Paytm's Success Story | Vijay Shekhar Sharma
Paytm is an Indian multinational corporation specializing in digital payment systems, e-commerce, and financial services. Let us look at Paytm’s success story and how Paytm got started.
Paytm began in Noida. It is currently available in 11 Indian languages. It offers mobile recharges, bill payments, travel, movie, and event bookings, as well as in-store payments at grocery stores, fruit and vegetable shops, restaurants, parking, tolls, pharmacies, and educational institutions using the Paytm QR code.
They offer financial services such as buying and selling Mutual Funds, Bonds, Shares, F&O, etc. Paytm Payments Bank also offers financial services.
Key Highlights
Paytm’s headquarters – Noida, Uttar Pradesh
Sector – Fintech
Company’s founder – Vijay Shekhar Sharma
Founded – 2010
Total funding – 3.5 billion dollars
Net Worth – US$2.35 billion (2020)
Revenue/turnover – 1100 crores (Approx. in 2021)
Parent Company – One97 Communications
Website www.paytm.com
A Look Back at Vijay Shekhar Sharma’s Childhood
Vijay Shekhar Sharma was born on July 8, 1973, in a tiny town near Aligarh city to a low-income family. His father was a modest schoolteacher, his mother was a housewife, and he had three siblings.
Talent is a fragrance that blooms amid adversity. Despite being from a poor household, Vijay Shekhar’s profound knowledge enabled him to complete Higher Secondary at 14.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma aspired to be an engineer but lacked the financial and other tools to pursue his dream. Another problem was his difficulty with the English language. He, on the other hand, never gave up. Vijay Shekhar told his mother that he wanted to be an engineer and that he needed to take English classes. His mother denied it, telling him they did not have enough money and that his sister had to marry soon.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma- Facing Difficulties
Vijay Shekhar has witnessed the challenges of the country’s financially deprived people. When he was a kid, he used to wear chappals to school because his classmates couldn’t afford a pair of shoes. After observing this, he wrote a poem expressing his emotions and thoughts on life’s injustices.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma was one of two people from his community who pursued a career in engineering.
Vijay graduated from the famous Delhi Institute of Technology with a degree in engineering. According to Vijay, students who attended a Hindi-medium school faced numerous challenges. A child attending a Hindi-medium school in the 1990s has virtually little access to books and coaching.
As a result, Vijay recognized he was on his own in his journey to success.
During his stay at DTU (Delhi Technological University), formerly known as Delhi College of Engineering, he described his life in the style of a hit Bollywood film called “Tare Zameen Par.” He could see his professors’ mouths moving, but he couldn’t understand a single word they said. He and his colleagues would read the answers and not understand the questions when studying for the tests because the questions were written in English.
As a result, Vijay taught himself how to read, write, and speak English.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma Turned Difficulties Into Opportunities
Vijay’s life changed when he went to a market one Sunday and picked up a Forbes magazine. He learned about the success stories of mega-brands such as Apple, Intel, and HP and how they rose to prominence in the startup scene. Each business had one thing in common: they were all built from basement garages. Vijay later expressed an interest in visiting Silicon Valley. But, due to his financial situation, such was not an option.
Despite his disappointment, Vijay thought that if he couldn’t travel to Silicon Valley, he could build one in India.
As a result, during his undergraduate days in 1997, Vijay founded an internet company with his friend Hari.
They both wanted to create a search engine because they felt it would be the key draw for the internet, which was making huge gains in the technological circuit at the time. His parents forced him to get real work, but his great desire to start a new company never forced him to stay in traditional employment for long.
Vijay aspired to be a free-flying bird his entire life. He never wanted to be a horse that ran the same path over and over.
To achieve his passion, he had to leave his position at One97 Communications in 2001 and build a company founded on the same intellectual worldview as Yahoo. During his first term, he discovered that cash flow is more important than profitability.
This was due to a cash flow difficulty caused by his client’s failure to pay him on time.
As a result, to move on, he sold approximately 40% of the company to an angel investor at the time for only Rs 8 lakh. That was a difficult moment for Vijay because his sister’s wedding was approaching, and he needed to secure that marriage.
The family had a major dilemma when his father was denied a loan of 2 lakhs despite being on the loan defaulters list. As a result of his motivation, he created Paytm, a platform that addressed the challenges of the poor and economically disadvantaged portions of society.
The platform was created for a shopkeeper and auto-rickshaw drivers who are not well-liked or respected by any banking institution.
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Failure: Vijay Shekhar Sharma and Paytm’s Key to Success
Vijay Shekhar never gave up on his aspirations because he lacked proficiency in English. Though he was not fluent in English, he was proficient in Science and Mathematics.
Finally, at the age of 15, he was not only admitted to Delhi University but also placed ninth in the entrance exam. However, Vijay Shekhar, the top student in his class, became a backbencher at college due to his terrible English.
A certain darkness is needed to see the stars.
When the lecturer asked him a question in English, and he couldn’t grasp it, he was mocked in class. Again, it had little effect on his morale. Rather, he began going to the library to learn English. He used to translate his course materials into Hindi. He failed his first year of engineering due to a lack of English.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma’s High Morale
God helps those who help themselves.
The watershed point in his life occurred when he went to Dariya Gunj in Old Delhi and purchased a used Forbes Magazine. He used to read about the success tales of great people in business. Vijay Shekhar was greatly influenced by corporate titans such as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Ratan Tata. The story of how these entrepreneurs started from the bottom and worked their way up the success ladder.
