From Vision to Innovation: The Pravas Chandragiri Story – Founder of Soptle

Inspiring story of Pravas Chandragiri, young entrepreneur and Founder of Soptle

Pravas Chandragiri is a 20-year-old entrepreneur from Balasore, best known as the Missile City of India. As the Founder and CEO of Soptle, a pioneering Financial Technology platform, Pravas is reshaping the landscape of credit accessibility.

From a young age, Pravas displayed an innate brilliance in mathematics and a fervor for technology. His childhood dreams were woven with the threads of entrepreneurship, ignited by a desire to venture into the world of technology.

Emerging victorious in the Mathematics Olympiad at just 6th standard, he continued his winning streak through regional competitions, marking the beginning of his remarkable journey. The gift of a computer from his father opened a portal to endless possibilities, fueling his curiosity for technology, business, and entrepreneurship.

At the tender age of 12, Pravas became involved in his grandfather’s Money lending business and learned valuable business insights from him. This experience kindled his vision to establish a bank in the future, while also inspiring him to confront the credit scarcity issue faced by small businesses.

As he strived to modernize the traditional money lending challenges faced by local retailers and businesses, he also began developing a keen interest in coding and programming. Along the way, Pravas drew inspiration from the struggles and successes of luminaries like J.P. Morgan & Jack Ma, who paved their own paths to greatness.

By 15, Pravas, in collaboration with his friends in their school computer labs , crafted a software marvel. This innovative solution transformed the life of small retailers via automated billing software for their point of sales and it was widely used by over 1,000 local retailers and businesses.

This initial success whetted his appetite for entrepreneurship, propelling him to expand his solution and business horizons.

By the age of 17 in 2019, Pravas finished school and moved to Bhubaneshwar to prepare for IIT-JEE. The capital city gave an opportunity to access and experiment with its market. He then decided to kick-start his long-held dream to become an technology entrepreneur and start a tech company, Profitails.com:-Credit management & accountability software ; For the another 1- 1.5 yrs he used his deep learnings of credit management and successfully helped over 2500 Kirana stores across 8 districts of western Odisha to automate their processes.

Within a year, the startup achieved a turnover of Rs. 80 lakhs, boasting a remarkable 15% month-over-month profit growth.(Pravas was one of the youngest CEO of a profitable technology company at the age of 17)

During this transformative period, Pravas connected with distinguished Professionals such as Pirojshaw Sarkari (CEO of Gati ltd), Vaishnav Shetty (All Cargo Group), Ankur Agarwal (founder of Dunzo), and bunch of successful entrepreneurs who eventually became his mentors and investors.

Recognizing an opportunity to disrupt India’s untapped $750 billion credit industry, Pravas bootstrapped his second venture, Soptle, at the age of 19 in 2021 in Delhi. Soptle, a pioneering Financial Technology startup, is dedicated to delivering financing solutions to small and medium enterprises across the nation.

Pravas envisions enhancing the financial well-being of SMBs, boosting operational efficiency, and optimizing cash flow. Soptle’s seamless, cost-effective, and transparent lending process has already empowered thousands of small businesses, generating an GLV of $20 million

The journey hasn’t been solo. The company has raised $1.5 million in two investment rounds from Kube VC, We Founder’s Circle (WFC), Iceland Venture Studio (IVS), and Nyra Ventures, as well as founders and CXOs from Dunzo, Jar, Gati, Google, and All-Cargo Group.

As a young entrepreneur and a self-taught engineer hailing from a tier-3 city in India, Pravas is a testament to grit and self-motivated learning. He is driven by a mission to empower and elevate the lives of more than 10 million small businesses across the country. With aspirations to build the world’s most influential finance technology company, providing

employment to a million individuals, and expanding his reach to 192 countries, Pravas’ impact knows no bounds.

Here’s a fascinating tidbit: Pravas values focus and efficient use of time. To minimize commute and maximize productivity, he carries a compact luggage bag and his trusty laptop. Whether nestled in his office bunk, his dedication to his vision remains unwavering, driving him to work tirelessly toward his dreams.

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