On 23 April 2021, the Reserve Bank of India had barred American Express and Diners Club International Limited from onboarding new customers to their platform. The ban is expected to come into effect from May 1. Let’s look at why both the payment system operators American Express and Diners Club International Limited were banned by RBI from adding new customers.
The Reserve Bank of India had initiated a ban for the payment system operators from onboarding new customers into their network as they were not able to follow the norms with the data storage put forth by the RBI.
The Reserve Bank of India in a statement said that both the entities have been found to be non-compliant in respect to the directions on storage of data of the payment systems. The RBI has added that the action towards both the entities was taken based on the powers which are under Section 17 of the PSS Act.
American Express Banking Corp and Diners Club International Ltd are payment system operators in the country who has the authorization to operate card networks in India under PSS Act (Payment and Settlement Systems Act), 2007.
American Express Banking Corp is a multinational company that focuses on financial services. It is located in New York, the United States. The company was founded in the year 1850. American Express is considered to be the 23rd most valuable brand in the world according to the Forbes 2017 list.
Some of the products offered by the company are Charge Cards, Traveler’s cheque, Credit Cards, corporate banking, etc. In India according to a report by Financial Express, American Express has a market share of around 2.53 % of the total market with around 15.6 lakh credit cards outstanding.
Diners Club International Ltd
Diners Club International is also known as DCI is a charge card company. It is a finance-based company that has its headquarters in the United States. The company was founded in the year 1950. Diner Club International was the first payment card company in the world.
The company is owned by Discover Financial Services. Some of the products of Diner Club International are charge cards and credit cards. In India, Diners Club International distributes its cards exclusively through HDFC Bank and the exact number of active users is unknown.
Why did RBI restricted American Express, Diners Club from adding more customers
In the year 2018, in a notification, the Reserve Bank of India had noticed that all the payment system providers did not stored the data of the payments in the country. The notification said that there was a significant growth witnessed by India in the payment ecosystem and such systems depend completely on technology.
The notification added that such an ecosystem has a necessity for a continuous measure of safety and security that were best in class.
The Reserve Bank of India had then directed all the system providers to ensure that the entire data which are related to payment systems should be stored in a system that is only in India.
The data which are stored should include the full end-to-end transaction details, information, carried, collected, and processed as part of the message or payment instruction. This was mentioned by RBI in its notification.
If there is any foreign transaction, those data can be stored in the foreign country if it is required. The compliances with the new rules were supposed to be followed by the system providers within 6 months and they had to report the same to the Reserve Bank of India.
In addition to this, they were also required to submit a report which should be approved by the board a System Audit Report (SAR). It should be conducted by the CERT-In empanelled auditor within the time duration that is specified.
The ban of American Express Banking Corp and Diners Club International Ltd by RBI is because they have failed to follow the statement given by RBI in regards to storing the data which was issued two years ago.
In India, American Express offers a full range of travel, financial and network service products.
What type of credit card is Diners Club?
Diners Club is an International Credit Card.
Who owns RBI?
RBI has been fully owned by the Government of India since its nationalisation in 1949.
Conclusion
The ban on both the entities would not affect the existing customers. The Reserve Bank of India had clarified in a statement that the ban will have no impact on the customers of both the companies.
The digital fintech startup Paytm has recently announced that it has launched a platform for its users to learn about investing. It has launched a video-based wealth community platform(Currently in beta stage) for the users to learn investing. Let’s look at the further details of the New Community Platform Launched by Paytm for Learning Investments.
Paytm is an Indian based multinational startup company. They are an e-commerce payment system and a financial technology company that has its headquarters located in Uttar Pradesh, India. The company was founded in the year 2010.
The abbreviation of Paytm stands for “Pay Through Mobile” and it encourages it with its famous tagline ‘Paytm karo’. The company was founded by Vijay Shekhar Sharma. Some of the company’s products are Paytm Mall, Paytm Payments Bank, Paytm Money, Gamepind, Paytm Smart Retail.
The services offered by Paytm are Payment systems, digital wallets, mobile payments banking, online shopping, etc. Some of the key investors of the company are Ant Group, SoftBank Vision Fund, Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway, etc.
Paytm Wealth Community
On 26 April 2021, Paytm which is one of the largest fintech companies in India announced that it has launched a platform that is a video-based wealth community to revolutionize the Indians to learn, discuss and trade in the capital markets.
Paytm Wealth Community is considered to be India’s first community which will be based on investing. The platform will be video based and there will be live sessions conducted for the users of the community to ask doubts and discuss on the topics.
The live sessions will be conducted by the industry experts and will cover a wide range of topics for the users such as stocks, futures and options, ETFs, Mutual Funds, IPO, Gold, Fixed Income and Personal Finance.
Paytm Wealth Community
The platform will provide a chance for users to learn from the experts in the industry, discuss their doubts with them and also chat and grow together with their fellow learners. The users on the platform will discuss on various wealth related topics.
In today’s world, the way the youth learn, interact and transact has seen a rapid evolvement. The social interaction between peers has been greatly influenced by the growth of apps and other social media platforms.
It is seen that the social media platform and communities on various other sectors have seen a considerable growth, the digital platforms communities and groups have grown over the years, but there has not been a trustworthy digital platform and a reliable platform for wealth management.
Paytm intends to cover it up and build a trustworthy and reliable wealth management platform for the youth through its new community. It is taking a step to fulfill the requirements of the Indian Investors by launching the platform.
The platform will contain live video content with an interactive chat platform and creators are planning to conduct the sessions for a time period ranging from 30 minutes to 60 minutes. The sessions are expected to be launched in various languages such as Hindi, Gujarati, English and many more.
The platform is under beta testing and Paytm has onboarded a limited set of users. All the creators will have to go through a KYC process which will be a step for ensuring the safety of the retail investors. All the contents will be recorded and checked.
The roadmap of the product and technology is expected to completely transform the user experience. Over the period of time, the users will be able to create a customized discussion room by setting up their creator account and will also be able to chat in a controlled environment.
Paytm expects that the next 100 million capital market investors will be originated through investment communities and social groups and the wealth community of Paytm intends to be a leader and helping the investors to save, trade and invest better.
Beta testing
Paytm has said that users who have received the access to the wealth community launched by Paytm will be able to see a calendar that will have a list of the video sessions available on the platform. The beta testing feature is expected to be for the period of two months and later it will be opened to access to all.
The CEO of Paytm money, Varun Sridhar said that Paytm money was a natural choice by the company for its beta testing platform for the wealth community. Paytm money has direct access to a broad range of investment communities and has a reach across India.
Paytm Wealth Community also offers an opportunity for the experts in the industry to create a personal brand by creating their content and sharing their knowledge with millions of budding investors. This will be a platform to create a personal brand in the capital markets industry.
The company is supporting anyone with the required skills and has a significant social impact to create a personal brand. For starting the registration process, they will have to mail to pwc@paytm.com.
FAQ
Who is the current owner of Paytm?
One97 Communications Ltd is the owner of Paytm.
Who is CEO of Paytm?
Vijay Shekhar Sharma is the current CEO of Paytm.
Is Paytm Chinese company?
PayTM is owned by an Indian company by the name of One97 Communications Ltd.
Conclusion
The capital investors in India have seen a significant rise in the last two years because of the pandemic. People are looking forward to growing their wealth through capital markets due to the layoff of jobs. Platforms such as Upstox, Groww, Zerodha and Paytm money has seen a subsequent increase in their user base.
Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by Upwards.
Get quick loans worth up to INR 2.5 lakhs sanctioned within 24 hours, via Upwards! Yes, it is that simple. Founded by Nimesh Verma and Abhishek Soni, Upwards is intended to be a one-stop solution for all credit-wellness needs, especially for the lower-income, underserved segment of the population who are unable to avail credit from formal financing institutions. Upwards has a wider geographical reach due to its entirely digital loan application and approval process.
