“In the startup journey, you are always on a fast-moving treadmill and just trying to keep up. So it’s very hard to remember how long it has been—you’re moving from challenge to challenge, issue to issue, problem to problem… solving it, moving on, growing.”
Harshil Mathur is the co-founder of Razorpay, a significant player in the banking and digital payment sector. Based out of Bangalore, as of 2022, the company’s valuation today stands at $4.76B – $ 7.97B. Razorpay is an online payment system platform that offers various banking options like credit cards, debit cards, UPI and other popular mobile wallets. One of the largest payment aggregators in the market, the platform is used for hassle-free payments in India.
In terms of how the journey started, Harshil and his co-founder, Shashank Kumar, were classmates at IIT Roorkee and faced several rejections in finding banks who would partner with them. Eventually, it was HDFC Bank that partnered with Razorpay for their payment gateway system. Even though the initial journey of finding partners was tough, today most of the banks work with Razorpay to enable payment acceptance for their businesses.
Getting Started
In terms of how he started, it was after identifying the dismal state of the online payments system in India that Harshil decided to quit his full-time job as a Wireline Field Engineer at Schlumberger to build Razorpay with Shashank in 2014. Today, as the CEO and co-founder of the company, he is on a mission to simplify payments in India.
Currently, the company is one of the fastest-growing neobanking companies and is backed by GIC, Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital, Matrix Partners, Tiger Global & Y Combinator.
What Lies Ahead?
In terms of what lies ahead in the future, Harshil has big plans for the company and looks forward to Razorpay leading the fintech revolution globally. He is also looking forward to expanding the global footprint of the company to be seen as a seamless financial solution provider for businesses internationally.
In 2024, Harshil, along with his co-founder, built an investment program to help startups with the usual challenges they face. He says,
“Each time I speak to a business owner, I am convinced that there are so many business problems yet to be solved with technology. Today, to enable that, we are launching Razorpay ‘s Venture Investment Program to supercharge India’s B2B startup ecosystem with funding, mentorship and access.”
Harshil knows how difficult it is for entrepreneurs to gain a footing with support. Since he has been there, he believes in extending a helping hand to these startups. Giving a chance to other startups to be the next big thing, Harshil recently said,
“Every billion-dollar company starts small. The hardest part? Getting noticed.
So, we’re making space—literally! A 20×20 ft digital screen on Razorpay’s facade in Bengaluru, just for early-stage startups. This is just a start, we will be opening bigger doors for early-stage startups! Because #TheNextBigThing deserves the spotlight. And there’s more to come.”
