EP 617: DataSigns Raises $5.4M, Gives Loans To Indian Credit Borrowers At 1/2 The Rate Money Sharks Do With CEO Monish Anand

Monish Anand. He's a banker, a technologist, and a Fintech evangelist. Above everything else, he's a father. He spent 20+ plus years in corporate working for large banks and technology companies only to realize that they were not solving big problems and quite frankly, were often part of the problem. His company, Datasigns Technologies, aims to provide underserved and unserved access to optimal credit.

Famous Five:

• Favorite Book? – Calvin and Hobbes
• What CEO do you follow? – Jeff Bezos
• Favorite online tool? — Google Calendar and Google Task
• Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— Yes
• If you could let your 20-year old self, know one thing, what would it be? – "I wish I knew what Internet was"

Time Stamped Show Notes:

• 01:35 – Nathan introduces Monish to the show
• 02:20 – Datasigns Technologies started last year
• 02:32 – Datasigns Technologies gives credit ratings
• 02:38 – 400M people in India apply for loans yearly
• 02:42 – Less than 107 get loans from banks and other financial institutions
• 03:00 – Datasigns Technologies tries to bridge the gap between the credit givers and credit takers
• 03:15 – Datasigns Technologies has grade scoring algorithms
• 03:35 – Monish believes that the calculus used to determine credit worthiness is not good enough
• 04:03 – Datasigns Technologies calculates data from sources and turns them into algorithms
• 04:10 – Monish shares his driver's experience applying for a loan
• 05:18 – Datasigns Technologies relies on mobile data
• • 05:48 – Datasigns Technologies has a mobile app
• 06:06 – Datasigns Technologies' marketing explained
• 06:35 – Datasigns Technologies has a tie-up with micro-small to medium enterprises
• 07:00 – Datasigns Technologies does financial literacy for the enterprises
• 07:21 – There are 75K people who now understands Datasigns Technologies
• 07:54 – Datasigns Technologies has around 10K app downloads
• 08:07 – Datasigns Technologies has closed 600 loans
• • 08:20 – Loan terms
• 09:24 – Datasigns Technologies was Angel funded, last year
• • 09:31 – They have raised around $400K on an equity round
  • 09:39 – Datasigns Technologies is raising another round of $5M
• 09:50 – Nathan breaks down the math
• 10:27 – Datasigns Technologies' interest rate varies from 22-26%
• • 10:46 – Interest rates, in India, are much higher than in the USA
• 11:27 – Datasigns Technologies is the only company in India that is mandated by financial institutions to acquire customers
• 12:00 – Loan sharks charge 3% a month
• 12:40 – Datasigns Technologies has a processing fee and a basic interest rate
• 13:03 – How Datasigns Technologies makes money
• 13:43 – Datasigns Technologies helps banks build their books
• 14:00 – Why Datasigns Technologies is raising $5M
• 14:22 – Team size is 17
• • 14:36 – All based in Bangalore, India
• 14:45 – Monish shares why he started Datasigns Technologies
• • 15:05 – "There are people who deserve loans, but are not getting loans from the banks"
• 16:30 – The Famous Five

3 Key Points:

• Be the solution—not just part of the problem.
• There are people who deserve a loan, but are not given a chance—Monish wants to change that.
• The fintech space is one of the hottest spaces, at the moment.

Resources Mentioned:

• The Top Inbox – The site Nathan uses to schedule emails to be sent later, set reminders in inbox, track opens, and follow-up with email sequences
• Organifi – The juice was Nathan's life saver during his trip in Southeast Asia
• Klipfolio – Track your business performance across all departments for FREE
• Acuity Scheduling – Nathan uses Acuity to schedule his podcast interviews and appointments
• Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for the cheapest price possible.
• Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5-hour drive) to listen to audio books.
• Freshbooks – Nathan doesn't waste time so he uses Freshbooks to send out invoices and collect his money. Get your free month NOW
• Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives