it an improved focus on hygiene, use of technology in dining, rise of cloud kitchens and resurgence in popularity of Indian ingredients
Paytm 3.0 - Reaching Near Breakeven In Two Years
As of 2020, Vijay Shekhar Sharma’s super app for financial services had run up losses in thousands of crores. Now, as digital payments gets yet another boost courtesy Covid-19, he’s hopeful of reaching near breakeven in two years
THE PANDEMIC HAS CAUSED WOMEN GREATER LABOUR PAIN
Covid-19 has shown that women are more likely to face the brunt of job losses than men, and find fewer opportunities when they want to resume. That apart, several have to deal with increased hours of unpaid work at home and even domestic abuse
LEADERSHIP WILL BE ABOUT SEEING THE BIGGER PICTURE
Leaders must not only guard their teams first during a crisis, but also deal with stakeholders with respect and dignity. And apart from pursuing business goals, they should remain committed to our planet and the environment
PHILANTHROPY SHOULD BE HUMBLE, BUT NOT MODEST
Apart from building a flexible and resilient framework for the future, philanthropists, civil society and the government must work in tandem so that every rupee is absorbed on the ground
INTEGRATED HEALTH CARE, TECH WILL DISRUPT SECTOR
While clinical research will get a boost, having a skilled workforce and public spending on health care will be challenges in the near term
DIGITALISATION WILL HELP IN VALUE CREATION
As the pandemic brings technology and innovation to the core of business and daily life, the next decade will see about 150 million digital-first families in India
Industry 4.0: Climate Revolution?
Augmenting sustainability alongside digital capabilities is an economic, competitive and global opportunity for India’s businesses, but regulations need to reflect intent
EV Dream Still Miles Away
Electric vehicles have remained a buzzword in India for years. But not much has moved on ground due to high upfront costs, range anxiety and charging infrastructure
Living Waters
A virus has caused us to scramble for oxygen but our chokehold on the environment is slowly strangling the very waters that breathe life into us. The virus is a timely reminder: We are merely consumers, not producers of life’s breath on this planet