S2 E5: LoanTap's Satyam Kumar - Maharajas of Scale

Making Loans User Friendly at Scale

Episode Title Image for LoanTap's Satyam Kumar

LoanTap’s Satyam Kumar’s cushy life

LoanTap’s Satyam Kumar enjoyed a happy life as a senior banking executive. As a high-ranking official at IndusInd Bank, he oversaw the development of several products and led large business lines. Satyam was part of the group of executives that saw opportunity unfold. Driving opportunity was the Indian economy that grew at a fast pace between the mid-2000s and the early 2010s.

Satyam did not contemplate leading a life outside the confines of his banking circles. He was in a senior position and was on track to be CEO. As he was on track to be CEO, entrepreneurship was the last thing on his mind.

However, several events by the mid-2010s made Satyam change his mind. He experienced a glass ceiling and felt that he had plateaued. Further, the growing Indian vocal and connected millennials, the black swan event of demonetization, and the startup wave pushed the market in a new direction. As large swathes of young Indian executives moved across cities, multiple opportunities opened up. Lending was one of the key opportunities.

Image of Epsiode 41 with Ashish Kashyap of GoIbibo — Listen to one of our previous episodes with GoIbibo’s Ashish Kashyap and IndWealth’s Amrita Sirohia

India’s Savings and Loans Moment

India has for long enjoyed a great domestic savings rate. Indians relied on their own savings and insurance policies to take care of their rainy day needs. As millennials began crisscrossing the globe, they needed money to take care of their lifestyle needs.

These vocal and connected millennials hated products that were not user-friendly. Loans were one of them. Satyam saw an opening and founded LoanTap. JAM Trinity transforms governance, fintech

Users who wanted better products and the Indian Government’s Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile (JAM Trinity) greatly aided LoanTap’s Satyam Kumar and his push towards better digital products. Driven by the ablility to authenticate users electronically and the millions of young users online, LoanTap made a mega push. Backing this mega push was Satyam’s ability to raise funding on the back of his experience and the market opportunity.

This episode is full of insights on how LoanTap has grown at such a fast pace.

Check out our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/maharajasofscale for a video version of this interview