“I am in,” said Shashank Kumar, co-founder of Razorpay, leaning back on his chair. I hadn’t completed my pitch, but Shashank’s mind was made up. There wasn’t much to say, so I pocketed my iPhone, stood up, thanked him, and left. He had just agreed to sign a not-insignificant cheque for our efforts.
The year was 2014, and Razorpay had raised its first round of capital and was a YC alum. It was one of the hottest fintech companies in India, and Shashank was quickly becoming a significant factor in Bangalore. I was still at iSPIRT and had met him to convince him to back the dreams of transforming India into a product nation. A few minutes into the conversation, he was in. Not just the financial inclusion part, which iSPIRT was leading, but also my personal passion for B2B SaaS.
He would later attend and host sessions for iSPIRT, especially around product thinking. He and I would talk after the session, and I could feel a bond building between us, but the sparks wouldn’t fly. Something was missing. I felt like I hadn’t captured his imagination. It was a feeling that I couldn’t shake.
I eventually moved on from iSPIRT. And Shashank started building Razorpay into a giant. We wouldn’t get back in touch until 2020.
During this time, RazorPay raised $206.5 million, including a staggering $100 million in Series D funding in October 2020, which ultimately made it a unicorn. Shashank, always the product thinker, would add a neo-banking platform and SME debt to Razorpay’s suite of offerings, while shattering records for revenue earned by a fintech company in India.
Every time people discussed Razorpay, I would nod enthusiastically, almost considering myself an honorary member of the team.
After the pandemic, my friend, Pankaj Mishra, approached me with an idea: let’s create a safe space for entrepreneurs where they could escape the pressures of starting up. We called it Jagah, and my intuition told me to call on Shashank.
Over the years, I’ve picked up a knack for understanding people and their styles of relationships. Shashank, for instance, is a very warm and generous individual. He takes time to warm up, but when he spots an honest cause or a person, he goes all in. Once he’s all in, there is no better partner than him. Now, if you add Shashank’s dislike for grandstanding, you’ll see a picture emerge of a humble man, trying to avoid the spotlight. He will, however, roll up his sleeves to solve problems even when he’s not needed; his mantra, from what I have picked up, is reasonably straightforward: see something, do something. Be it resolving customer complaints or helping his fellow founders.
So when we called on Shashank for Jagah, he did not hesitate. He volunteered to fund our entire initiative. We would ultimately have other supporters as well, but Shashank was by far the largest. (I’ll let Pankaj discuss the details 🙂)
Shashank and I changed. The sparks flew. The warmth that was always out of reach was now here. He showed interest in not just Jagah but also SaaSBoomi.
Whenever I would meet him from then on, he would ask how he could help founders and be a change agent. He would insist I talk through my thought process. And in all these meetings, often professional, he would take a minute to check in with me. These conversations went beyond small talk. He really means it when he asks, “How are you?”
His commitment to SaaSBoomi was truly exemplified when we requested that he host a session at the Annual. He readily accepted.
On the day, I dropped him off at the hall where he was supposed to address the audience. The time to start the session arrived, and Shashank waited for the moderator to approach him and begin the session. The moderator, meanwhile, was looking for Shashank at the other end of the hall. After a few frantic calls, we managed to get the two together, and the session was a huge success.
I approached Shashank after the session, braced for a barrage of critical feedback. But nothing arrived. He laughed, put his arm around me, and congratulated us on organising an extraordinary event. He said he used the time spent waiting to connect with founders and get new ideas.
Many years ago, a teacher had once told me. “Time can’t be wasted if you make something of it.” It came flooding back to me when I saw Shashank smile as he waved goodbye.
From the Author:
SaaSBoomi began in 2015 as a small gathering of ~50 founders, and today, with over 500 events across three countries and countless lives touched, we’ve only just scratched the surface.
None of this would have been possible without the unrelenting passion of our 125+ volunteers — the lifeblood of SaaSBoomi.
Their contributions go beyond effort; they’ve built a community bound by camaraderie, empathy, and a shared vision for a Product Nation.
Pay it FWD is my tribute to every pay-it-forward champion I’ve encountered on this incredible journey.
Their contributions to SaaSBoomi and the broader ecosystem have been immeasurable, yet there remains a story left to be told — one that echoes the impact they continue to create.
