0An Indian Origin Fintech Startup entered the unicorn club as none other than CRED. CRED is now the most successful Indian fintech startup in recent years. Bengaluru Based Startup made its name big but it has its true story of struggle and failure. Let’s see what made this Fintech Startup such a huge success.
The company was established in 2018 and has a valuation of around $2.2 billion. Many reputed startups like Flipkart and OYO took approximately 10 years to reach a similar valuation. The head office is located in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
What is their Business model?
The entire startup is based on the “Hole and hook model”. Many credit card users don’t complete their payments on time. CRED provides benefits to users who complete their payments on time. The benefits are offered in the form of valuable rewards.
The company founded the 'hole' in the credit card payment system and provided a 'hook' in rewards. They offer rewards to their customers, which makes their product a brag-worthy proposition.
About the founder
Kunal Shah is a high-profile entrepreneur who was also the co-founder of 'freecharge'. Coming from a Gujarati family and a non-tech background, he is currently the founder of two big tech companies. He was motivated to start CRED after observing and understanding the loophole in the credit card payment system. He is also the current CEO of the company.
What is their Marketing Strategy?
The marketing campaign of CRED is universal. They have implemented the perfect marketing strategy to enhance the value of their product. Surabhi Capoor is the brand and product marketing head at CRED.
The marketing department of the company came up with great advertising ideas to enhance the brand value. CRED has increased its awareness before this IPL season. They successfully created two viral advertisements that included stars like Rahul Dravid, Govinda, Madhuri Dixit, Anil Kapoor, and Bappi Lahiri. These creative advertisements have successfully gained attraction from people.
Further, the company was marketed through various other celebrities on social media platforms. Meme marketing also worked for the company, and thus the awareness of the brand is on the rise.
What services do they provide?
The company started with just credit card payment services, but now it is expanding its reach in different sectors. The CRED app has more than 60 lakh users, and the number is increasing.
Let’s take a look at the services provided in the app.
- It allows you to manage all your credit card payments in one place.
- The app provides you with regular notifications regarding your payment details and due dates.
- It offers rewards and cashback for new users.
- The company provides CRED points on the completion of payment, and these points can be used to avail various vouchers.
- The payment method is hassle-free and is liked by its users.
- They have started providing services for rent, loans, and insurance.
How Credible are they?
The company assures total privacy to the customers. They deal with the valuable financial data of the customers, and they offer complete privacy on it. With rewards and enhanced security, it is trusted by its users. In just 2 years, they have successfully reached a vast consumer base, and their number is ever increasing.
What is their Mission?
The mission of the company is quite clear. They want to improve the credit card payment system. Despite not making any profit in 2019 and 2020, they have eventually gained the trust of their users. They used the "reward and punishment tendency" effectively to attract customers.
CRED & their Vision
CRED’s business model is futuristic. They want to develop themselves in diversified sectors like insurance, loans, rent, shopping, and realty payments. The company also focuses on a futuristic revenue model.
It aims to generate revenue through merchandising, commission, and consulting. They can also use this vast customer base for sales pitching and generate a good fortune from it.
How are they Funded?
CRED is one of those legendary startups that got funding right before its execution. This was made possible by the brilliance of Kunal Shah. The company has made a loss of 63.90 crores and 378.89 crores in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Despite these losses, the company is trusted by its investors.
The company has around 28 investors and 7 lead investors. The lead investors are listed below:
- Dragoneer Investment Group.
- Tiger Global Management.
- Sofina.
- DST Global.
- Coatue.
- Falcon Edge Capital.
- Insight Partners.
The company has raised funding of around $471.2 million from the investors. The other investors of the company are Ribbit Capital, Gemini investments, Sequoia Capital India, and Rainmatter Capital.
Who are the Brand Partners?
The company offers different rewards and vouchers for customers. It has successfully bagged many reputed brands as its partner. Some of the esteemed brand partners are:
- TATA CLIQ
- AJIO
- The Lalit
- Puma
- Samsung
- Myntra
- Dineout
- Cure Fit
- Jio Saavan
- Ethos
Their Awards and Recognition
Well, it is impossible for the best Indian fintech startup not to win any award. The CRED app has won the best UI/UX design award for its simple and useful design. The application is highly rated by users on the Google play store. The startup has also bagged recognition from the National startup awards, 2020.
The story behind their Struggle and Success
Kunal Shah faced a serious dilemma before starting the company. He was offered to become an investing partner in Sequoia Capital of India. But the entrepreneur chose to start a company rather than becoming an investor.
The company has recently registered itself as an IPL sponsor and has started building some revenue. Despite making losses in the first two years, it has continued to provide valuable services to its users. The company has a futuristic revenue model, and thus it is trusted by its investors.
How to Contact them?
You can contact the company by using the contact us page on their website. You can also reach the support team through email.
Email: support@cred.club
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