As Upwards is growing at a rapid pace of 20-30% month-on-month growth, StartupTalky exclusively interviewed Nimesh Verma (Co-founder & CTO) of Upwards to know its Growth Story, Upwards business and revenue model, funding, how it started, marketing campaigns & more. Know more in the post ahead!
Upwards is intended to be a one-stop solution for all credit-wellness needs, especially for the lower-income, underserved segment of the population who are unable to avail credit from formal financing institutions. Since Upwards is in the lending segment, the product is essentially cash. At the PAN India level, access to credit continues to be a major challenge, especially amongst the lower-income segment of the population which constitutes at least 60% of the population.
Upwards addresses the problem of lack of access to credit to the underserved population of the country by offering quick loans worth up to INR 2.5 lakhs sanctioned within 24 hours to salaried individuals across the country. As an RBI-registered NBFC, Upwards has a wider geographical reach due to its entirely digital loan application and approval process.
In the short term, Upwards is targeting a month-on-month growth rate of 20-30%. On a year-on-year basis, it is aiming for 3x-5x growth. Upwards is also planning to raise funding later this year (2021) and scale its business further, to penetrate the underserved population of the country and enable easier access to credit.
Upwards – Industry/Market Details
At a broader level, a large chunk of India remains unpenetrated when it comes to credit access as most formal institutions cater to the crème de la crème of the society which is either the upper middle class or the rich. This leaves the lower-income segment, the salaried individuals turning to informal sources of credit such as money lenders who charge unreasonably high rates of interest, resulting in the borrowers being stuck in a debt trap.
The lending industry is a rapidly growing one with quick loan option available at reasonable interest rates for a long tenure. Upwards target market comprises of nearly 60% of the population that belongs to the lower-income segment. Over the next five years, the lending sector is bound to witness rapid growth. With respect to Upwards, it is aiming for a 3x-5x growth year-on-year.
Nimesh Verma and Abhishek Soni are the founders of Upwards.
Nimesh Verma (CTO), Abhishek Soni (CEO) – Founder, Upwards
It was initially Abhishek who presented Nimesh with a few ideas for potential business models. He initially didn’t have a finance background but his stint with a leading fintech organization helped him learn more about the domain. As Upwards started and began to grow, the founders gained a strong understanding of the lending segment, target market, etc. Both Abhishek and Nimesh are IIT, Delhi graduates.
Abhishek Soni (Co-founder & CEO, Upwards)
Abhishek holds a dual degree in Chemical Engineering and is a CFA Level-2 candidate specializing in Finance. He has worked with distinguished organizations including PwC, The Parthenon Group, and Indifi. At present, he is the CEO and Co-Founder of Upwards.
Nimesh Verma (Co-founder & CTO, Upwards)
Nimesh holds an integrated M.Tech in Mathematics and Computing. He has always been a core techie and have previously been associated with LinkedIn, Housing.com, and Crafstvilla. During his college days, Nimesh began 2 ventures and those marked the start of his entrepreneurial journey.
Role and Responsibilities
Being a CEO, Abhishek is in a way responsible for every person who is a part of the Upwards team and the business as a whole. In the umbrella of the organization, he comes at the top level as he is to an extent responsible for Nimesh’s end as well.
Nimesh’s responsibilities lie in looking after the tech-based products and data. They also divide certain common responsibilities such as HR activities, sales, etc., among them.
At present Upwards has 60-70 people who work from various cities across the country.
Upwards – Hiring and Work Culture
With respect to hiring, Nimesh & Abhishek tend to take time and avoid rushing into hiring potential candidates as they look for highly driven, passionate people who can contribute to the company’s growth. The approach to hiring also changes with each team as every team has varying requirements.
“For instance, when we hire someone for the underwriting team, the requirements are different, and they would need to have at least a few years of experience in the finance domain. When we hire for tech-based roles, we consider different criteria as the job demands a different set of skills and knowledge base” says Nimesh.
Upwards work culture is overall quite flexible, and employees can work according to their convenience as long as they are meeting the requirements and deadlines.
“During college, I began a couple of ventures, those ideas were primarily the ones that had engagement but the revenue models weren’t strong with merely engagement and traction aren’t enough to sustain a business” says Nimesh, Co-founder, Upwards
Hence, Nimesh was determined that his next venture would be in the fintech domain, as the business and revenue model had to be strong. Then he met his co-founder Abhishek. They pondered over several ideas and finally, decided to start Upwards. Since Abhishek has had a previous stint with a distinguished organization in the fintech domain, he suggested a few concepts and ideas. Nimesh and Abhishek landed on the same page and that’s how the Upwards journey began!
“With a business like Upwards, you also tend to know beforehand a fair estimate of your revenue, profit, and other such things needed to keep the company growing” Nimesh added
Upwards – Product USP
Upwards is intended to be a one-stop solution for all credit-wellness needs, especially for the lower-income, underserved segment of the population who are unable to avail credit from formal financing institutions. It offers quick loans worth up to INR 2.5 lakhs that are sanctioned within 24 hours and have a long tenure of repayment, that eases pressure and burden on the borrowers.
Since the loan application and approval process is entirely digital, Upwards has a wider geographical reach and is able to penetrate regions of the country that were previously inaccessible for other institutions due to a compulsion of physical visits.
“With every journey, there are several learnings, and these make you modify and improvise your concepts and ideas to grow further and improve your products and services. This is precisely what happened with Upwards” says Nimesh.
While Upwards has been in the lending segment since the ideating level, its services have evolved over the years. Upwards team continuously worked on refining it, digitizing the end-to-end process, method to onboard customers, and even the roles of the employees. There have also been other minor pivots in which it understands how to gather data, etc. Upwards hasn’t majorly pivoted from its core business, but its has realigned the approach and strategy now & then to develop the business and improve services.
Upwards offers credit for customers at the right time which can progressively transform their lives and takes them upwards. That was the basic idea when the founders came up with the name and the logo.
Upwards Logo
Upwards tagline is ‘Quick personal loans online’ which is quite a simple and straightforward one as it is self-explanatory with regards to what Upwards does – enhancing lifestyles through easy access to credit in times of need.
Upwards – Business Model and Revenue Model
Upwards has a standard revenue model where it earns via interest which is as conventional as businesses in the lending segment have always earned.
Upwards business model is also a straightforward one that offers quick personal loans to the lower-income segment and salaried individuals across the country. Since the entire process is done digitally, they are able to gain a wider reach across the country.
“On day one, as with any business, there would be no users. Initially, we did enterprise sales where we approached wholesalers and blue-collar platforms and that’s how we completed our first 50 lakhs of loan disbursal which was for approximately the first 300 customers” Nimesh added.
Alongside this, the team also launched Upwards app on the Google Play store and that began to gain some organic traction. Combined, these helped Upwards build and improvise its services, app, and tech segments further, and Upwards grew.
Upwards – Customer Retention Strategies
As per Nimesh (Co-founder & CTO, Upwards) – There is no single answer to attracting and retaining customers. It is a constant journey where one has to try and optimize everything right from the core product and services to the unit economics, sales efforts and then begin scaling the company. It is then that you are able to recover your fined costs and increase revenue while offering best-in-class service to customers. This ongoing process plays a major role in attracting and retaining customers.
Upwards – Startup Challenges Faced
No venture comes without its fair share of challenges as they come in different magnitudes every day. They are a part and parcel of any entrepreneurial journey. Since both the founders hail from non-finance backgrounds, gaining an in-depth understanding of how the lending sector works at an operational level required extensive research and work accompanied by day-to-day learnings.
“Also, initially, we faced a significant amount of delinquencies. We were focusing on building a diverse portfolio which helped us tackle delinquencies but for a particular period of around 6 months, the delinquencies spiked” says Nimesh
The team then revisited the strategy and approach at the grassroots level and learned that they had to be more aggressive in its approach to erase bad books. “As long as we can overcome these challenges and navigate its way through them, it helps us learn faster and progress in the longer run” Nimesh added.
