Some companies start small in technology and business, but end up being large successful firms, Paytm is one of those companies.
This is how Paytm began and turned into one of India’s leading digital payment platforms. Paytm pioneered the e-wallet ecosystem in India and is now dominant despite competition from other equally strong e-wallets.
A brief introduction to Paytm
Paytm was launched by Vijay Shekhar Sharma who is a well-known provider of digital payments and financial services.
Paytm was initially developed for transferring money online effectively for both customers and businesses, but it has expanded its services gradually.
It offers financial services, eCommerce capabilities, and assistance on cell and DTH recharging later.
Indians love this platform since it is convenient and easy to use and, as a result, it has become endemic among us
Paytm has expanded its offerings over time to include stockbroking, the National Pension System (NPS), Paytm First Games, Paytm Insurance, and a mini app store.
The growth reflects that Paytm is committed to making available a wide array of easily accessible finance options to its users.
The team behind Paytm
Vijay Shekhar Sharma has been very successful as the CEO of Paytm where he is famous for his business skills. He gained recognition due to this.
Forbes named him the youngest billionaire in India in 2017 and assigned his net worth as $1.3 billion.
Sharma was awarded the highest civilian award given by the state government of Uttar Pradesh, known as Yash Bharati.
According to Forbes’ 2020 rankings, he was ranked number 62 in terms of wealth among Indians.
Vijay Shekar Sharma studied B.Tech in Electrical Engineering at Delhi College of Engineering before beginning his academic trajectory.
He became the person he is today by holding positions such as Business Development at RiverRun Software Group and Tech Head at India Today Group Online.
In the end, he started One97 Communications Limited which owns Paytm then took it a step further and launched Paytm Payments Bank.
Sharma’s path in business has been impressive and his influence on the fintech industry has been felt to date in India.
What’s Paytm’s startup story?
Vijay Shekhar Sharma’s entrepreneurial journey began in Aligarh, inculcating determination and resilience in him from his middle-class background.
Vijay was educated in Hindi, so he had to overcome a language barrier.
Regardless, he performed well scholastically and was accepted into Delhi College of Engineering, where he eventually obtained a B.E. in Electronics and Communication Engineering.
Vijay founded IndiaSite.net in 1997 when he was a student. His ambition persisted even after selling the website after two years.
In 2000 he founded One97 Communications which offers mobile content services.
With an initial investment amounting to $2 million, operations starting in the year 2010 at Noida, Paytm served as an introduction into business.
Under Vijay’s inspirational guidance, Paytm made a fast change from being a distributor of mobile entertainment to becoming a trailblazer in digital payments in India.
The start-up story of Vijay Shekhar Sharma not only describes his personal growth story but also how Paytm’s growth has transformed and impacted the financial technology industry in India.
A Brief History of Paytm
Vijay came up with a novel idea in 2010. He noticed that the rate at which people were turning to Smartphones for communication was on the upward trend.
He thought, “What if we could use phones to pay for things?” This was the beginning of Paytm.
Paytm started as a simple way to add money to your phone for calls and messages. But Vijay had bigger plans.
He wanted Paytm to be a way for people to pay for all kinds of things using their phones.
At first, not many people used Paytm. It was a new idea, and people weren’t sure about using their phones to pay for things.
Vijay and his team worked hard to make Paytm easy to use and safe.
Developing the business
As more people started using smartphones in India, Paytm began to grow. They added new features to make it more useful. Soon, you could use Paytm to:
- Pay for movie tickets
- Buy train and bus tickets
- Pay for food delivery
- Add money to your mobile phone
- Pay bills for electricity and water
People liked how easy it was to do all these things with just their phones. Paytm was becoming popular, but its biggest moment was yet to come.
The Big Break
In 2016, something big happened in India. The government decided to remove some paper money from use. This was called “demonetization.” Suddenly, many people didn’t have cash to pay for things.
This was a huge opportunity for Paytm. They were ready with their digital payment system. People who couldn’t use cash started using Paytm instead. In just a few days, millions of new people started using Paytm.
This was a turning point for the company. Paytm grew very quickly after this. More shops and businesses started accepting Paytm payments. It became normal to see “Paytm Accepted Here” signs in stores all over India.
Paytm Challenges and Competition
Of course, success always brings challenges. As Paytm grew, other companies saw how popular digital payments were becoming. Big companies like Google, Amazon, and Facebook started their own payment services in India.
Paytm had to work hard to stay ahead. They kept improving their app and adding new features. They also spent a lot of money on advertising to make sure people remembered Paytm.
Another challenge was making sure Paytm was safe to use.
Paying attention to their money, millions of people trust Paytm, which is why the company invested so heavily in security measures. In other words, hackers as well as fraudsters have been counteracted by hiring professionals.
Paytm Going Global
Paytm’s success in India made Vijay and his team think bigger. They started looking at other countries where Paytm could be useful. They expanded to Canada, Japan, and other countries in Asia.
In some places, Paytm worked with local companies to offer their services. This helped them understand different markets and follow local rules.
The Impact of Paytm
Many Indians think about and handle their money quite differently as a result of Paytm’s innovation. A large portion of them had their initial interaction with digital payments through Paytm.
The modern financial system has become more attractive to many people as a result of this.
Additionally, the firm has generated a lot of employment as well as motivated other business people in India.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma has shown that it is achievable to establish a huge corporation from nothing if one has a great idea and works hard
