Before Razorpay became a fintech giant, Shashank Kumar and Harshil Mathur walked into over a hundred bank branches — first in t-shirts, then in shirts, then finally in suits — pitching their idea and getting turned down each time.
Until one young banker in Mumbai finally said yes.
But there was a catch — they needed a ₹25-lakh security deposit.
For two founders from middle-class families, that was nearly impossible.
So Shashank turned to his grandfather, who had just sold a piece of property — and he backed them with that money.
The next day, Harshil quit his job. Razorpay was born.
In this episode of The Blume Podcast, Harshil & Shashank sit down with Karthik Reddy to relive that moment — and talk about what it takes to bet everything on conviction.
🎧 Watch the full episode now — the story behind India’s fintech revolution.