“From our observations and experience, when it comes to lending, it is never about one single channel. You always need to diversify the channels you adopt for marketing strategies and be present in multiple channels to connect with customers” Nimesh Stated
For Upwards, Facebook has been a significant channel and has worked well. Social media marketing and word of mouth are deemed to be excellent marketing tools that can really give a boost to sales as per the founders of Upwards. The team at Upwards used Facebook right from inception to date apart from other online and offline partners who contribute to its sales. At the moment, it is involved in enterprise sales and planning to collaborate with corporates.
At present, Upwards is growing at a rapid pace, with a 20-30% month-on-month growth. Later in 2021, Upwards is planning to raise a round of funding. For the next couple of years, it will be focusing on expansion, enhancing its services, and growing 3x-5x year-on-year.
Upwards – Funding and Investors
Upwards commenced as a bootstrapped company and closed its seed funding at the idea level post, and raised the Series A round in late 2018. Upwards is fortunate to be funded by marquee investors such as Shunwei Capital, India Quotient, and Mayfield Fund. So far, it has raised a total of USD 5 million and will be raising another round of funding later this year (2021)
Upwards Investors – India Quotient, Mayfield & Shunwei provide valuable inputs from time to time.
Upwards – Top Competitors
Given that fintech and the lending spaces are becoming crowded markets, there are quite a lot of competitors. Amongst these, Upwards consider Money View, Early Salary, and CASHe, to be its main competitors.
Few tools used by Upwards
A few tools used by Upwards to run the company –
From a business standpoint, Upwards uses standard tools such as Microsoft Office.
“Abhishek and I are some of the youngest founders in the lending segment in the country today. We haven’t received any awards per se” says Nimesh
Regarding achievements, the team believes that the growth and the validation it received from its investors and customers along with receiving the NBFC license – are some significant milestones. In terms of volume and reach to customers, Upwards has had an impressive uptake in a short period.
Upwards – Future Plans
Upwards looks at expansion as a part of its business growth. The plan is to grow 3x-5x on a year-on-year basis while continuing to retain its focus on the product and services that Upwards offer. The team is also aiming for better penetration in the semi-urban and rural areas of the country to reach the underserved segments and offer them easy, quick access to credit in the upcoming months/years.
Murugappa Group was founded in the year 1900 and has its headquarters located in Chennai, India. The company is one of the leading business conglomerates in India. The Murugappa group is involved in engineering, finance and Agricultural sectors. Let’s look at the subsidiaries of Murugappa group of companies.
CG Power and Industrial solutions Limited is one of the biggest subsidiary company under the Murugappa group. It is an Indian based multinational company. CG Power and Industrial Solutions was founded in the year 1878 and has its headquarters located in Mumbai, India.
The company was formerly known as Crompton Greaves Limited. The company is involved in the design, manufacturing and marketing of products which are related to power transmission, power generation and power distribution. Some of the products of CG Power and Industrial solutions are transformers, HT & LT motors, pump, DC Motors, Railway signaling, etc.
Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company
Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company is a financial service company which is a subsidiary company of Murugappa group. It is an Indian based insurance firm. Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company was founded in the year 2001 and has its headquarters located in Chennai, India.
The company is a joint venture between its parent company Murugappa group and a Japanese insurance firm Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group. The company has a wide range of insurance products that include general insurance, health insurance, vehicle insurance, property insurance, travel insurance, accident insurance, marine insurance, crop insurance, etc.
In the year 2011-2012 Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company was named as the best Insurance Company in India.
Tube Investments of India Limited
Tube Investments of India Limited is an engineering company which is a subsidiary company of Murugappa group. The company was founded in the year 1949 and has its headquarters in Chennai, India. Tube Investments of India Limited has its specialization in engineering, metal formed products, bicycles and chains.
The company was incorporated in the year 1949 as TI Cycles of India Limited. Some of the products of the company include bicycle dominators, automotive chains, car door frames, steel tubes, TMT bars, etc. Some of the well-known bicycle brand under the company is BSA, Hercules, Philips Cycles, Montra, Roadeo, etc.
Coromandel International Limited is a public limited company which is a subsidiary of Murugappa group. The company was founded in the year 1960 and has its headquarters in Hyderabad, India. The company focuses in the manufacturing and supplying of fertilizers, pesticides and specialty nutrients.
The company also focuses on its retail business in rural areas of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. Coromandel International Limited has around 16 manufacturing units which are located in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
Subsidiaries of Murugappa Group
EID Parry
EID Parry which is the short form of East India Distilleries Parry Limited is a subsidiary company of Murugappa Group. The company was founded in the year 1788 and has its headquarters located in Chennai, India. The company has been doing business for more than 200 years as of now.
EID Parry focuses the manufacturing and marketing of Sugar products, Co-gen, distilleries, value added products, bio-fertilizers and nutraceuticals. The company has around 50,000 employees.
EID Parry is one of the oldest companies in the Indian subcontinent.
Carborundum Universal Limited
Carborundum Universal Limited is an engineering company which is a subsidiary of Murugappa group. Carborundum Universal Limited was founded in the year 1954 and has its headquarters located in Chennai, India. CUMI is the only company which is involved in the manufacturing of abrasive with the diversification.
Carborundum Universal Limited is involved in the manufacturing and development of ceramics, abrasives, refractories, machine tools, aluminum oxide grains, polymers, electro minerals and adhesives in India.
The company has a global presence in countries such as Russia, South Africa, China, Australia, Thailand and Canada. The company was initially established to manufacture the core products required by the collaborating companies.
Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company Limited
Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company Limited is a financial service company which is a subsidiary of Murugappa group. The company was founded in the year 1978 and has its headquarters located in Chennai, India. The company provides financial and investment services in India.
Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company has around 1029 branches across the country. It has a wide range of products which include vehicle finance, home loans, mortgage loans, wealth management, etc. The company was ranked in the 9th position among the top 50 NBFCs in India by the Banking and Finance Post.
Shanthi Gears Limited
Shanthi Gears Limited is a subsidiary company of Tube Investments of India. It is an industry leader in the manufacturing of gear. Shanthi Gears Limited is India’s top gear manufacturing company. The company is one of the biggest names in the industry for gear and gear box solutions.
Parry Agro Industries Limited
Parry Agro Industries Limited is a subsidiary company of Murugappa companies. The company is the leading producers of CTC teas, Organic teas, Orthodox and green teas in India. The company is one of the well-established premier tea growers across the globe.
Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by Figg.
There are multiple financial decisions that one makes in a day, be it a minor or major transaction. But, in order to make an optimal decision, it is important to consider all the factors regarding it like future prospects, current budget, income, expenses etc. Here, comes the role of FIGG!
Figg brings all the material data to one place automatically and helps users understand the impact of their financial decisions. In simple words, FIGG analyses the finances and expenses of users and then makes suggestions on how to go about it. Is attempts to answer questions like – Whether to buy a certain product, say, TV? or How optimal is this investment based on future plans?
StartupTalky interviewed Sachin Gupta, the founder of Figg, to know the Journey of Figg and how it is going help people make better financial decisions. Also get a glance on Figg Business model, startup idea, Figg App features, founder and more…
Figg helps users make better financial decisions. The Figg App is available on android only. However, the team is planning to launch the iOS version soon and later a web application.
If you think about it, most of the financial advice available on the internet is quite generic in nature. FIGG also helps users by providing personalized advice based on their financial situation without much effort from users – Says Sachin Gupta, Founder, Figg
Figg Logo
Figg team has built its own in-house Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP)/ ML engine to process financial transactions and statements. The NLP engine extracts useful financial information from text without explicitly being aware of the source. Figg collects financial information by analyzing the transaction statements received by the user via SMS or emails. It uses machine learning (ML) algorithms to analyze the data and makes suggestions to the user for better financial decisions.
