The Indian startup circuit has witnessed many amazing stories. The growth of many multinational companies has added to its worth and value as an ecosystem where everyone gets an opportunity to shine and rise. With the new era approaching, it is time to have a sneak-peek into one of the most successful entrepreneurs Vijay Shekhar Sharma. Well, if you are residing in India or if you have kept in touch with the Indian startup ecosystem, then you might have heard about Paytm. It is one of the first e-wallets and is still considered as the representative of the Indian startup system in the e-wallet circuit.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma is India’s second-youngest billionaire with $2.35 billion wealth as per Forbes list of India’s 100 Richest People (2020). Once, Sharma used to earn around Rs 10,000 a month when he was 27 years old and based in Aligarh. From the small town of Aligarh to being the head of one of the largest fintech companies focused on digital payments and wallet-based payments, the journey of Vijay Shekhar Sharma is as unique and interesting as it is inspiring.
In real life, Vijay is self-effacing and has no pretensions. He speaks from the heart. His colleagues love him because he is a genuine person, who is kind to all. Talking about the Indian startup circuit, everyone loves him because he epitomizes startup resilience. Vijay is a man with many qualities. He is also famous for his heartfelt speeches. Furthermore, he is a really cheerful person as a CEO and often takes the stage to deliver motivational speeches that are roaringly applauded both by the employees of Paytm and other audiences.
The struggle of Vijay Shekhar Sharma
Vijay Shekhar Sharma was born in a middle-class family in Aligarh. He was a very bright student because his father was a school teacher and has some high values when it comes to education. He completed his schooling at the young age of 14 from a Hindi medium school therefore it was difficult for him to write and read English. Soon he realizes that to get admission to a good college it is important to know Basic English. He began to learn English by reading old magazines and borrowing books from his friends. When he got admission to an engineering college in Delhi. But soon he completely stopped going to college. Soon he started losing interest in engineering and developed an interest in entrepreneurship.
While in college, Vijay and his friend started a company outside their hostel named XS Corps. Their business card carried the address of their hostel and a phone number for the DCE’s computer center. He also started a website in his college days named www.indiasite.net and later sold it for $1 million two years later.
In 2001, by taking a loan of Rs 8 Lakh, he started a company named One97 communications, the parent company of Paytm. The company offered mobile content, including news, cricket scores, ringtones, jokes, and exam results. The loan repayment was becoming a bit difficult, so he took jobs like delivering small guest lectures and setting up LAN connections, etc.
Paytm Launched
In 2010, Vijay Shekhar launched Paytm, Pay through Mobile, by sensing a shift towards digital systems in consumer billing and payment processes. It started with a prepaid mobile and DTH recharge platform and added mobile and landline payments in 2013. In 2014, the company launched Paytm digital wallet. Demonetization in 2016 helped the business grow tremendously. In 2017 Paytm became India’s first payment app to cross over 100 million app downloads. The Paytm Payments Bank has become the first platform that offers a zero-balance account facility. This platform also offers UPI payments and shopping facilities too. Paytm as a brand continues to rise in the modern-day era of e-commerce.
After he launched Paytm, two words that came to every Indian mind while doing money transactions were “Paytm Karo”. The secret behind the success of Paytm was the trust Sharma built with his customers. He built a 24 * 7 internet wallet service with around-the-clock customer support service, which responded to customer complaints immediately, which made the customers trust him and put their money in the hands of the unknown. Users can recharge their mobile phones, DTH TV, Metro cards, pay bills, and whatnot through Paytm.
Vijay Sharma has received plentiful awards and recognitions, some of which are:
- Vijay Shekhar Sharma was felicitated with the Yash Bharati award, the highest civilian award from the Uttar Pradesh government.
- He was ranked in the 62nd position in the Forbes list of the richest person in India in 2020.
- He was listed as the youngest billionaire in India in 2017 with a net worth of $1.3 billion.
- Time Magazine listed Sharma among the 100 most influential people in 2017.
- Sharma was recognized by The Economic Times as the ET Entrepreneur of the Year for the year 2016.
- He was also named as the Dataquest IT Man of the year in 2017.
- Sharma was felicitated by an Honorary Doctorate from Amity University, Gurgaon, in 2016.
- He received the title of the Businessman of the Year at GQ Men of the Year Awards in 2016.
- He also became the NDTV Indian of the Year in 2016.
- Sharma also emerged as India’s Hottest Business Leader under 40, as recognized by The Economic Times in 2015.
At present time Paytm Founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma has crossed the first big hurdle of public listing, but with a 37 percent loss at debut for shareholders. However, the market is willing to wait for the company’s shift from a low-margin payments business to lending and wealth management. Sharma is already scaling up Paytm’s buy-now-pay-later offering, personal and merchant loans, and the credit card business. At some stage in the future, the 43-year-old will need a full-scale banking license to raise low-cost funds and earn high yields in the lending business. The road to profitability is still some distance away.
Now, Paytm handles more than 5000 transactions per second, and a high capacity of transactions is made possible by implementing a straightforward yet effective and safe payment method. Users may make payments and transfers from anywhere by scanning the QR code of a seller or inputting the recipient’s cell phone number.
Lesson for the entrepreneurial world
Vijay has been on the receiving side of the harsh times when one would have to toil hard with no guarantee of success. However, he has the great ability to make one laugh because he admires his roots and failures. Normally, anyone in place of Vijay Sharma’s situation would have quit, but Vijay decided to build and use the time he had to become an entrepreneur. Thus, passion and hard work can bring you endless amounts of opportunities and nothing good can come by sitting waiting for the opportunities to come. You have to create them yourself. He is now the inspiration to all the young entrepreneurs who think that they can do nothing.
