We always strive to bring to you some of the powerful and inspiring stories from the entrepreneurship world, this week we invited Asheesh Chanda for an exclusive interview with us to know more about his startup and his journey in detail.
Ashish is a post graduate from IIM Bangalore and a Computer Science Engineer from IIT Delhi and has worked with major banks such as J P Morgan Chase, Citi India and BNP Paribas before founding Kristal.AI
Kristal.AI is an AI-enabled Digital Asset Management Platform giving investors access to curated portfolios from the world’s top Portfolio Managers with the help of its proprietary algorithms. It has offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, and India.
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Asheesh Chanda:
Tell us a little bit about your background and your journey, please;
I have been a trader for more than 15 years, and an entrepreneur for about four. Post completing my engineering from IIT-D, and armed with an MBA from IIM-B, I entered the so-called “big bad” world of finance with a position at Citibank India. From there on, I moved to Singapore where I worked with JP Morgan Chase.
For a brief period, I ran my own successful hedge fund startup called Kris Capital. Kristal.AI was an organic progression from there. After having spent over a decade and a half in the banking world, I was keenly aware of the lacunae in the processes.
As they say, change comes from within, so who better to change the way the financial world works than someone who’s been an intrinsic part of it?
Why did you choose entrepreneurship over a job?
I have been both an investment advisor and an investor myself, so I know the industry in and out. I realized that the business model of private banking makes it unaffordable not just for the masses, but also for many mass affluents. I had a personal experience too, where I was denied private banking service because I was not “rich enough”.
I couldn’t have solved for these issues from within, given the inertia in the traditional system and my place-value in it. The only possible way was to start on my own and rewrite the rules in a way to make private banking more inclusive and personalized. Needless to say, it was the support of my family and the trust of my friends, that gave me the confidence to become a full time entrepreneur.
How do you find the industry/niche that you’re in?
During the economic crisis of 2008, people lost faith in their financial advisor. Many started feeling that the advice they were getting was neither unbiased nor suitable for them. Technology can solve for human bias and the growth of ecommerce companies in today’s times has already increased the comfort level of people with tech.
During my hedge fund days, I had become aware of the use of AI in financial planning and knew how to deploy it to deliver unbiased and factual recommendations to clients. Everyday, I see people investing more of their money on our investment platform. As their trust increases, I can see them move their entire investments away from traditional banks and wealth managers.
The other major shift in the industry has been the rise of a new aspirational class. They don’t subscribe to the traditional lifestyle, where one went to college, got a stable job, got married, had kids and retired from the same company. This aspirational class does not live in boxes anymore. However, the way we invest has not evolved with our evolving lifestyles. The new-gen investor needs strategies personalised for their individual risk profile, lifestyle, and expectations. Traditional banks offer such hyper-personalisation only to high-profile clients, but in the near future we will see fintechs like Kristal.AI bridging the divide and offering the same experience to the masses as well.
What gets you out of bed in the morning i.e. what’s your source of motivation?
I imagine a future where wealth management is intuitive and in-sync with one’s life. No one should need to know about the intricacies of wealth management to start investing. Like today, when you don’t need to know the engineering of a car to be able to drive it.
The pursuit of creating that future is what gets me out of bed every morning.
What challenges/obstacles did you face in your journey so far?
We faced the usual hassles when we started – from getting bank approvals (because even if you are a fintech disruptor, you can’t do away with those), to getting our licenses. We are currently based in three geographies – Singapore, Hong Kong, and India – so the hurdles were threefold. Managing people and processes across multiple locations and varied cultural backgrounds has been a tough, but immensely rewarding, task. There are a plethora of fintech startups, with over 2000 in the APAC region alone, and winning customer trust is a big challenge. We reached an important milestone earlier this year – 10,000 customers. And each of them has been hard-won.
What comes first for you – money or emotions?
It was an emotional experience that made me start my startup journey. As an entrepreneur, I understand that brand loyalty – whether from customers or from teammates – is driven by emotions, and hence I really value them. But as an investor I know that without money, no good initiative is sustainable. When it comes to investing money for my clients or investing in my business, I keep emotions at bay so that I can stay true to our promise of unbiased financial advice. I believe if you have a good product which really solves a customer’s pain point, loyalty (and money) will flow in time.
How do you handle the pressure and manage stress?
My family helps. I have an amazing support system at home, and with three kids, I can shut off and take time for them. It also helps that we have a good team that puts in their best at every step and really lives by the ‘customer first’ philosophy.
What is one strategy that you believe has helped you grow as a person/startup?
Respect – for the customer, for the team, and for everyone who is a part of the Kristal.AI family. From the intern who just joined a day ago to our longest-serving member, we respect everyone. And of course, we try to be a transparent and ‘with-the-ages’ startup. So, anyone can pick up the phone and Whatsapp anyone in the team (see how modern we are :)) with ideas and suggestions.
There is an intentional apathy to traditional hierarchy and corporate culture.
This also requires the higher-ups to be responsible and open towards the rest of the team, and that in turn has helped me become a better CEO and person.
In your opinion what are the keys to success?
Einstein told us that half of creativity is an intelligent mind 🙂 The other half is an environment open to both discourse and dissent, in equal measure. You cannot foster creative thinking unless you are willing you to look at things differently, and then find a common viewpoint.
We make sure to hire the best individuals we can, and then allow them the liberty to do things differently. At the same time, everyone in the company is aligned to the brand’s vision, so that we don’t stray from our chosen path.
What advice would you give to someone starting out?
Know what you want to build, why you want to build it and with whom you want to build it. While Simon Sinek has said enough about the first two aspects, in my experience choosing your partners wisely, is equally important. Find people who are not with you for money, but believe in your purpose. As they are the ones who will stick by you even when things go south.
Startups are allowed to pivot, yes; but unless you are sure of your centre, you will only find yourself going around in circles. And cliche as it may sound – have fun!
What’s next for Kristal.AI?
We are in the process of finalising our Series A funding, and hope to close it before the year is out. We are launching a full-fledged product suite in India soon, and expanding to other areas in APAC and Middle-Eastern region.
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, Stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
