Mayank Mishra

Not too long ago, when we told people we were building Sahi , they'd ask: "Why build another broking app?" I'd pause. Because they were missing the real story. Sure, anyone can place a trade today. But I'd watch friends, colleagues, even seasoned traders struggle with the questions that actually matter: *What should I buy? When do I buy? When do I sell?* The data told the same story—SEBI's numbers showed individual investors consistently underperforming the market. Not because they lack intelligence, but because they lack the right tools and insights. That's when it hit us. Individual traders weren't asking for another broker. They were asking for an assist in their financial journey. Someone who could level the playing field. This idea became Sahi. With Sahi, we set out to build something different. Pro-grade tools that didn't intimidate. Personalized insights that actually helped. Lightning-fast execution wrapped in an experience so intuitive, it felt like second nature. **Six months later, here we are:** 200K+ app downloads. Half of our traders placed over 100 trades. Most importantly - We're seeing 2X more profitable traders than the industry average. From our proprietary Sahi Charts and execution engine to India's most customizable Web Trading terminal, from real-time Sahi Signals to keeping brokerage at just ₹10 per order—every decision was made with one person in mind: the individual trader who deserved better. As we gratefully announce our Series A fund raise, we are even more excited about the future. With AI and Automation in the future, we believe it's time to democratize access to high performance investing and trading for all. And so, to everyone who believed when Sahi was just an idea—our early users who trusted us with their trades, our Tech and Operations team who work tirelessly to make it real, our Investors Accel in India and Elevation Capital and Angels who saw the vision—thank you. The journey has just started, but it has started.

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India's listing rush for startups is firing up - and is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon. This new wave of IPOs has new investors excited, but many are concerned that, with the sheer influx of IPOs debuting on the market, that it could be a case of quantity over quality. Read the full deep dive on BBC here: https://okt.to/gs8Hbo

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Merchants are removing QR codes and people think it means UPI is dead. Fear spreads faster than facts. UPI transaction data proves this perfectly. The headlines are everywhere: "Merchants removing QR codes!" "UPI under attack!" "Digital payments in crisis!" But here's what 20+ years in fintech has taught me - separate the noise from the signal before making decisions. ↳The Noise Karnataka issued GST notices to 14,000 traders earning above ₹40 lakh through UPI. Some merchants removed QR codes. Social media erupted with panic. ↳Separating Noise from Signal: What the Data Actually Shows First, let’s address the recent dip: 1/ UPI transactions in June 2025 saw a slight decline to 18.40 billion from May’s all-time high of 18.68 billion—a drop of just 1.5% by volume and 4% by value. 2/ This follows exceptional growth: UPI volumes surged 32–36% year-over-year and now process over ₹24.03 lakh crore in June—still significantly higher than the same period last year. 3/ Month-to-month digital payment fluctuations are common. November 2024 also saw a dip, only to rebound in the following months ↳How to Read Real Indicators Having witnessed several “digital payment panics,” I know sharp market movements often overshadow underlying resilience: 1/ Short-term fluctuations (monthly or seasonal drops) are rarely a threat if the year-on-year growth is strong. 2/ Persistent adoption trends—like 65 million merchants and 491 million users transacting over UPI—signal deep, irreversible change. ↳The Real Story This isn't about UPI failure - it's about tax compliance catching up with digital adoption. Karnataka ranked second after Maharashtra with 7.73% of India's total UPI transactions - exactly why enforcement started there. ↳What I'm Seeing in the Data: Consumer behavior remains strongly digital-first One official noted: "The UPI revolution was driven by consumers, not traders. If one trader refuses UPI, another will accept it — because the demand comes from the customer" For Fintech Leaders - The Real Lessons: 1/ Digital Adoption ≠ Digital Compliance: We built adoption faster than we built understanding. The education gap is now our biggest vulnerability. 2/ Policy Risk is Product Risk: Every fintech product needs a compliance-education layer, not just a user-experience layer. 3/ Data Tells the Truth: While anecdotes spread on social media, transaction data shows resilience. UPI is adding up to 6 million new users every month 4/ Trust is Bilateral: We spent years building consumer trust in digital payments. Now we need to rebuild merchant trust in the tax system. My take- Markets love drama, but real growth is quiet. UPI isn’t dying—it’s maturing, evolving, and getting ready for its next act. Question For You: What trends are you seeing in your neighbourhood? Are merchants actually pulling back from UPI or is this just noise?

