Meet the philosophy grad who has been dabbling in business since age 16

From running side businesses to support his family to now running a billion-dollar business, CRED founder Kunal Shah has come a long way

Serial entrepreneur Kunal Shah is known for two startups that he has founded so far -- Freecharge and CRED. What people don’t know is that he has run over a dozen businesses since he was 16.

He is the unusual founder who doesn’t have an IIT or IIM tag but is a philosophy graduate who dropped out of Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies in 2004.

Shah, who hails from a Gujarati family, learned the importance of taka (money) and financial independence at a young age as the family went through a financial crisis, he reveals in a podcast. He did several odd jobs from selling henna cones to pirated CDs, from running tuition classes to a cyber cafe to make money.

From earning to support his family to now running a billion-dollar business, this MBA dropout has come a long way. His startup CRED, which rewards members every time they pay credit card bills, recently more than doubled its valuation to $2.2 billion with a $215 million Series D funding led by investors such as Falcon Edge Capital and Coatue Management.

His previous startup Freecharge, part of the first wave of ecommerce startups that the country saw, was acquired by Snapdeal in 2015 for $450 million. Shah has had an bumpy ride as an entrepreneur. He started as freelance designer and programmer, and then went to start a Saas-based company which went on pivoting till they found a business model called Freecharge.

Till profits, unicorns are hope and belief of its stakeholders, he believes.

“Unicorn tag, high valuations are all vanity metrics till the company delivers profits. Many companies like Amazon and Facebook were loss making for several years but became truly valuable only when they delivered profits,” he wrote on Twitter, a platform on which he’s highly active with tweets on topics running from entrepreneurship to startups to life.

With entrepreneurship running in his blood, he feels that you need to risk the capital that you have, only then can you grow it. He wants his as well as the wealth of others to grow. 

“We see our fundraise as a responsibility to build a rewarding ecosystem for Cred members and an opportunity to share value with stakeholders. Hence, happy to also announce a $5 million ESOP buyback for the team members who have contributed to the Cred journey,” he announced. In a short span of over two years, the Cred community has crossed over 6 million individuals. 

CRED has been rolling out several innovative features for members. Rentpay allows users to pay a monthly rent on credit card for a small transaction fee, gaining more credit card points and enhancing liquidity. Then there is CRED Cash -- an instant credit line accessible in three, fully-digital steps. CRED Cash offers attractive interest rates of 12-15 per cent.

Other than improving their relationship with money, CRED members have also contributed to several missions. These 6 million members have contributed 150,000 meals, 50,000 books and 75,000 medical kits in rural areas via CRED coins.

Apart from being an entrepreneur, Shah has played several other roles. He is an advocate of India’s startup ecosystem with over 50 angel investments, nearly 50 per cent of which are in fintech. He has been an advisor to the board of Bennett Coleman & Co, the Chairman of the Internet and Mobile Association of Indian and an advisor to Y-Combinator and Sequoia Capital India. He partners founders at various stages of the entrepreneurship journey, sharing insights, sparking connections, and seeking knowledge.

But the kick he gets from creating a business is unmatched. “If you have built and created all your life, the idea of not creating is never a good idea,” he says, as he focuses all his energies in becoming more and more efficient each day at what he does.