Figg is monitored by Google for security and data leak concerns. The Figg app has also undertaken a security review with Bishop Fox, a US-based security firm.
“We follow all best practices – from strong passwords for the system to encryption of the sensitive data. All the data is kept encrypted at rest” Sachin says
Impact Calculator and Affordability Calculator are the main features offered by Figg.
Impact Calculator & Affordability Calculator: Using this feature any user can check how making certain financial decisions will impact their financial well-being. For example, if a youngster with limited financial resources buys an iPhone, this might impact their monthly commitments as well. However, for a person with a high salary, buying an iPhone won’t even make any difference other than fewer investments during the period. These features help people make informed decisions.
Another important feature of Figg is the simplified score to represent users’ financial health. Finance is complex and has different aspects (savings, investments, loans, credits, expenses, etc.). It is quite difficult to track and understand the impact of different aspects for a user. Figg has built a proprietary score to represent user financial health.
Sachin is an engineer by profession and holds MS in AI/ML from IIIT Hyderabad. He has experience in building large scale systems in AI and ML. Before starting FIGG, he worked at Google in the Fintech domain, catching fraud financial transactions. Sachin began his career with Rediff.com working directly with Ajit Balakrishnan.
FIGG Founders and Team
Currently, Figg has a team of 9 and headquartered in Hyderabad. The team is a mix of people from technical and non-technical background. Sachin Gupta (Founder of FIGG) works from California, while his team from Hyderabad.
Figg – Ideation and Startup Journey
Finoramic initially was a B2B player and was associated with other fintech companies. However, the company realized that the platform’s capabilities were not utilized at best & all noticed that slow adoption. Therefore, Finoramic pulled out B2B and introduced B2C as Figg App.
From Sachin’s personal experience, he noted that making financial decisions is quite difficult given the complex financial landscape. Most of the time, users keep delaying financial decisions or keep money at the wrong places or take advice from the wrong people.
Sachin realized that there were many apps that made it very easy to invest in shares or mutual funds, but there wasn’t any player in the market, who could give the user a comprehensive financial view and help in everyday financial decisions.
Questions like – Should I buy an iPhone or an Android? Will going on a Europe trip right now affect my future finances? These are simple questions but important to one’s financial well being or health
“However, the major eureka moment happened when a bank agent sold my 60-year-old mother a ULIP policy. My mother didn’t need an insurance policy at this age, as she is financially sound and there weren’t any liabilities” recalls Sachin (Founder & CEO, Figg)
Figg was launched recently in September 2020. It currently has a user base of over 20,000. The Figg team started working on the platform in 2017. Their initial focus was to build the backbone of the platform. At the end of 2019, the team started to build a consumer app, Figg.
Sachin (The founder & CEO of Figg) believes that although millennials and Gen Z people are digitally savvy, they’ve got limited financial understanding. Moreover, There is no personal connections for financial advice in the city lived by most of them. Keeping all things aside, Digital Savvy group is a good user base for Figg Application.
Figg – Business Model and Revenue Model
Figg app was launched in September 2020 and is currently not generating revenue. As the app would gain momentum and records more users, the company will go for a freemium model. That is, users will be charged between Rs 30 to 50 for value-added services.
Finoramic (Figg’s parent company) has raised two rounds of seed funding from angel investors. (The startup didn’t reveal financial and investor details)
Figg – Competitors
Figg’s top competitors are Mint, Spendee, Expensify, and Pocket Expense, among others. Though the competitors’ apps are similar, there exists a minute difference. While other apps focus on better money management, Figg also analyzes and helps users understand the future impact of their decisions.
Figg’s goal is to have 100,000 users by year end 2021. In the long term, it wants to become the default financial advisor for anyone seeking financial advice.
Figg – FAQS
What is Figg?
Figg helps users make better financial decisions. The Figg App is available on android only. Figg analyses the finances and expenses of users and then makes suggestions on how to go about it.
Who is the founder of Figg?
Sachin Gupta is the CEO and Founder of Figg
Is Figg Free?
The company will go for a freemium model. That is, users will be charged between Rs 30 to 50 for value-added services. But the basic features, will be for free.
When was Figg founded?
Figg was founded in 2017 and launched in September 2020.
Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by GNEISS.
Global Network Encryption Investment Security Services (GNEISS) is one of the most Trustable Forex Trading Technology Solution Providers. GNEISS is the First Decentralized P2P free marketplace built on top of the Bitcoin and Ethereum Blockchains. It aims to be the most advanced Fintech security service while providing the public alternatives to existing government registration and banking services.
Founded by Michael Morton and Hunter Enoch in 2016, Global Network Encryption Investment Security Services (GNEISS) will provide a trustless Peer to Peer system where everyone has equal access to all free-market and government registry functions – Only requirement is an internet connection.
GNEISS – Company Highlights
Organization Name
Global Network Encryption Investment Security Service Inc (GNEISS)
Accepted in Venture Summit, West 2019 (Only 3 blockchain companies could present)
Clients
1,180+ users and growing
Website
gneiss.io
StartupTalky interviewed Michael Morton (founder & CEO of GNEISS) to know the Journey of GNEISS by shedding some light on GNEISS vision, work culture, growth, business model, Forex trading technology services, USP & more….
1. Tell us about the inception of GNEISS & How has the journey been for the company so far?
GNEISS was founded by Michael Morton and Hunter Enoch in December 2016 after over 1.5+ years of designing and coding. Since it’s initial Alpha launch, GNEISS has already launched it’s Beta and finished the stage 1 of the project by the end of 2020. To get to finish stage 1 with no big investors was no easy chore but with the help of One Brick Tech and several other companies we made the impossible possible.
2. How do you integrate the 2 biggest block chains: Bitcoin and Ethereum? How did it help you to provide best-in-class Forex trading technology services?
GNEISS integrates the two biggest blockchains: Bitcoin and Ethereum. Bitcoin is the crypto-gold standard for trading, while Ethereum powers and logs every crypto-asset and smart contract function on the GNEISS network. Using the biggest and most technologically advanced blockchains gives us a huge edge over other Forex FinTech companies running their own private blockchains or even running everything with no blockchain at all with a centralized server.
GNEISS Logo
3. Shed some light on your Forex trading technology services? What kind of responses have you received from customers over the years
GNEISS started out with giving people the power to easily create their own ERC-20 token for trading but that was just the Alpha. Since then we have incorporated the most advanced smart contracts in the industry designed to work with a ERC-20 token to allow users to mint/burn coins, add transaction taxes, add interest rates, and even securitize that ERC-20 token asset with other crypto.
Using the secure feature where a user could store BTC, ETH, or any other ERC-20 token gives users the ease of mind knowing that the value is there regardless and if the collateral’s value ever drops below the agreed contract support level then the collateral is instantly liquidated and sent proportionally to those who owned the now liquidated coin. Having secured contracts also makes GNEISS the first “Trustless Economy” which economists have been trying to accomplish for decades by decentralizing banking power to the people rather than just a few thousand banks.
Customers who have tried our platform all say that it’s pretty cool. Some wonder how they will use the new found technology but everybody who has seen it or tried it thinks it could be the next big thing. So far we have 265+ accounts which is growing each day. We hope and aim to be the leader in this blockchain FinTech industry by creating a whole new type of economy which will open the door to never before seen business models
4. What is the work culture at Global Network Encryption Investment Security Services? How do you create a sense of belongingness?
The work culture from day one has been the typical future billion dollar startup founded out of a home garage only we didn’t have a garage. Most meetings are over the phone or through certain text platforms like Slack or Discord.
