HUSTLE UP A STORM OR DIE TRYING
Upasana Taku, co-founder, MobiKwik, on balancing
work and family, and becoming first women of India to lead a payment startup
The first woman in India to lead a payment startup,
Upasana Taku, has been instrumental in building MobiKwik as a digital financial
services platform with a well-entrenched network of over 3 million direct
merchants and more than 260 million users.
The e-wallet was founded in 2009 with a vision to
digitise and simplify payments for mobile recharges. In those days, even for a
Rs 10 recharge, one had to visit a nearby shop and make the payment. Hence, the
idea of this app was conceived to help the users.
“I had a flourishing career with PayPal, where I learned
about payment systems in the US, Europe and Asia that involved risk detection
and fraud management, user experience and design,” recalls Upasana.
When Upasana returned to India from the US in 2008, a
wallet like PayPal was unheard of.
“Indian consumers had no idea of the cashless world,”
she says. Despite technological advancement in other
sectors, Indians had a primitive mode of monetary transactions.
“MobiKwik changed this scenario by introducing online
recharges and bill payments for both mobile phones and DTH, and subsequently,
we introduced merchant payments, for online and offline,” she adds.
Despite her international exposure, Upasana did not have
it easy as only few people were convinced with her idea of a cashless world.
Quitting a stable job in the US was difficult, but she wanted to start
something of her own. “This meant starting everything from a scratch. My family
and friends were supportive of the idea, though I was a little shaky,” says
Upasana, who was determined to change the way India made its payments.
Now based out of Gurgaon, Upasana completed her schooling
from Surat and Bachelor’s in Engineering (BE) from NIT, Jalandhar. After
completing her Master’s in Management Science from the Stanford University,
Upasana worked in the US in the payment sector for 13 years.
Life as an entrepreneur in India is not easy,
particularly for a woman with innovative ideas. Though she has been in the
business for nine years, she begins her day with child-like enthusiasm.
“Challenges are a part of the game, and it gets the person going,” she says.
Upasana feels it is the lack of family support and
understanding that discourages women from taking up bigger things in life.
“Though things are improving and many families are accepting a progressive
mindset, we still have a long way to go. I would say follow your dreams, hustle
up a storm or die trying. Conviction, persistence and leading by example are
the most important factors in success,” she says.
BALANCING WORK AND FAMILY
“I have divided my time judiciously to balance my
professional and personal life. The morning and evening time is for the kid
which I rarely change. I go for my morning walk with my toddler and enjoy that
one-onone time with him before going to work. I play with him after I reach
home, have dinner and tuck him to bed. My support system are three strong women
– my mom, my motherin-law, and the nanny,” Upasana says, adding, “Work
sometimes demands most of your time and you need to steal time for your family.
One needs to strike a perfect balance. You cannot afford to be unjust to any
sector.”
BRIEF ABOUT MOBIKWIK
MobiKwik is one of India’s largest digital financial
services platform, a mobile wallet major and a leading payment gateway. The app
is a leading mobile payment platform with a network of over 3 million direct
merchants.
Charu.Narula@timesgroup.com
TOI25JUN18
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