StartupTalky

Tag: 1% Club

  • The 1% Club, Led by Sharan Hegde, Receives an RIA Licence from SEBI

    At a time when the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has tightened its grip on financial influencers, well-known financial influencer Sharan Hegde’s company, 1% Club, has obtained an Investment Advisor (RIA) licence. Subject to certain rules established by SEBI, the licence permits a person or business to function as an RIA, which is legally permitted to offer customers financial advice on investments in the Indian market.

    Now, the company’s Personal CFO division complies completely with the stringent regulations set forth by SEBI. According to Hegde, the business is now the first influencer-led enterprise to obtain a SEBI-RIA licence. Working with leading compliance and legal organisations in the nation, the process of acquiring the licence took six to eight months.

    Finfluencers not Preferred Choice for SEBI

    According to Hegde, people have been demanding that finfluencers register since SEBI has been harshly critical of them for the past one to one and a half years. He noted that the business currently has 45 employees and advises about 1,000 clients on financial matters. In less than a year, the firm has managed INR 1,000 crore in assets under advisory (AUA). This has been accomplished profitably by the 1% Club.

    Hegde wants to continue scaling it. The company will eventually be able to employ at least 1,000–2,000 people in financial planning roles, each of whom will be able to assist 200–300 clients. The enterprise would have just touched the surface of India’s needs, even if it were extremely successful.

    India Need More Financial Advisors – Hegde

    A financial counsel is desperately needed in India right now, Hegde opined. At the moment, only those with savings of at least INR 2 to 3 crore have a financial planner. India needs about 10 lakh financial planners, according to SEBI. We only have a thousand, though. Therefore, if you ask any middle-class Indian today, they have no financial planner and haven’t ever considered what one is. Hegde went on, “So, we felt that there is a huge gap in the market to offer this as a service.” Co-founder Raghav Gupta stated, “We will put what we have been preaching into practice under the Personal CFO division, which is a subsidiary in the parent company.”

    “Because no one likes studying, everyone has been quite critical of education corporations. Thus, we aimed to be as good as we talked. Since many individuals claim that everyone can produce content and earn money, we don’t want to only teach.” With the laws and compliance that SEBI has adopted, this licence is our social proof to the world that we can actually do it,” Hegde stated.

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  • 15% of the 1% Club’s Workforce is Let Go by Sharan Hegde

    As part of its attempts to increase profitability and reduce unnecessary expenses, finance influencer Sharan Hegde’s 1% Club has laid off 15% of its employees. In a LinkedIn post, Hegde stated that he recently let go of 15% of his employees and that he had received numerous messages from friends and the media asking if he was going bankrupt. The irony is not lost on him as a finance guru who made financial education the cornerstone of his business.

    Hegde did not specify how many workers were impacted; however, a Reddit user stated that about 40 workers were let go.

    Sharan Hedge Discusses the Financial Results of 1% Club

    Hegde’s LinkedIn post states that 1% Club has a strong EBITDA margin of 35–40% and generates about $8 million in annualised revenue. Hegde emphasised the company’s sound financial standing by stating that it has operated independently of outside investor funding.

    He said that the client had placed INR 10 crore in a fixed deposit (FD) that was yielding an 8.5% interest rate. In October of last year, millionaire Nikhil Kamath’s Gruhas and Abhijeet Pai from the Puzzolana Group contributed INR 10 crore to the 1% Club. Additionally, according to Hegde, 1% Club has been creating new financial services and products that have already turned a profit and serve close to 85,000 active, paying clients.

    What Caused the Layoffs?

    The layoffs, according to Hegde, are a part of the startup’s first significant cost-cutting initiative since its founding. He disclosed that 1% Club, which started off with just five interns two years ago and currently has close to 200 employees, saw quick expansion that resulted in some hiring and operating expense inefficiencies.

    “Two years ago, I launched this business in my bedroom with just five interns. Today, we employ about 200 people. It goes without saying that when you expand at such a rapid rate, you will inevitably make some hiring and unnecessary spending blunders,” he said.

    This is the company’s first cost-cutting initiative since its founding. According to Hegde, the company has discovered substantial AI-driven cost savings that can increase efficiency and profitability and be put back into the expansion of the company.

    Assistance for Impacted Workers

    Hegde recognised the decision’s difficulty and the psychological toll it would take on the impacted staff. He stated that the 1% Club will continue to assist laid-off workers in locating new employment prospects and has provided substantial severance compensation depending on seniority.

    One of the leading financial influencers in India, Sharan Hegde, has more than 3 million followers on social media, including more than 2.7 million on Instagram. The online platform 1% Club, which was co-founded by Raghav Gupta and Sharan Hegde, assists users in becoming financially independent. The startup offers masterclasses, financial planning tools, and teaching materials.

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