The times which we have face to face meetings are usually at some restaurant or bar. By not having an office we save a bunch of money that we can reinvest elsewhere to build up the product. Once we are trading over a $1 million dollars a week we’ll look at getting a decent sized office in the British Virgin Islands and Charlotte, North Carolina. Everybody in the company has a great sense of belonging since they know their helping change the world for the better. While supporting American values of freedom, free markets, and fair business.
The mission of GNEISS is to decentralize banking completely by letting everyone have their own banking ledger and using GNEISS as their preferred decentralized P2P free market platform.
6. What differentiates GNEISS from other Forex Trading Technology Solution providers in the industry?
By installing and running a GNEISS node any user can run the app outside of their web browser securely through blockchain tech and have it act as a 21st century military encrypted Bloomberg terminal. Thus making GNEISS easily the most secure platform on the market right now since most don’t even use blockchain tech.
GNEISS is decentralized by 300 Spartan nodes that run the platform along with all the other nodes that double check and verify the GNEISS blockchain. Spartan nodes are chosen from those running basic nodes by having a high enough credit score, Tier 2 verification, and random chance in GNEISS’s Proof of Trust blockchain model. To upgrade the system ⅔’s of the Spartan Nodes need to vote in favor.
8. What does the future hold for GNEISS? What are the Milestones that you seek to achieve in the years to come?
The future of GNEISS after we finish stage 1 completely, will be to then add a networking tab inside the GNEISS app that will look similar to Slack and Discord but be using highly secured and encrypted blockchain to achieve total personal privacy.
By Q2, 2020 GNEISS will incorporate loans and make our credit scoring system public so merchants have another accurate credit report to go by. Lastly by end of 2021 we should have our first gold/silver/crypto ATMs built with a couple distributed in select areas. These plans only run through the end of 2021 too.
Within 10 years, GNEISS aims to become a fully decentralized free market place with all the functions one could find on wall street.
GNEISS is the First Decentralized P2P free marketplace built on top of the Bitcoin and Ethereum Blockchains.
Creation and trading of ERC20 Tokens that are registered on the platform can be traded with Bitcoin (Free Bitcoin transactions due to Lightning Network).
Creation and Registration of ERC20 Tokens on the GNEISS Platform allow users to instantly create markets for their project. The users tokens can be traded with Bitcoin (free transactions through LN) to any other ERC20 token that is registered on the GNEISS platform (900+ trading pairs).
GNEISS gives the user the ability to store and trade BTC, ETH or any other ERC20 token on Ethereum’s Blockchain.
Users can utilize GNEISS Decentralized Registry to register their Birth Certificate, Car, House, etc. on the blockchain. This allows users to access these legally binding files from anywhere in the world rather than depend on a safety deposit box or fire safe (Untrustworthy 3rd Party)Birth, death, marriage certificates, Register car, house, boat, spaceship or “other” registration to register anything you want.
Match your Birth Certificate with Tier 2 GNEISS verification for globally recognized identification.
Free Marketplace – opening up free trade to the world by creating a decentralized free marketplace with the most advanced computer and network security on the market.
Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by the organization it is based on.
We all love being protected. Nowadays we do not feel safe to carry money with us in our pockets while going outside for shopping or maybe having food in the restaurants. Rather we all prefer credit or debit cards. These cards help users feel safe.
Nubank is the largest Fintech in Latin America. It is a privately held company which deals with Financial Services. Nubank has also got an engineering office in Berlin and Mexico City and is headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil. The company provides a credit card to the consumers which can be controlled with the help of a phone 24×7. Read the Nubank success story below.
Nubank is a platform that processes, issues, transfers and administrates payments related to post-paid credit cards. The company has launched a digital account named ‘NuConta’. It is used by more than 17 million people.
Nubank Logo
Nubank – Startup Story
In 2013, David Vélez went to a Brazilian bank branch to open an account. He had a horrifying experience there. Firstly he had to check his bag in a locker outside and then he waited and passed through a security line. There he waited for 45 minutes and finally got an opportunity to speak to someone. He felt that the man was doing him a favour by talking to him about the creation of an account. Then again David was sent to make a phone call to the bank employees.
The procedure took a long period of four months. He knew that anywhere he would go in Latin America, he would experience the same. There half of the population has got neither credit cards nor bank accounts. So, he decided to build something modern and different aptly titled Nubank.
The founders of the company are David Vélez, Edward Wible and Cristina Junqueira.
David Vélez is the founder and the CEO of Nubank. He was a board member at Despegar.com. He was also a partner at Sequoia Capital. He was the senior associate at General Atlantic. He began his career as an analyst at Goldman Sachs. He pursued his education from Stanford University.
Edward Wible is the founder and the CTO of Nubank. He is a graduate in Computer Science from Princeton University.
Cristina Junqueira is the co-founder of Nubank. She began her career from Boston Consulting Group. She has got a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in engineering from the University of Sao Paulo.
Cristina Junqueira, Edward Wible and David Velez (left to right), Founders, Nubank
Nubank – Business Model
The company offers the customers a low interest and a no-fee credit card which can be managed with the help of Android and iOS. Users can track and control their purchases with the help of this platform.
Nubank makes money with the help of the credit card the company provided to its users. Whenever a purchase takes place through the credit card, the organization pays a small percentage of money through the Mastercard network. In case a customer decides to pay the bills in instalments, the company receives interest.
Nubank has raised a total amount of $1.5 billion in funding over the 11 funding rounds.
In Jan 2021, Nubank announced a funding round of $400m which came at a $25bn valuation on the company
Date
Transaction Name
Money Raised
Lead Investors
Jan 28, 2021
Series G
$400M
GIC, Invesco, Whale Rock Capital Management
June 4, 2020
Venture Round
$300 million
–
July 26, 2019
Series F
$400 million
TCV
October 8, 2018
Secondary Market
$180 million
Tencent Holdings
March 1, 2018
Series E
$150 million
DST Global
August 17, 2017
Debt Financing
–
Fortress Investment Group and Goldman Sachs
December 6, 2016
Series D
$80 million
DST Global
April 27, 2016
Debt Financing
$56 million
Goldman Sachs
January 7, 2016
Series C
$52 million
Founders Fund
June 2, 2015
Series B
$30 million
Tiger Global Management
September 25, 2014
Series A
$14.3 million
Sequoia Capital
No. of investors – 15
Nubank – Growth
Nubank has already experienced growth in the first half of 2020 because during the pandemic many consumers turned to online mode. The company saw a 48% of increased revenue growth from December 2019 onwards. During that time, the number of transactions got doubled on the platform. The customer base now stands at 35 million customers in brazil in 2021, which is more than double compared to 2019. According to the reports, Nubank receives an average of 41,000 new users a day. On plans of International Expansion the company stated that it will soon start its operation in Columbia. .
Number of customers of Nubank in Brazil from 2016 to 2020
Nubank – Acquistions
In January 2020, Nubank made its first acquisition by acquiring Plataformatec, a company that specialized in software engineering and agile methodologies.
In September 2020, Nubank acquired Easyinvest, an investment broker also from Brazil for an undisclosed amount.
Nubank – Competitors
The top competitors of the company are Atom Bank, Monzo Bank, N26 and Monese.
Atom Bank is a privately held digital financial company founded in 2014. It works in the financial services sector.
Monzo Bank is a privately held digital company founded in 2015. It operates in the financial services technology field.
N26 is a privately held company founded in 2013. It competes in the financial services sector.
Monese is also a privately held company founded in 2013. It works in the financial services field.
Nubank – Future Plans
In 2019, Nubank started its international expansion. It began its operation with Mexico. Then, it had 8.5 million customers and it claimed itself to be the biggest online bank outside Asia. The Mexico office started with 20 staff members and had plans to quadruple within 2020.
The company has been studying the Mexican financial system for various years, and estimated that around 36 million Mexicans do not have a bank account. Therefore, Nubank came with the decision to extend its empire but there are no plans to widen into other markets such as Europe.
