When it comes to investment – ease of usage and transparency are biggest asks from investors. This Bangalore based investment startup Groww has now opened millions of possibilities to do so.
While the internet has been hugely changing the way millennials shop, commute and interact with each other, it also adds an element of ease to everything that surrounds us. If that’s what this generation is looking for, then why not make it seamless for them when it comes to buying mutual funds which is deemed complicated in general. Groww started on the same lines of bringing people closer to wealth management in a never-seen before experience that could make everything related to money easy and transparent.
How Did Groww Come into Existence?
It is so that big things in this world always have small beginnings. It was during the days while four friends who were working at Flipkart then were exploring new ways in which they can make an impact in the lives of millions via something they all share the same passion for. It was then they faced the problem of the complexity involved in the process of investing and purchasing financial products themselves, which in turn, made them come closer to their passion project together.
The four friends (now the Co-Founders) of Groww are:
Lalit Keshre, the CEO of Groww, who had previously founded and led Flipkart Quick and contributed to the launch of Flipkart Marketplace, is a graduate from IIT Bombay.
Harsh Jain, heads the customer acquisition and business expansion currently, was a Product Manager at Flipkart, holding a M-Tech from IIT Delhi and MBA from UCLA.
Neeraj Singh, the man behind the Product Development and Customer Research at Groww was also an engineering manager at Flipkart customer returns and refund system; having a B.E degree in Information Technology from ITM, Gwalior.
And finally, Ishan Bansal who heads the Finance and operations in Groww has a rich investment experience in this space. In Flipkart, he was responsible for Corporate Development. A graduate from BITS Pilani and MBA from XLRI, Jamshedpur, Ishan is also an efficient CFA.
How has Groww been perceived in the market?
Popular as one of the first places that new investors go to know more about investing and to start investing , Groww offers investments in zero-commission (Direct) Mutual Funds, without paperwork and within minutes. Groww has also taken a community-based approach by starting various groups and channels on the App, keeping in mind that people find it easier to invest when they consult their peer groups. Now, Groww is an app (with 1 mn+ downloads on playstore) and online platform that makes investing simpler for the millennials in India.
Groww raised $1.6 million in pre Series A funding led by Insignia Venture Partners, Lightbridge Partners, Kairos and others last year and has now raised Series A funding of $6.2 million led by Sequoia India in 2019. According to the co-founders these funds will be used to launch new products, and build the platform’s technology – inching closer to the 200 million people with investable income in India.
Groww is currently available for free to customers in order to generate a mass interest in investments and slash the taboo of sophistication around it in India. They currently have most of the users in the age group of 25 to 35 years who are working professionals. Groww is building a customer focused modern financial services company powered by technology and becoming a one-stop solution for all the financial management and services one would need. As the world is inclining towards the trend of social influence, Groww has built on the same lines to manage, invest and enquire from the industry’s top experts and professionals in order to help you manage all your wealth and finances. From Team The Startup Journal, we congratulate team Groww for such an accomplishment
