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Entrepreneurship is on the rise in India. When we started Paisa Bazaar 10 years ago, the environment was completely different. Startup culture was still new, especially in financial services, and there were only a handful of large fintech companies like Policy Bazaar. Ten years later, we’re proud not only of our survival, but also of the business we’ve built around consumers. As Paisa Bazaar celebrates his incredible 10-year journey, I would like to share some insights I have gained in the process of building the organization. I hope this helps young entrepreneurs starting their own businesses.
Is it net positive in the long run?
I strongly believe in the concept of net positivity. This is a pertinent question for founders to ask themselves, not only when starting out, but also at various stages of building, growing, and scaling their business. Being net positive essentially means adding real, positive value over time to consumers and the entire ecosystem in which you operate.
Be prepared for a rainy day
As a business, there will always be bad days and periods of extreme crisis. We could lose customers or market share, have funding canceled or face regulatory challenges. One of the biggest lessons the pandemic has taught businesses is to prepare for this sudden and difficult time. Like most businesses around the world, we experienced dark times during the 2020 pandemic.
Currently, our business volume is more than 2.5 times the pre-coronavirus level, making us a highly profitable company.
After an initial phase of helplessness and panic, we decided to focus on certain fundamentals of our business. First, we recognized that financing is a basic financial need for consumers, and that it is not going away in the long run. Second, we realized that a challenging external environment could accelerate the industry’s digital adoption, benefiting digital-only platforms like ours. And most importantly, we need to rebuild into a more robust business that can handle these shocks better than what we’ve done here.
Execution and evolution are the keys to survival
When we started, we were the fourth or fifth marketplace platform to enter this space. However, given the lack of consumer finance penetration, lack of digitalization and gaps in consumer needs, we recognized that there was a huge market opportunity. And after three years of relentless execution, Paisabazaar overtook the incumbents and became the market leader.
Entrepreneurship is a team sport
Establishing a robust support network is paramount. First, having co-founders who share a deep commitment to the overall vision is invaluable. Co-founders with diverse expertise and experience can strengthen an organization’s ability to successfully address various challenges and increase overall business effectiveness. The second aspect is building a long-lasting core team that aligns with the organization’s ethos.
Measure everything and measure it right
At Paisa Bazaar, we have a simple creed: “Measure everything you do.” If you can’t measure it, find a way to measure it. I believe that has really helped us improve our business execution and move us in the right direction.