Nubank – FAQ
What is the revenue of Nubank in 2020?
The revenue generated by fintech company Nubank in Brazil during the first six months of 2020 amounted to 2,079.22 million Brazilian reals.
How does Nubank make money?
Whenever a purchase takes place through the credit card, the organization pays a small percentage of money through the Mastercard network.
Is Nubank a bank?
Nubank is one of the largest digital bank in the world, with a customer base of more than 35 million.
How many customers does Nubank have?
Nubank has a customer base of over 35 million.
Where is Nubank located?
Nubank is a Latin American neobank headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil.
What is the valuation of Nubank?
The Valuation of Nubank is $25 billion as of 2020.
Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by Goalwise.
Every investment is made with a goal in mind. Be it for buying a house, for children’s education or for going on the world tour that you always wanted. Though we all save money to achieve our goals, due to lack of time or investment related expertise we fail to make the most out of our savings. This is where Goalwise comes into play. Read about Goalwise, founders, business model, funding, challenges and future plans.
Goalwise is a Fintech startup based out of Bangalore, that ensures hassle-free, goal based mutual funds investing. It helps people invest for their financial goals according to their risk profile without them having to worry about asset allocation, mutual fund selection, etc. If you are looking for a good goal based investing website, you can simply visit their website or download the Goalwise app from Google Play Store or App Store to get the best investment options.
Goalwise – Parent Company | Niyo Solutions
On July 28, 2020, The Digital Banking platform Niyo Solutions acquired Goalwise for an undisclosed value. As part of the deal, the founding members of Goalwise will be joining Niyo’s leadership team and operate Niyo Wealth as an independent vertical.
The majority of stakes were picked up by Vinay Bagri (CEO, Co-founder) and Virender Bisht (CTO, Co-founder). This acquisition was intended to align with Niyo’s goal of Building a comprehensive products suite.
“With our combined resources, we will now be able to accelerate our road map for advanced features and inclusion of many more financial products,” said Swapnil Bhaskar, CEO and co-founder of Goalwise.
Mutual Fund Industry Details
According to AMFI data, assets managed by the Indian mutual fund industry have grown from INR 22.71 trillion in March 2018 to INR 24.58 trillion in March 2019. That represents an 8.25% growth.
Again, the Mutual Fund industry had added about 9.13 lacs SIP accounts each month on an average during the FY 2018-19, with an average SIP size of about Rs 3,070 per SIP account.
Goalwise – Founders and Team
Goalwise was founded by Swapnil Bhaskar, Ankur Choudhary and Savitri Bobde in 2016.
Swapnil Bhaskar, Ankur Choudhary and Savitri Bobde
Swapnil Bhaskar is the CEO of Goalwise. He is responsible for spearheading the company’s overall vision and growth and he also heads its Financial Advisory department. Swapnil graduated in Chemical Engineering from IIT Kanpur in 2007. He is also a SEBI RIA (Registered Investment Advisor) and a NISM certified Retirement Advisor. Prior to establishing Goalwise, he worked as a field engineer at Schlumberger where he worked for 4 years abroad and then as a Manager at the State Bank of India where he worked for 3 years across multiple verticals of retail banking. Additionally, he is also a Certified Associate of Indian Institute of Bankers (CAIIB).
Ankur Choudhary is the CIO of Goalwise. He is responsible for creating investment strategies including Mutual Fund selection and asset allocation strategies, while also overseeing the product and content functions. Having graduated from IIT Kanpur with a B. Tech degree in Computer Science and Engineering, Ankur went on to work as an investment strategist at Oxus Investments, New Delhi and then as a Quantitative Researcher (Algo trading) at WorldQuant, Mumbai. Along with possessing outstanding academic credentials, Ankur also holds the distinction of co-authoring a book on a statistical analysis of cricket titled Criconomics.
Savitri Bobdeis the COO and Product lead at Goalwise. She is responsible for overseeing the execution of all initiatives undertaken by the company and guiding the operational processes of all departments. Savitri holds a Masters degree in Development Studies from the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex. She also holds a Bachelor’s degree in English literature from the esteemed St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai. After completing her education, she spearheaded the assessment unit at ASER Center, Pratham where she was involved in designing and implementing large scale assessments across India, including the flagship ASER survey that reaches approximately 600,000 children each year in almost all districts in the country.
The company currently has a team of 20 employees. Every employee is offered ESOPs to make them feel inclusive in the company’s growth.
It was in 2015, Ankur was looking for some good and hassle-free options to invest his money. However, to his disappointment, he did not find any investor friendly platform in India. Though, he noticed that there were some online platforms in the US who were using cutting-edge technology to deliver a fully managed solution to US investors.
Meanwhile, Swapnil was working in the banking sector, where he witnessed rampant mis-selling. The scenario struck the mind of the two youth, and they wanted to do something to make a difference. And finally, one day over a call Ankur and Swapnil decided to start Goalwise with the dream of making hassle-free, transparent, world-class goal-based investing and financial planning accessible to all Indians.
“We did a lot of market research before we started up and found that people connected better with their goals than with just Mutual Funds. Hence we launched Goalwise as a goal-based investing platform. In the market research days, we even promoted our competitor’s platforms within our target audience in order to uncover the objections people had with them. Even today we have a lot of conversations with our customers on a daily basis so that we never operate in a vacuum. We initially started operations from Delhi but then moved to Bangalore because of the tech talent availability (and better weather!).”, said Ankur and Swapnil.
The company had a soft-launch phase from February 2016 to April 2016 to test its product.
Goalwise – Name, Tagline and Logo
Previously, alpahfront.com was the name the company during Market reserach phase as it aligned with its former parent company Alphafront Finserv Pvt Ltd The name was later changed to Goalwise keeping in mind the goal-based approach the company follows.
“As we zeroed in on the concept of goals and financial planning, we came up with a shortlist of a few names like Goalwise, Finmiles for whom the .com domain names were available. We did a quick poll amongst our friends and although Goalwise was not the top choice because it did not sound not money related, we decided to go with it based on our gut feeling. And it seems to have turned out well for us.”, said Ankur Choudhary.
Goalwise Logo
Goalwise – Business Model and Revenue Model
The startup offers its customers a ‘set and forget’ goal-based investing platform that manages all aspects of investing including fund selection, glide path, portfolio re-balancing, target tracking for goals and more.
It is a zero-research-required platform as investors don’t need to bother about selecting or changing funds. All of that is taken care of by the in-built digital advisory. Apart from seamless investment solutions through website and app, Goalwise also facilitates one-on-one personal finance planning led by its team of in-house financial experts.
A personalized investment plan is generated after considering the customer’s age, savings, suitable risk profile, target amount and the time horizon. The plan consists of the amount one would need to invest every month, the Mutual Funds the person should invest in and what the asset allocation (debt and equity) should be.
Goalwise’s advisory engine (GoalSense) continuously monitors the investments to ensure that the investor is on track to achieve the set goal.
“Unlike our competitors that are mostly DIY platforms urging investors to do their own research after bombarding them with conflicting options, Goalwise comes as a respite where zero research is required by the investors.”, said Swapnil Bhaskar.
The startup’s revenue model is straightforward. The company operates as distributors and financial advisors and get a small % fee (known as trail commission) from the Mutual Fund companies where investments are made.
It is a zero commission platform. It does not take any charges from the investors. They also don’t have any transaction charges, account opening or maintenance charges.
One click Portfolio Rebalancing– It helps investors maintain the original desired level of asset allocation, and all the required re-balancing transactions for meeting the customer’s investment goal is done with just a click.
Tax Gain Harvesting– It helps the investors in systematically utilizing the 1 lakh equity LTCG ( Long Term Capital Gain) exemption available every financial year to lower the overall tax liability.
On-track/Off-track goal tracking– It helps the investor keep a track of his goals.
