Founder Thesis

"We realized that just lending is not the answer. You need to solve a problem for the small business owner." This quote from Tashwinder Singh encapsulates the core philosophy driving Niyogin's approach. It's not just about providing capital; it's about understanding and addressing the holistic needs of small businesses in India, moving beyond simple transactions to genuine problem-solving. This sets the stage for a discussion about a more nuanced and impactful approach to fintech. About Tashwinder Singh: Tashwinder Singh, CEO of Niyogin, is a financial services veteran with a track record of building and scaling businesses. He spent 18 years at Citibank, culminating in leadership roles before transitioning to the world of private credit at KKR, where he managed ~$1 billion in annual disbursements in India. Now, he's leading Niyogin's ambitious journey to revolutionize lending for small businesses, growing their loan book from ₹100 crores to a targeted ₹800 crores in the near future. His experience spans corporate finance, consumer banking, and the complexities of the Indian credit market.  Key Insights from the Conversation: 👉The Power of Partnerships: Niyogin's model heavily relies on strategic partnerships with a wide range of institutions, enabling them to reach a vast network of MSMEs and leverage existing distribution channels. 👉Beyond UPI: While UPI is a success story, Niyogin recognizes its limitations in rural India and focuses on addressing the unique challenges of cash-based economies and integrating cooperative banks. 👉Technology as an Enabler: The acquisition of iServeU and its technology platform (including soundbox technology) is central to Niyogin's strategy, providing both financial inclusion solutions and SaaS revenue streams. 👉Risk Management: Niyogin's approach to partner-originated loans, including risk cover, showcases a focus on sustainable growth and minimizing NPAs. 👉The Importance of Distribution: Niyogin's direct selling agents combined with strategic partnerships with institutions, gives them a wider and deeper reach.  Chapter Headings with Timestamps   00:00:00 - Introduction: Tashwinder Singh's Journey from Citibank to Niyogin 00:03:15 - The IL&FS Crisis and its Impact on Indian Credit 00:07:40 - Joining Niyogin: Identifying the Opportunity in MSME Lending 00:12:25 - Niyogin's Business Model: Lending, Distribution, and Technology 00:18:50 - Building the Loan Book: Targets and Strategies 00:24:30 - iServeU Acquisition: The Technology Backbone 00:31:10 - The Soundbox Strategy and Bank Partnerships 00:38:00 - Addressing the Challenges of Rural India: Beyond UPI 00:44:45 - Risk Management and the Zero NPA Approach 00:51:20 - The Future of Niyogin: Monetization and Growth Plans 00:57:00 - Competition and the Evolving Landscape 01:01:05 Key Learnings and Advice for Entrepreneurs  #Fintech #India #MSME #Lending #SmallBusiness #RuralIndia #UPI #FinancialInclusion #Credit #iServeU #Niyogin #TashwinderSingh #Investment #Banking #Technology #SaaS #Soundbox #DigitalPayments #Entrepreneurship #Startup #BusinessPodcast #FinancePodcast #KKR #Citibank #LoanBook #NPA #CooperativeBanks

From a $10,000 first customer to multi-million dollar contracts, hear the incredible growth story of Locus!In this episode of the Founder Thesis podcast, Founder and CEO Nishith Rastogi shares key strategies on how a shift from B2C to B2B helped fuel its success in the on-demand economy. Gain key insights into their go-to-market strategy, AI integration, and the importance of building strong customer relationships. Get actionable insights for your own entrepreneurial journey!Akshay Datt, a serial entrepreneur who has run ventures in employability training and hiring, hosts the Founder Thesis podcast. He has interviewed 500+ founders to date.Connect:Nishith Rastogi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nishithrastogi/Akshay Datt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akshay-datt/Founder Thesis: www.founderthesis.com

Yamini Bhat is a rare breed - a female founder of a tech startup, but beyond that her achievements are simply phenomenal - Vymo is a global Saas company doing double digit million in ARR, and has raised $45mn till date. In this episode of the Founder Thesis podcast Yamini Bhat recounts her fascinating transition from McKinsey consultant to the founder of Vymo, a cutting-edge sales automation platform. Learn about the challenges she faced, the lessons learned, and the breakthroughs and strategies that helped her scale the company globally. Akshay Datt, a serial entrepreneur who has run ventures in employability training and hiring, hosts the Founder Thesis podcast. He has interviewed 500+ founders to date.Connect:Yamini Bhat: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yamininatti/Akshay Datt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akshay-datt/Founder Thesis: www.founderthesis.com

In this episode, we dive into the entrepreneurial journey of Arvind Parthiban, CEO & Co-Founder of SuperOps, a $50M SaaS company. Arvind highlights the critical role of product marketing in startup success and emphasizes the importance of purpose-driven entrepreneurship.Akshay Datt, a serial entrepreneur who has run ventures in employability training and hiring, hosts the Founder Thesis podcast. He has interviewed 500+ founders to date.Connect:Arvind Parthiban: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arvind-parthiban/ Akshay Datt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akshay-datt/Founder Thesis: www.founderthesis.com