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Leadership Move in Fintech! BharatPe has appointed Ajit Kumar, former #SVP at Paytm, as its new Chief Technology Officer (CTO). With nearly two decades of experience across major tech players like Snapdeal, Times Internet, and Xad Technologies, Ajit Kumar is set to drive BharatPe’s tech innovation and payment infrastructure strategy. His expertise in building scalable fintech platforms and deep understanding of #UPI systems will play a key role as BharatPe Tech continues its journey toward an IPO. #BharatPe #Fintech #Leadership #StartupNews #TechInnovation #DigitalPayments #UPI #Paytm #CTO #Inc42 #StartupEcosystem #TechNews #LeadershipMove #IndiaStartups #FintechIndia #PaymentsInnovation #TechLeadership #StartupIndia #FutureOfFinance #DigitalBanking #ScaleUp #Entrepreneurship #BusinessLeadership

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Insightful post by Mahesh Shukla highlighting how this move can fuel digital lending growth, lower borrowing costs, and unlock new opportunities for MSMEs and consumers alike. #Fintech #RBI #RepoRate #DigitalLending #FinancialInclusion #Innovation #GrowthMindset

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Eggoz Raises $20 Mn Series C Led By Gaja Capital; Claims to hit its EBITDA Breakeven In Q4 FY25, Revenue Up 76% YoY To INR 130 Cr FY25 https://lnkd.in/gd9j68rp Abhishek Negi Aditya Singh #Eggoz #funding #D2Cbrands #Agritech #EBITDAbreakeven #Revenuegrowth #Indianstartups #consumerbrands #GajaCapital

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Edtech firm Scaler ropes in Abhinav Vijayvargiya as its new CFO Scaler, an Indian edtech firm, has appointed Abhinav Vijayvargiya as its Chief Financial Officer. He will lead the company's financial functions. Vijayvargiya brings over 14 years of experience from tech startups and FMCG giants. He aims to steer Scaler towards profitability and strengthen financial discipline. Scaler is also expanding into deep-tech and AI, partnering with startups and IIT Roorkee. https://lnkd.in/dWabs4yi #Scaler #Edtech #CFOAppointment #AbhinavVijayvargiya #StartupFinance #AI #DeepTech #IITRoorkee #Profitability #Leadership

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Enterprise AI infra startup Kluisz.ai raises $9.6 Mn in seed round led by RTP Global ◾The founding team includes former Oyo COO and CPO Abhinav Sinha, ex-McKinsey partner Vamshidhar Reddy, and former Jio cloud executive Abhijeet Singh. https://lnkd.in/gB9EJuwr

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Fintech startup Decentro raises Rs 30 crore, will shift domicile to India - The Economic Times: Decentro, a fintech startup, secured Rs 30 crore in funding led by InfoEdge Ventures. The company intends to move its base from Singapore to India ... #finpeform #fintech

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In an eye-opening roundtable, Amit Relan, CEO and Co-Founder, Vineet Mathur- Chief Growth Officer and Dhiraj Gupta- Co-Founder of mFilterIt break down the hidden machinery of ad fraud, revealing how bots distort performance, erode trust, and threaten the very economics of digital advertising. Read more: https://lnkd.in/g9pU5q-r Story by Masaba Naqvi #MarketingMind #mFilterIt #Advertising

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There's a lot to learn for founders in this note and IDfy journey. But I think there's a learning here for folks in VC firms as well - please don't tell founders that they are wasting their life with the company they are building(even if you mean well).

