Following their HEART
Success is sweet but there is always a lot of hard work involved. Two entrepreneurs tell us about their key challenges.
The journey
My husband Rohan and I discovered some cashback sites when we were both working in the UK. We found the concept interesting and started Pouring Pounds, our UK-based cashback venture in 2011. Its success encouraged us to launch a cashback site in India and we launched CashKaro in 2013. It saw immense growth in a short span of time and reinforced our belief that Indians love to save money and would take an instant liking to cashback as a concept.
Interesting anecdote
It has to be when we met Ratan Tata over a meal and discussed how CashKaro works. When we explained how we drive sales to retailers and pay users cashback while retaining a small commission as profit he said, “You’re giving people free money in a country that loves to save. What’s not to love?”. He went on to invest in CashKaro and his confidence strengthened our resolve.
Early struggles
We were leading the performance marketing industry which meant we had to carve our own path. We had to start from scratch and lay down the processes both internally and at the retailers’ end. There was no one to follow and we were setting precedents at every step. It was an uphill task but we enjoyed the process because the experience was rewarding. There were other challenges we had to face such as product development, building the right team and helping investors see value in what we were building.
Road to success
It takes a lot of courage, persistence and the ability to look beyond problems at hand to be an entrepreneur. No matter how trying a situation may be, the ability to not lose sight of the larger objective and stay true to your vision is crucial.
Mentoring and support system
Both our families, Rohan’s and mine, have been very supportive. The fact that we come to work each day and put our best foot forward is because we have two very loving and unconditionally supportive families standing behind us as our anchors. We have also been fortunate enough to find bosses and colleagues who have guided us through our career and entrepreneurial roller coaster ride, and helped us to chase our dream.