The global cross-border payments market is on a remarkable growth trajectory, expected to hit $290 trillion by 2030. Amidst this booming landscape, discover how Srivatsan Sridhar successfully navigated the challenges and founded Skydo, a platform which addresses traditional pain points around high fees, delayed settlements, and compliance hurdles and makes international transactions hassle-free.Akshay Datt, a serial entrepreneur who has run ventures in employability training and hiring, hosts the Founder Thesis podcast. He has interviewed 500+ founders to date.Connect:Srivatsan Sridhar: https://www.linkedin.com/in/srivats80/  Akshay Datt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akshay-datt/     Founder Thesis: www.founderthesis.com

In this episode, Divakar Vijayasarathy shares his inspiring entrepreneurial journey, from overcoming early struggles to building a global financial powerhouse. Tune in for invaluable lessons on scaling businesses, mastering tax dynamics, and creating lasting value in the professional services sector.  Divakar is the Founder of DVS Advisory Group, a tax advisory, business advisory and PE firm that has grown to an annual revenue of $300mn and has 18,000 clients across 40 countries.  He is a published author of 17 books related to Tax.  Akshay Datt, a serial entrepreneur who has run ventures in employability training and hiring, hosts the Founder Thesis podcast. He has interviewed 500+ founders to date.Connect:Divakar Vijayasarathy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/divakar-dvs/   Akshay Datt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akshay-datt/     Founder Thesis: www.founderthesis.com

In this episode, we delve into Rajul Garg's inspiring journey from his beginnings as a budding entrepreneur to a successful venture capitalist.Rajul is the founder and managing partner of Leo Capital, a venture fund that invests in early-stage technology companies. A serial entrepreneur turned investor, Rajul co-founded GlobalLogic, a digital engineering services company that was acquired by a Japanese company for $10 billion. He also co-founded Pine Labs, a merchant commerce platform valued at $6 billion, which plans to launch an IPO soon. In addition, he ventured into the edtech space by co-founding Sunstone Eduversity.Akshay Datt, a serial entrepreneur who has run ventures in employability training and hiring, hosts the Founder Thesis podcast. He has interviewed 500+ founders to date.

Anand Jain lost his father when he was just 12. This experience caused him to step into an entrepreneurial role very early in life and Anand has literally done it all - from selling detergent door-to-door, to repairing and assembling computers to writing software. Despite no academic track record to speak of, Anand ended up getting hired by a tech company in the Silicon Valley in peak dot com era. And while he could have settled for the American dream and made big dollars, he decided to come back to India and chase impact instead. In India, he set up the original restaurant discovery website before Zomato, and if things had worked out differently - that startup would be a peer of Zomato and Swiggy today. But the best is yet to come and Anand is currently the co-founder and product head at Clever Tap - which is a 100-million-dollar Saas company with a strong focus on serving India. This puts CleverTap into a category of its own with hardly any peers. This conversation is proof that adversity leads to the best kind of resilience and Anand’s humility and depth of insights will leave you hungry for more.Stay tuned for this very special episode of the Founder Thesis podcast with your host Akshay Datt.

It’s no secret that the business model of the internet is basically advertising. Think about what you spend time doing online - there’s a high chance that 80% of the time you are viewing ads. And you might think that the business of serving ads to consumers is done and dusted, but there are still opportunities for startups to win ad dollars away from the googles and the Metas of the world, and one such startup is Adonmo.Adonmo started life as a company converting cabs into ad spaces by installing screens on them. And this was a smart move if you think about it - the offline advertising market is the last great untapped opportunity, and cabs are the perfect way to run hyperlocal ads that dynamically change based on location and time of day. But life had different plans for this young startup, and they went through multiple near-death experiences before finally emerging as a dominant offline hyperlocal ads platform that has raised more than 40 million dollars from the likes of Zomato and others.Listen to the rollercoaster story of Adonmo’s journey straight from its amazing founder Sandeep Bommireddi in this episode of the Founder Thesis podcast, with your host Akshay Datt.

I can bet that almost all of you who are listening to this episode of the Founder Thesis podcast would have interacted with Vehant’s products.    The next time you go into an airport or an office building, take a look at the brand name on the baggage scanner that they are using - there’s a very high chance that you will see Vehant’s logo on it.  But Vehant is so much more than a company that makes X Ray baggage scanners, and in this episode of the Founder Thesis podcast, your host Akshay Datt interviews Kapil Bardeja who founded the company pretty much straight out of college.   The humble startup that was born in the dorm rooms of IIT Delhi is today helping the government power futuristic smart city projects and bring India at par with the western world in terms of the security infrastructure.  Stay tuned for a deep dive into the business of security and safety and subscribe to the Founder Thesis podcast on Youtube or any audio streaming app.