CRED Startup Story: How an Idea Became Reality
In this startup story, we will be featuring the CRED success story. It is an Indian fintech company, based in Bangalore, founded in 2018 by Kunal Shah, who is also the founder of Freecharge. Kunal Shah is a non-tech background and coming from a Gujarati family.
This is the success story of an Indian startup who turned his passion into a successful business. A fintech startup is a mobile app that allows users to manage multiple credit cards and keep a realtime check on your credit score on a single app.
Here, we will be talking to the founder of CRED, and getting his insights on how he was able to make his business successful.
What is CRED app?
It is a financial services startup that offers credit products to consumers in India. The company was founded in October 2016 by Kunal Shah and co-founder. The company’s mission is to make credit more affordable and accessible in India.
The company started off with a bang, raising $15 million in seed funding from Sequoia India and other investors in just six weeks. In the two years since then, Cred has grown rapidly, raising $90 million in Series A and B funding rounds.
The startup is now one of the most well-funded fintech startups in India, with a valuation of over $500 million. The company has over two million users and is on track to become profitable by 2020.
This startup’s success lies in its focus on customer experience. The company has built a mobile app that makes it easy for users to track their credit score, pay their bills on time, and apply for loans. Cred also offers rewards and discounts to customers who use its app regularly.
It is changing the face of financial services in India, and is poised for even greater success in the years to come. If you’re looking for a good credit option, be sure to check out Cred!
What services do CRED provide?
The Unicorn Startup started with just credit card payment services, but today it is expanding its reach in different financial sectors.
The app has about 70 lakh users, and the number is increasing. Let’s take a look at the services provided by the app.
- The Indian fintech company allows you to manage all your credit card payments in one app.
- The app provides you with regular notifications regarding your credit card payment details and its due dates.
- The mobile app offers cashback and rewards for new users.
- IT provides reword points on the completion of payment.
- Hassle-free payment methods.
- IT also provides services for insurance, rent, and loans.
How CRED makes money
It is a bit different from other startups in that it doesn’t have any VC funding and it makes money from day one.
It is a membership platform that gives users access to exclusive rewards and benefits from brands like Ola, Zomato, Cleartrip, and many others.
To join, users have to pay a monthly subscription fee. In return, they get access to exclusive deals and offers from it’s partner brands. The company makes money by charging brands a commission for every transaction that is made through Cred.
So far, it has over one million members and is growing at a rate of 30% month-on-month. The company plans to use the money raised from its latest round of funding to expand into new markets, build more partnerships with brands, and hire more people.
CRED business model
The company is based on the “hole and hook model”. Many credit card holders do not complete their outstanding payments on time.
The company offers benefits to credit card users who complete their payments on time. Benefits are given in the form of valuable rewards.
The company set up a ‘hole’ in the credit card payment system and provided a ‘hook’ in rewards. They offer attractive rewards to their customers, which makes their product a bragging proposition.
Unicorn Startup & their Vision
The company was started with the vision to make credit more accessible and affordable for people in India.
To achieve this, they built a technology platform that enables them to offer loans at lower interest rates than traditional lenders.
The company also offer a suite of financial products that helps our customers manage their finances better.
The startup is committed to providing our customers with the best possible experience, and work hard to make sure that they are happy with their services.
It is a social enterprise, and it is passionate about using technology to bring financial inclusion to people who need it the most. The company is currently operational in India, and plan to expand to other countries in the future.
Brand Partners?
The company offers different vouchers and rewards for its customers. It has successfully bagged many reputed Indian brands as its partner. Following are esteemed brand partners:
- Samsung
- TATA CLIQ
- Cure Fit
- AJIO
- Dineout
- The Lalit
- Myntra
- Puma
- Ethos
- Jio Saavan
CRED Founder
Kunal Shah, the founder of CRED has always been passionate about technology and its potential to make our lives better. After working in the financial sector for a few years, he decided to take the plunge and start his own company.
He was motivated by the need to provide an easy solution for managing credit cards and keeping track of your credit score. With this, he developed the app which has now become a success story.
The story behind his struggle and success
Before starting the company, Kunal Shah faced a serious dilemma. He was offered to be an investment partner in Sequoia Capital of India. But the entrepreneur opted to start the company instead of becoming an investor.
The company has recently registered itself as an IPL sponsor and started earning some revenue. Despite making losses in the first two years (63.90 crores and 378.89 crores), it has continued to provide valuable services to its users. The company has a futuristic revenue model, and thus is trusted by its investors.
When asked about the key to his success, Kunal says, “I think it was our focus on creating a great product and providing an excellent user experience that helped us stand out from the competition.
We also had a very clear vision of what we wanted to achieve and we were very passionate about making it happen.”
He also believes that it is important to have a strong team in order to be successful. “I am very fortunate to have a great team of talented individuals who share my vision and are as passionate as I am about making CRED a success. Without them, this would not have been possible.”
The app has now become a popular choice for users who want to keep track of their credit score and manage their credit cards.
The company is planning to expand its services in the near future and make it even easier for users to improve their financial health. We wish them all the best in their future endeavors!
The company has more than 25 investors and and 10 lead investors. The lead investors are listed below:
- DST Global
- Dragoneer Investment Group
- Sofina
- Tiger Global Management
- Coatue
- Insight Partners
- Falcon Edge Capital
It has raised funding of around $475.2 million from the lead investors. The other investors of the company are Sequoia Capital India, Ribbit Capital, Gemini investments, and Rainmatter Capital.
There is no one path to success. For CRED, a successful business was born from the passion of a young entrepreneur. Starting as a small side project, The fintech company has now turned into a thriving business with big plans for the future.
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