Kunal Shah believes that entrepreneurs should also see themselves as players in a game of chess, otherwise they will end up as pawns fighting against one another. He says, “Only when you distance yourself from the game, are you able to figure your place in the larger scheme of things and take timely, objective decisions.” He advices young entrepreneurs to be able to let go of their business if needed. He says, “Entrepreneurs often make the mistake of considering businesses akin to spouses. But business doesn’t work that way. Sometimes, acquisitions, mergers, exits, are all a necessity in the interest of a better outcome.” Kunal Shah has lived every bit of this quote. In fact, he exited his first entrepreneurial venture – PaisaBack, a B2B venture that provided cash-back promotions for organised retailers, so that he could focus on FreeCharge. Kunal says, “While PaisaBack made profits with which we were able to start FreeCharge, we realised that the scalability aspect of FreeCharge was much larger than what PaisaBack offered. So the shutter came rolling on PaisaBack. And, five years after he started FreeCharge, he sold it to Snapdeal and it was hailed as one of the largest deal in the Indian consumer internet space.
The move was aimed at creating a platform that offers a seamless transaction experience and makes every day online payments safe, easy, frictionless, and rewarding. Today, Kunal dons the hat of a CEO at FreeCharge and is looking at rapid expansion and bulking up the digital payments platform. Kunal has also invested in startups like TableHero, Razorpay, LifCare, and Zilingo.
Of the many success factors that helped him in his #NaaSeeHaanTak entrepreneurial journey, Kunal quotes the importance of doing homework. He strongly believes that youngsters need to understand and analyse the subject matter before taking the entrepreneurial plunge. He says, “I stood in malls and surveyed more than 2,000 people to understand if the consumer was ready to buy into the idea. Put together, I have done about 500 hours of cumulative research before starting FreeCharge.” He says,“It is this homework that helps you demonstrate a workable solution and helps to make Naa Se Haan possible.”
Kunal’s startup mantra for success ~ “Ambition alone doesn’t work. Missions do.” And Kunal lives up to this mantra on every step of his journey.
Hauslay Ki Udaan
The move was aimed at creating a platform that offers a seamless transaction experience and makes every day online payments safe, easy, frictionless, and rewarding. Today, Kunal dons the hat of a CEO at FreeCharge and is looking at rapid expansion and bulking up the digital payments platform. Kunal has also invested in startups like TableHero, Razorpay, LifCare, and Zilingo.
Of the many success factors that helped him in his #NaaSeeHaanTak entrepreneurial journey, Kunal quotes the importance of doing homework. He strongly believes that youngsters need to understand and analyse the subject matter before taking the entrepreneurial plunge. He says, “I stood in malls and surveyed more than 2,000 people to understand if the consumer was ready to buy into the idea. Put together, I have done about 500 hours of cumulative research before starting FreeCharge.” He says,“It is this homework that helps you demonstrate a workable solution and helps to make Naa Se Haan possible.”
Kunal’s startup mantra for success ~ “Ambition alone doesn’t work. Missions do.” And Kunal lives up to this mantra on every step of his journey.
Hauslay Ki Udaan
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