One-on-one financial planning by in-house financial planners- The startup focuses on providing the best investment experience be it via their beautifully designed product or their prompt and knowledgeable customer service.
The mutual fund investments are held directly under the name of the user, and these can be redeemed anytime.
Goalwise – User Acquisition
According to Ankur, marketing was never a priority for the company. The company focused on doing the right thing for its customers. The company acquired its first 100 customers from within friends and family. Soon, Goalwise was able to attract many customers through word of mouth publicity.
The startup was covered in some online publications when they announced their seed funding which gave them more visibility.
Another channel was content – Goalwise publishes content related to personal finance and investments on their blog as well as on other websites, which helped them get in front of more customers.
“If I had to pick one thing that really worked well for us, it has been word of mouth and referrals. Because of the focus on product and service, we are today the best rated Mutual Fund app and we have grown to more than 25,000 sign-ups just by word of mouth.”, said Ankur.
Goalwise has raised seed funding worth $1 Million (around INR 6.8 Crore) in 2016 from HNI. As per the company filings, Mr. Akhilesh Chaudhary was nominated to be the 4th director of the company. Akhilesh is also the founder of quadeye Securities.
Date
Stage
Amount
Investors
May 2016
Seed
$1 million
Mr. Akhilesh Chaudhary and others
We were quite fortunate with the kind of investors we got on board as they have been extremely helpful and supportive throughout the whole journey – Ankur.
Goalwise – Startup Challenges
According to Ankur, one major challenge that Goalwise faced was of bringing the entire KYC process online. KYC for Mutual Funds requires an almost 20-field form, 2-2 documents and in-person verification. This was in 2016 so there was no Aadhaar-based KYC. The team spent a considerable amount of effort in building out the entire KYC process online which included online video recording and were one of the first platforms to provide that.
Besides, some other challenges are the lack of financial awareness and education in Indian society. Overall, Mutual funds are still at a nascent stage in India with only 2% of the population investing in it.
According to Ankur, a lot of efforts are needed by everyone in the industry to make the Indian population more financially educated so that everyone can make better decisions with their money as there are many Indians who still are only limited to investing in gold, real estate, etc.
Some of the competitors of Goalwise in the Indian Industry are, Fundsindia, Scripbox and Zerodha Coin. However, apart from Scripbox, all the others tend to be DIY platforms where the investors are supposed to do their own research.
None of our competitors including Scripbox, provide true end to end goal based investing which includes features like glide path, portfolio rebalancing and goal-tracking.
Apart from that, the company also recently released a Tax Gain Harvesting feature which is the first of its kind in the industry. It takes inspiration from similar platforms outside India like Betterment and Wealthfront as they keep raising the bar in terms of user experience.
Comparison : Goalwise Vs Scripbox Vs Kuvera
Goalwise provides zero-commission Direct Mutual Funds which makes investing with Goalwise completely FREE, Whereas Scripbox provides commission-laden Regular Mutual Funds. Scripbox is one such popular portal which allows users to invest in a pre-selected list of Mutual Funds.
Recognized by LiveMint as one of the top 10 promising brands to watch out for in 2018.
Awarded by prestigious Mutual Fund companies like ICICI Prudential and Reliance as one of their fastest growing online partners for 2017 and 2018.
Goalwise – Growth
Currently, Goalwise has customers across India, and also have NRI investors from Middle East, Singapore and Europe.
Some of the major achievements of are:
40,000 registered users across 450+ cities
over 20,000 app downloads
Highest rated Mutual Fund app on the play store and our combined rating across platforms is about 4.7
Added term insurance to its product portfolio, and is also planning to add health insurance and accident insurance soon.
Goalwise is looking forward to doubling its tech team and tripling its advisory team to efficiently meet the growing demands. The company is expecting to reach a mutual fund AUM of 1000 crores towards the end of 2020.
Goalwise – Partners
It has tied up with several Mutual funds.The mutual funds it has tied up with include Franklin Templeton, ICICI Prudential, Birla Sun Life and Axis Mutual Fund.
Goalwise – Advisor and Mentors
The company was advised by Dexter Capital, which offers services to growth stage companies as well as new-age entrepreneurs in the early stage funding process.
Goalwise – FAQs
Who is Savitri Bobde?
Savitri Bobde is the Co-founder, COO and Product lead at Goalwise.
What is Goalwise Funding till date?
Goalwise has raised seed funding worth $1 Million (around INR 6.8 crore) in 2016 from Mr. Akhilesh Chaudhary and other.
Who is the Parent Organisation of Goalwise?
Niyo Solutions, The Digital Banking Platform.
How is Niyo Solutions connected to Goalwise?
The Digital Banking platform Niyo Solutions acquired Goalwise for an undisclosed valueon July 28, 2020,
Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verifiedinformation ondifferent startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by the organization it is based on.
As people look for alternatives beyond their day jobs, they are quick to stumble upon freelancing. Freelancing is now emerging as a viable career option. Gone are the days when it was merely seen as a source of side income. However, this path isn’t void of difficulties. One such obstacle is a slow payment gateway. A freelancer’s will to take up projects dies down when payments aren’t received on time!
This is where Refrens comes into picture. It aides freelancers by providing an optimal mechanism for payments gateway.
Refrens provides a payment gateway system for freelancers to send and receive payments comfortably, which offers free invoicing, payments, and expense management system. It was founded by Naman Sarawagi and Mohit Jain in 2019.
The platform currently has 12,000 businesses and freelancers using the system, which is growing at 10 percent every week.
Refrens – Vision And Mission
Refrens wants to create the easiest way for freelancers to collect payments and collaborate with other freelancers. Refrens provides a payment gateway system for freelancers to send and receive payments comfortably.
The freelancing industry, better known as the ‘Gig Economy’, has since immense recognition and growth over the last decade. There are around 20 million people working as full-time freelancers in India. This number stands at more than 6 million in the USA; such is the influence of freelancing.
On the other hand, the payment gateway service is also witnessing rapid adoption in India. Since this is the digital era and everything’s online, the technologies and tools powering the internet need to be efficient and flawless. This includes payment gateways as well. The existing payment mechanisms have tremendous scope for improvement which Refrens is working on.
Refrens – Founders And Team
Refrens was founded by Naman Sarawagi and Mohit Jain in 2019.
Naman Sarawagi, Co-founder of Refrens
Naman Sarawagi is the product and marketing manager at Refrens. Moreover, he is the founder of FindYogi.com. Naman has previously been a product manager at Freecharge and ZipDial.
With a penchant for investing in the right places, Naman has put his money in Daily Ninja and Holidify. Daily Ninja is a startup providing subscription based delivery of daily products whereas Holidify is a holiday planning website.
Mohit Jain, Co-founder of Refrens
Mohit Jain handles Refren’s technical division. He was the CTO at Findyogi.com. Mohit has been a tech consultant at various startups.
Findyogi.com is a website that compares the prices of the product across different e-commerce websites out there. The company was acquired by Way2News in 2016.
Refrens – The Idea And Launch
I met a lot of good freelancers during my course of growing multiple startups but finding them and interacting with them was tough. It looked like a good market to solve problems for – Naman Sarawagi, Co-founder of Refrens.
The duo scrutinized industry reports on the market size and the tools used by freelancers and other professionals for payments. They launched a raw product in a closed group. With the feedback received, they started improvising on the product.
Their initial product wasn’t well-received by the audience. It called for excessive change in user habits. After incorporating the responses received by some freelancers in the product’s second iteration, Refrens’ offering was quick in getting accepted by the freelancing community. People found the tool simple and slick.
Refrens is a simple invoicing and payments collection system. Once the user has processed their first invoice through Refrens, the intuitive system gets the user hooked onto it through the numerous features the platform offers. For freelancers, it becomes easy to enable options like adding payment methods, offering discounts, etc. for their clients via Refrens.
