Lessons from a Serial Entrepreneur ft. Manish Shara | Building ZET, a Fintech for India

If you’re a budding founder, operator or VC, this episode is a masterclass in what it really takes to build a fintech startup in India.

Manish Shara, Founder & CEO of ZET, shares candid lessons from his serial entrepreneurship journey, why he chose to solve India’s credit and financial access problem, and how ZET is being built for the next wave of Indian consumers.

In this conversation, we talk about:

• Early founder mistakes, pivots and mindset shifts across ventures

• How ZET thinks about fintech distribution, trust and scale in India

• Balancing growth, risk and unit economics while building in credit-adjacent spaces

• Practical takeaways for budding entrepreneurs and VCs evaluating fintech better

• Transferring actionable insights from cross domain experience

If you enjoy entrepreneurship podcasts, founder stories and deep dives into Indian fintech, this episode deserves a spot in your playlist.

Timestamps:

00:42 – Introduction

02:30 – Manish’s journey: From Jaipur coder to serial entrepreneur

06:45 – The rise and fall of Offermundi & Simplify

10:45 – Dineout days and product learnings

13:05- Manage to stay sane & how Manish took the rightful risks

21:11 – How referral logic led to OneCode

27:12 – Transition to Fintech & Zet

30:40 – Solving affordable credit with credit scores

33:57 – Manish’s 3 “Don’ts” for founders

38:45 – Final thoughts and wrap-up👉 Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe for more candid founder journeys and deep dives into India's fintech ecosystem.