Ranjit PunjaCo-founder of CreditMantri Published On: Wednesday, July 06, 2016 Views 2483

CreditMantri is a digital credit facilitator – on one hand, we profile customers using data from credit bureaus, from non traditional sources like government sources, social media and parsing financial statements. We then match these customers with lenders willing to lend to their profile. We have product offerings that cater to the credit healthy, the credit challenged and those new to credit.

The majority of Indians are unaware of the importance of credit score and how it impacts their ability to secure loans. On the other side, lenders are constantly looking for incremental data that could help them make more informed credit decisions, especially for people who are new to credit. With a combined experience of over 50 years in multinational banks between us promoters, we felt we had an opportunity to provide credit solutions to both sides.              

Do what you believe in.

Hiring and nurturing a team has probably been the most challenging part.

Given the strength of the business proposition and the management team, the initial round of funding did not present much of a challenge.

In May 2015, CreditMantri raised $2.5 million in Series A funding from IDG Ventures, Elevar Equity and Accion Venture Lab.

• When people feel they are solving a problem and providing real solutions, it creates excitement in the work they are doing;
• When they see company growth month on month;
• When they enjoy a transparent and informal culture at the workplace. All these help to retain talent in the organization.

Perserverence, a strong work ethic, and vision.

We are an online company and use a multitude of online tools and apps.

Going for a run every morning.

I would like to eat healthier.

• One tip to success:

Pick a good team, provide the right training and skills, continuously offer support with coaching and mentoring.

• One mistake you believe every individual must avoid:

Don’t ignore your health. The relentless nature of a start up can drain you mentally, physically and emotionally. You need to eat well, sleep (as much as you can get), exercise and spend time with family.

• One most important lesson that you have learnt till now:

There is no road map and it is okay not to know all the answers. No one has done what you are are doing – what you can do is to be open to change, correct your course and listen to others – your team, clients, vendors and mentors – to help you forge forwards.

We plan to raise Series B funding shortly to help build team, technology, and product. We also plan to build deeper integration with lenders.

Know that it is okay to have doubts. Those who have no doubts or no questions are either complacent or delusional.

Any 3 places by the sea!

“Excellence is not an act, it is a habit.”