At BrilliantRead Media, our aim is to bring to our community some of the unique and compelling stories from the start-up ecosystem. As part of this endeavour, we invited yet another passionate entrepreneur – Nirav Solanki for an exclusive interview with us. He is the Co-Founder and Director of PayKun Payment Solutions Pvt Ltd. Let’s learn more about his inspirational journey and his advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Nirav:
We are aware of your contribution to the ecosystem, talk us through your background and your journey as an entrepreneur, please;
I have attended Shantilal Shah Engineering College and have pursued a Bachelor’s in Engineering in Information Technology and schooling is done from MK Jamod High School (HSC) and Western Railway Middle School (SSC). From the beginning, when I started my college days, I have always wished to have my own venture. I was completing my college to get a degree but my eyes were set on getting into a business. All of us five PayKun founders had this same vision in our head and heart and we have followed the same.
I am playing the role of Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), responsible for the planning, development, and execution of the organization’s marketing and Advertising. And, so far the journey has been wonderful. Though we have had our struggles during this time when we were setting up PayKun. I had no knowledge of the field of Fintech. It was like ‘on the job learning’. Like I mentioned, I have done engineering in IT. Though my studies have been very much useful in the overall working of PayKun still the department I have been looking after is completely new, so it has been a lot of learning but I am so glad I am playing this role in the company. Looking after Marketing as well as the management & administration of the company has been a great experience.
However, PayKun is not my first, in fact, the establishment of PayKun Payment Gateway is an inspiration from our Freelancing business that we (partners) had started soon after we came out of college. The story is that we faced a lot of issues in the activation of our merchant account with various payment gateways. With this struggle, we thought of developing our payment gateway which would make it easier for the startups, small and medium businesses, and all types of enterprises to register, activate and integrate a payment gateway. PayKun Payment Gateway is more than 2 years old and we have developed a lot for domestic and international online payment services and providing 120+ various payment methods.”
We are aware of all the good work you are doing in your space; what keeps you going?
I believe the hard work and consistency eventually give you your desired results. Also, I am a strong believer in keeping positivity even in the hardest situation.
Why did you choose entrepreneurship over a corporate career?
Like I mentioned earlier, it was never an option for me to take a job. I have always wanted to build my company with my hard work, something that I can call it my own but also it belongs to everyone (my PayKun team). PayKun is our work-baby, we have watched it grow to what it is today. Though still there is a long way to go.
Also, it was not a singular goal, this has been the shared journey of my four partners and cofounders, Prashant Kambad, Deepak Dabhi, Vijay Yadav, and Nikunj Yadav. All of us are together since our freelancing business startup. A corporate career also requires a lot of hard work but your own company would be your sweat and blood. I wanted to apply my knowledge of my studies in Information technology into the real world.”
Your own business gives you the flexibility to work your way, it is a real struggle but it would be all worth it because, in the end, it would be all my own, applied into my own. Still, I have never wanted to be like an actual boss; it was my wish that what I never wanted to do, I should not expect others to do. Our team (employees) has the same flexibility to work that we have.
Another important reason was that I wanted to make a difference and give back to the world. I think your own business and being an entrepreneur is the best way to do so. Fortunately, I got such partners with whom I could make it possible. With PayKun we are providing the best online payment gateway services at the lowest transaction rates with the highest security. We do not charge any extra fees such as setup or maintenance. Also, we provide the best customer service and free integration help with a range of ready integration kits and SDKs with Robust APIs.
During this COVID-19 crisis, what are the measures you have undertaken to continue your business without disruption?
PayKun did face some challenges due to the nationwide lockdown. And its consequences such as the changes in the spending behaviours of the people due to the limit in the outside movement and most of the business operations stopped. PayKun had adopted the ‘work from home’ to continue the business operations. Now, with the normalcy reappearing PayKun has also been adopting the new normal in the operations of the business. There were coordination issues in the new working method. Transactions and onboardings had also decreased due to the effects on various economic sectors and business models. However, with regular motivation, e-meetings, and marketing, PayKun has been dealing with these and has now regained the pace.
Please share with us some of the challenges you faced in your journey;
The road is tough as an entrepreneur but we had decided that we will be successful. Various aspects had to be done; technical, banking, legal, human resource, security compliances, etc. The Fintech area was not known to any of us, it demanded a lot of research and we had to start right from the ABC of fintech field. The research itself took a 6-months long process, about knowing the FinTech area, Payment Gateway process, and technology, development requirements, legal and banking procedures. And after that, the implementation part took almost two years for the development of the technology of the payment gateway, RBI compliances, Security Compliances, Server Setups, Legal Requirements, etc. Every single step was new and struggle but with a lot of adventure.
Another major issue was that Bhavnagar is a tier 3 city and establishing such a huge payment gateway here was a challenge. We did hire employees but the team was too small for the development of this huge startup company.
What is your business mantra: Money or Emotions?
We run on Emotions, and it is not just to say, we follow it in our business operations. We connect emotionally with our clients, merchants, customer, and especially with our team. And we are getting our monetary results due to our great business relationships. As I said, I want this to be my own, and all others connected with it.
How do you handle the pressure and manage stress?
All five of us are easy-going people. I am a very positive person. All of the struggles are an adventure for me and have only been giving an adrenaline rush. We started with 15 and now are a team of 50 at PayKun Payment Gateway Solutions. The growth, development, and success of the company are far bigger than all the stress and pressure. And like I said I always knew we would succeed because our intentions were pure and the path is righteous. Even today we do night shifts, have deadline pressures and other stress but I handle it well with a smile. I believe that even if I worry about it it is not going to solve on its own so I work on it and make sure that the desired results are achieved.
Our audience wants to know – what has worked well for you so far?
The answer is of course my company – PayKun. I am glad I have got this opportunity in life and it turned out to be successful. Today it is among the top payment gateway companies in India. It was a sweet and sour mix of sleepless nights, struggles, conflicts, celebrations, stress, happiness, setbacks, success, etc. I am what I am today because of all these great experiences. It has the highest successful transaction rate. We are already providing the payment processing services to more than 10000 merchants in India, including SMEs, Educational Institutions, Large Enterprises, Ecommerce, Healthcare, NGOs, etc. There are various online payment methods available including debit cards, credit cards, wallets, net banking, UPI, etc, these give the customers of the businesses their preferred payment option to make payment. It is a PCI DSS LEVEL 1 complaint and so follows the highest level of security compliances that makes it the most reliable and safe payment gateway. The services are at the lowest transaction discount rates too.
Given the rapid pace at which the world is changing, what are the leadership traits that are necessary for success?
I believe that the workforce today is smart, tech-savvy, and knowledgeable. Also, some need guidance and learning. Leadership is about going together with all of them and leading them as per their calibre. ‘Listening’ to what they have to say is highly important in all of these. Their issues, suggestions, blockage, etc. need to reach you to solve them and lead to success. Motivation is key.
In your opinion what are the keys to success?
The journey till now has taught me a lot. The major ingredients of success include hard work, perseverance, and righteousness. I am a bit religious too. So it is a combination of a lot of hard work and blessings.
We would love to know your advice for all those starting out as an aspiring entrepreneur?
To all the aspiring and budding entrepreneurs I would say that take a leap of faith with all passion and dedication. The path is bumpy in the beginning but with consistency and hard work, even the impossible can be achieved at the end. A lot of patience is required but we must believe that in the end, everything would turn out the best.
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.