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AppsForBharat raises $20 Mn in Series C funding Founder and CEO Prashant Sachan said, “With this fundraise, we are entering the next phase of growth, scaling temple partnerships, improving digital infrastructure for temples, and building AI capabilities to serve our users better.” Read more :- https://lnkd.in/gYmC3ksC #SpiritualTech #DevotionalApp #OnlinePuja #TempleTech #IndianStartup

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Bhavin Turakhia didn’t chase hype. He built profits. 🚀 Started at 17, built Directi created global SaaS products like Radix , Flock & Zeta and crossed $1B+ in exits — mostly bootstrapped. Key Learnings: • Profitability beats valuation • Build global, think long-term • Discipline > funding • You don’t need noise to win 📌 Quiet execution builds loud results. #BhavinTurakhia #StartupLessons #Bootstrapped #SaaS #Entrepreneurship

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Loantap secures $6.2 million in fresh funding from July Ventures and existing investors 📌 Pune-based digital lending platform LoanTap Financial Technologies has raised $6.2 million in fresh equity funding led by July Ventures. Existing investors 3one4 Capital, Avaana Capital, Kae Capital and the Swapurna Family Office also participated in the round. 📌 With this, the total capital raised by the company stands at around $26 million. The company has also raised another $2.3 million in venture debt as a part of this round. Story By: Pratik Bhakta Read more at: https://lnkd.in/gZu76KYr

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🚀 SEBI’s Fresh Wave: What It Means for SBI Children’s Fund & New Life‑Cycle Funds The regulator just hit the “refresh” button on India’s mutual‑fund landscape, and the ripple effects are already reaching families planning for their kids’ futures. Here’s the low‑down you can share with your network on LinkedIn: Children & Retirement categories discontinued - All existing schemes in the “solution‑oriented” bucket (including SBI Children’s Fund) will stop taking fresh subscriptions and will be merged into comparable regular schemes. SBI Children’s Fund – status - The fund remains active for existing investors, but new money must be routed to the merged vehicle. No new SIPs will be accepted after Feb 26 2026. New “Life Cycle Funds” category - SEBI introduced a goal‑based, glide‑path product that automatically adjusts asset allocation as the fund ages (minimum 5 years, max 30 years). Ideal for long‑term goals like education, marriage, or retirement. Higher exposure to gold & silver - The revamped rulebook now permits larger allocations to precious‑metal ETFs, giving investors a fresh diversification tool. Portfolio‑overlap cap at 50 % - To curb “look‑alike” schemes, SEBI limits the overlap of holdings across categories, pushing fund houses to craft truly distinct products. ### Why This Matters for Parents & Young Investors 1. **Review your SIPs** – If you have an active SIP in the SBI Children’s Fund, you’ll need to re‑route it to the merged scheme. Contact your advisor or the AMC before the cut‑off date. 2. **Explore Life Cycle Funds** – These are built for milestone‑based investing. Their glide‑path design means you don’t have to manually rebalance as your child grows older. 3. **Diversify with metals** – The new gold/silver allowance offers a hedge against inflation—especially useful for long‑term goals. ### Quick Action Checklist - ✅ **Check your portfolio** – Identify any exposure to the discontinued children/retirement buckets. - ✅ **Talk to your AMC** – Ask how your SBI Children’s Fund will be merged and what the new scheme code is. - ✅ **Consider Life Cycle Funds** – Look for offerings from SBI, Axis, HDFC, etc., that match your child’s age horizon. - ✅ **Update your financial plan** – Incorporate the 50 % overlap cap by ensuring your overall MF basket isn’t overly concentrated in the same stocks. --- 💬 **Your turn:** Have you already switched to a Life Cycle Fund, or are you still on the old child‑fund track? Share your experience in the comments – the more we discuss, the smoother the transition for everyone!

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"Big Move" in India's fintech landscape. IPO-bound BharatPe is strengthening its tech leadership, appointing Ajit Kumar, former SVP of Engineering at Paytm, as its new CTO. A significant leadership "poach" as the company gears up for its next phase of growth and a public offering. Read:https://lnkd.in/dTfWtnZ6 #FoundersPlaybook #BharatPe #Fintech StartupTN #startupindia

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