On November 8, 2016; The Indian economy underwent an important transformation with the announcement of Demonetization. Whilst a progressive step against corruption, it created an overnight rumpus and pandemonium with multitudes of individuals standing in queues to withdraw cash from ATMs or exchange old currency notes in banks for quite a few days. Amid this overwhelming ruckus, Paytm emerged as a sigh of relief and has become a household name for bill payments and money transfer. Paytm app featured in almost every smartphone because it made life easier. the person behind the thought of making this mode of easy transaction is Vijay Shekhar Sharma. However, this victory didn’t come easy for him. It took Vijay Sharma years of diligence and determination in making Paytm what it’s today.
Vijay Sharma: Education –
Vijay Sharma was born during a village of Aligarh in 1978. His father was an honest school teacher, who believed in strong principles. Vijay was a toddler prodigy. He completed higher education during a Hindi medium school at the age of 14 but he wasn’t proficient in English.
After a cushty childhood in his cozy hometown, his tough time started when he visited Delhi College of Engineering to pursue his graduation. during this phase, Vijay Sharma realized the worth of English. He got low grades and felt hopeless, but refrained to offer up. Vijay grappled with language problems for an extended time. He bought second-hand magazines and books to find out English. His friends at the school also helped him. A topper in class was struggling in college. There was a time when he wanted to quit, but his willpower kept him going.
He stopped getting to college and spent tons of your time on the web. This was the introduce his life which endowed an entrepreneurial mindset in him. Sabeer Bhatia and Yahoo became his idols. Vijay thought of getting to Stanford for further education a bit like his entrepreneurial idols. He soon realized the shortage of monetary resources and language challenges. this is often when he decided to find out coding himself.
Vijay Sharma: Entrepreneur –
Vijay Sharma started building his own content management system with a number of his classmates. Indian Express and other big news publications used it. He also started his first job at an MNC and resigned after six months to start out his own company with friends.
Vijay Sharma was left bankrupt after his partners conned him. He raised Rs. 8 Lakhs through his venture. He was conned off 40% of the cash. This became the darkest time in his life and his dreams of entering the Silicon Valley were shattered. He was utterly devastated but again didn’t hand over. He started living during a hostel near Kashmiri Gate in Delhi and would walk long distances to attend work or meetings in South Delhi.
Paytm was Born –
Things started recuperating when Vijay Sharma ideated One97 – the parent company of what’s now an enormous giant called Paytm. the corporate was supported the three essentials of Internet – Content, Advertising, and Commerce. the instant of exuberance came when Vijay came up with the thought of entering the payment ecosystem. The board was a touch perplexed with the thought of entering a non-existent market in India. So, he put 1% of his own equity ahead of the board to require the danger of starting this new venture.
Vijay Sharma was quoted saying, “there is not any fun in doing what others ask you to do; the important fun is in doing what others say you can’t do.”
Subsequently, PayTm was call at the market, and Vijay never looked back. The trust he built together with his customers is that the secret behind Paytm’s success. He incorporated a strong 24*7 customer care service center that resolved queries and issues swiftly and made customers feel safe about putting their money within the Paytm wallet.
The idea of putting 30% of the company budget in customer care worked well. It made a beautiful relationship with customers special and unique. Paytm also launched customer service accounts on Twitter and Facebook to make sure every customer complaint was heard and resolved.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma strongly believes in teamwork. He hires folks that share an equivalent passion for building a corporation like Paytm. He given 4% equity to his team. In current value terms, it seems to be $120 Million. Vijay values every single contributor to his vision. He never addresses people working in Paytm as employees but only as colleagues or teammates. His values have made Paytm an enormous corporate giant today.
He has struggled in each phase of life and has overcome many hurdles. there have been times when nothing appeared to be working for Vijay and he had to survive with 10 Rupees in his pocket. He considered meals a blessing then.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma’s life and therefore the success story of PayTm are truly inspirational.