Refrens – Payment gateway system
Refrens is an invoicing and payments service provider. The company’s core segment revolves around B2B freelancers. The Refrens team strongly believes in freelancing as the future of work. As a result, this domain needs significant enhancements and advancements to be successful.
Refrens was launched to solve the delay and inefficiency freelancers face when collecting payments from different customers. It is possible to create an invoice within 30 seconds on Refrens.
Refrens- Name, Logo, And Tagline
Refrens Logo
Refrens is a play on the reference. The team believe that the freelancers get business from reference of past clients so it is an important part of their growth.
Refrens – Business Model
Refrens plans to monetize the platform through its optional payment gateway facilities and by selling custom financial services.
Refrens – Funding and Investors
On May 2020, Refrens raised an undisclosed amount of funding from a group of angel investors including Vijay Shekhar Sharma (Founder of Paytm) and Anupam Mittal (Founder of Shaadi.com).
Date
Amount
Investors
May 2020
Undisclosed
Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Anupam Mittal
The investment round also saw participation from The Collective fund, Mumbai-based early-stage fund Firstcheque, Amiya Pathak of Ezcred, Gireesh Subramaniam of Freshworks, Sujayath Ali, and Navaneetha Krishnan – Founders of Voonik.com, Amit Lakhotia of Park+, Ajeet Khurana – CEO of Zebpay, Founders and senior management of Kaleyra, Founders of DailyNinja, Springworks, and few others.
The startup said it will use the funds for expanding reach of the platform and adding freelancer friendly financial services.
Refrens – Customer Acquisition
Both the founders had a closed group of friends who were the first 10 users. They later announced the product on a couple of forums and freelancing groups. The platform currently has 12,000 businesses and freelancers using the system, which is growing at 10 percent every week.
“Convincing freelancers about a new tool is difficult and time taking to do 1-on-1. We are now growing from our customer base.”, said Mohit Jain, co-founder of Refrens.
Naman says that social media has stopped working when it comes to attracting customers. They tried a couple of hacks around Facebook groups and pages but weren’t successful in driving mass attention.
Refrens – Future Plans
The company is just a few months old and has a little over 500 users.
Please note that we publish profile of companies of at least 8 months old startup. However, an exception was made in this case because of the team, vision, and its product.
Over the next few months we will expand our capabilities around accepting multiple currencies through multiple payment instruments. Over the next 2 years, we want to be the leading platform serving freelancers in india. We will be going deeper in their workflow and more useful features to collaborate – Naman
Refrens has created the easiest way for freelancers to collect payments and collaborate with other freelancers. It provides a payment gateway for freelancers to send and receive payments comfortably, which offers free invoicing, payments, and expense management system.
What is the Pricing Plan of Refrens?
Refrens is Free Forever. You can create invoices, quotations and can manage your expenses anytime. You can access any of these for lifetime for free. But you only pay a small fee if you wish to receive payments online.
Who are the Founders of Refrens?
Refrens was founded by Naman Sarawagi and Mohit Jain in 2019.
What is the state of Refrens Funding?
On May 2020, Refrens raised an undisclosed amount of funding from a group of angel investors including Vijay Shekhar Sharma (Founder of Paytm) and Anupam Mittal (Founder of Shaadi.com).
How does Refrens make money?
For every online payment done through Refrens, it keep a small payment gateway fee.
How many transactions can you make on Refrens?
Unlimited. There is no limit for the transaction you make. You can create unlimited invoices and record transactions. All absolutely free.
Paytm was founded in the year 2010 by Vijay Shekar Sharma headquartered in NCR region in the nation’s capital. It was started as an online wallet and since then had revolutionized the retail industry. Paytm offers a wide variety of services from prepaid mobile recharge, paying utility bills online, booking train tickets, booking movie tickets, pay insurance premiums, shopping bills and get in the fast lane with Paytm FasTag, shopping for clothes and appliances.
The term startup mafia is derived from the term ‘PayPal mafia’ where former employees of PayPal begin their own ventures. The startup mafia helps one another by providing support, investments, and mentoring to help upcoming startups.
The startup mafia accounts for a sizeable portion of the Indian startup ecosystem, as former employees of unicorns such as Flipkart, Paytm and Ola have gone to begin their ventures.
Well, Paytm is a huge organization that has hired more than 5,000 employees. Some of these employees quit their jobs to build a new venture after growing experience in building scalable products.
Junio is a fintech startup that build products for children, such as a pocket money app. Founded by ex-Paytm employees Shankar Nath and Ankit Gera, they received funding of $1 million from angel investors. The company targets kids in the range of Class 4 to Class 10 and plans to onboard over 2.5 million users by 2024.
One of the vital things, the former Paytm executive learned from his tenure in Paytm is the power of collaboration. Where they worked with more than 100 brands on their consumer promotions.
Another takeaway from their experience in Paytm is to build a product in a simple and usable manner. One needs to understand where the system breaks and move carefully while building a product. The only competitor right now to Junio is sequoia funded Fampay that also exclusively caters to children.
The idea of letting your kid manage their financials by providing them money is quite a new concept in India. Junio seeks to digitize pocket cash and nurture finance knowledge in children at quite an early age.
Park+
Park+ is an app-based platform for B2B businesses and daily commuters that offers smart parking automated solutions. The cloud-based app caters to car owners. The solutions offered in this app include parking reservations to FasTag recharge and a lot of other solutions offered. Park+ was founded by ex-VP of Paytm Amit Lakhotia. He founded this app to solve the parking problem people face in their day to day lives in India.
Park+ has raised over $11 million in funding from Sequoia, Matrix Partners.
Indiagold
Indiagold is the only app in India where you can buy and sell 24 karat gold online with BIS Hallmark certification. It was founded by Deepak Abbott, a former employee of Paytm. You can also buy gold coins and jewels on easy instalments with UPI or debit cards. This app also provides instant gold loans and a secure gold locker facility currently available in Delhi NCR.
The services will soon be opened all across India. Indiagold is now trusted by over 5 lakh customers.
GOQii is an Indian startup founded in 2014 by Vishal Gonda. It specializes in building a preventative healthcare ecosystem. It promotes a healthy and balanced lifestyle with a combination of advanced wearable technology, personal coaching. It has received an undisclosed investment sum from Paytm founder.
GOQii on Harvard business publishing platform
Unacademy
This Indian startup Unacademy started its journey as a YouTube channel back in 2010. It became an EdTech unicorn after its official launch in 2015. This Bangalore based company provides educational content and online classes for various competitive exams like GATE/NET, NEET, CAT, UPSC, Railways, bank officers. The Paytm founder had invested twice in this EdTech unicorn.
Flyrobe
Flyrobe is a startup which is an online fashion rental platform. The platform allows users to rent designer clothes for a fraction of the MRP. It is India’s largest such platform. This startup received funding from the Paytm founder.
Flyrobe
The Ken
Ken is a subscription-driven business news website founded in 2016 by a team of experienced journalists based out of Bangalore. Their goal is to promote content every morning by publishing fresh and original business insights to professionals, entrepreneurs and investors. It received an undisclosed amount of funding from Paytm Founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma in 2016.
FAQ
Who is the current owner of PayPal?
Paypal is owned by eBay which acquired it for $1.5 billion in October 2002.
Who is the CEO of Paytm 2020?
Varun Sridhar is the current CEO of Paytm.
Is Paytm an Indian company?
PayTM is owned by an Indian company by the name of One97 Communications Ltd.
Conclusion
Paytm mafia has nurtured and supported the growth of the Indian startup ecosystem. The Paytm mafia has been through the highs and lows. For them every day even tiny mistakes cost a lot. They bring a lot to the table which they gained in working among top companies. They also understand the mindset of the consumer which helps them build products that can thrive in the current market.
Michelle D’souza