Vijay Shekhar strongly desired to attend Stanford and Silicon Valley, but he could not do so due to the financial crisis and a lack of cash. This ‘iron man’ had such a strong moral that even when he couldn’t escape, he didn’t give up and avoided being trapped in such an obnoxious situation.
He figured he could turn India into Silicon Valley if he couldn’t go to Silicon Valley.
One97 Communications is the first step toward success.
Vijay Shekhar learned computers in college and created a website called indiasite.net that served as a search engine for a corporation.
But life had other plans!
Vijay Shekhar founded his own company, One97 Communications, in 2001 to provide a people-searching service. Vijay Shekhar became one of India’s youngest businessmen with the launch of One97 Communications.
To grow One97 Communications, he took loans from multiple institutions, often at a higher principal interest rate of 24%. As a result, most of his company’s income was spent on paying his interest rate and rent of his house.
The man who has hungered and longed for a penny understands the value of money. That is why Vijay Shekhar understands the value of money and how important it is in everyone’s life.
There was a period in his life when he didn’t have enough money to buy two cups of tea in the cold. He’s walked for kilometers merely to save money for breakfast the next day. He even had to miss meals to save money!
Paytm’s motto is “Go Big or Go Home.”
Vijay Shekhar motivates us to dream big and achieve our goals no matter what.
To avoid bankruptcy, he established a consultancy, where he met Piyush Agrawal. Vijay Shekhar assisted him by building software in his company, doubling his profit. Vijay Sharma’s actions impressed Piyush Agrawal, who offered him the position of CEO of his company, but Vijay declined.
On the other hand, Vijay Shekhar’s family was putting pressure on him to get solid employment. He was caught between a financial crisis and family responsibilities. Finally, he had no choice but to accept the offer made by Piyush Agrawal.
His debt for One97 Communications eventually ballooned to Rs. 8 lakhs.
Vijay Shekhar discussed this with Piyush Agrawal, who assisted him by purchasing 40% of One97 Communications. As a result, the loan of Rs 8 lakhs was paid off.
Vijay Shekhar adds,
I was not meant to be the tamed horse. I was destined to be that bird – the eagle that desired to fly high.
And then I heard Jim Morrison’s lyrics in a great song: “We want the world, and we want it now!”
Paytm – An Idea Has the Power to Change the World
Vijay Shekhar’s primary aim was to create a consumer brand. The Board of Directors stated that One97 Communications’ profit must be invested in something worthy of the business because they cannot keep the dividends for an extended period. They had no choice but to spend the money. Vijay Shekhar completed a world tour and arrived in Beijing. He discovered that Beijing was rapidly developing in terms of technology.
He began to notice that every number was a hundred times larger than India.
He believed that if China could do it, why couldn’t India?
It was there that he had the concept of designing a payment platform. However, the concept was rejected by the Board of Directors. They assumed that in India, cash is king and that their fellow citizens would not approve the digital transaction. It is amusing that Vijay Shekhar was paid a sum of Rs 5 crores for six months to bet on whether Paytm will be constructed or not.
Finally, the Paytm concept was implemented, and the rest is history.
Paytm’s Success Story:Â
Paytm’s a success story; After demonetization, practically every Indian thinks of two words when they go shopping “Paytm Karo.” Paytm has fundamentally transformed the payment system, causing a paradigm shift in the retail business. Initially, this online wallet/e-commerce website was used to pay for local utilities such as mobile and DTH recharges and shopping bills.
This portal’s scope has broadened over time, bringing anything and everything inside its purview. Customers can now recharge their metro cards, pay utility bills such as electricity and water, transfer funds to other bank accounts, book flight/train/bus tickets, and make hotel reservations, among other things. With the inclusion of e-retail and m-commerce outlets, the current Paytm Success Story is continually expanding.
This helps small vendors post their products on the internet and expand their consumer base.
Paytm – Revolution and Progression
Paytm is an e-wallet approved by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), meaning that the user’s money is safe in an Escrow account with a nationalized bank. Paytm is India’s most popular digital payment platform due to its security features and simple user interface. Paytm employs 128-bit SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption technology certified by Verisign. This ensures that the user’s internet data, such as passwords and other financial information, is secure, offering greater security to users.
This online payment solution is not only secure but also dependable. Paytm’s success story includes the ability to process about 5000 transactions per second. The technique of a very simple yet effective and secure payment method has enabled a high volume of transactions.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma is a role model.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma’s net worth is now estimated to be about $2.3 billion.
Success is never simple. This kind-hearted and sincere entrepreneur realized his aim of making a billion dollars when he just had Rs. 10 in his wallet. Vijay Shekhar was not born with a silver spoon, but he transformed his life into one of gold. This is a tale of rags to riches. Vijay Shekhar Sharma encourages us to be the ‘Michaelangelo’ of our lives, to create and paint them with lovely colors. He was well-educated and taught us that patience, confidence, boldness, and vision could lead to financial success.
Finally, it would not be incorrect to state that Vijay Shekhar Sharma is coal refined into a diamond.
FAQ:
What is the name of the parent company of Paytm?
One97 Communications is Paytm’s parent firm.
Is Paytm an Indian or a Chinese company?
Paytm is an Indian startup, however, one of its primary investors is a Chinese company called “Ant Financial.”
How many people work at Paytm?
Paytm employs around 1200 people throughout the world.
Is Paytm a company based in India?
Yes, it is an Indian firm formed in 2010 by Vijay Shekhar Sharma. Paytm is an Indian fintech firm that specializes in digital payments and ecommerce, as well as digital wallets.
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