Taku, the current chairperson of the board at MobiKwik, holds the position of COO as well within the company. It is notable that Taku, alongside her spouse, founded the aforementioned organization.
According to Upasana Taku, the co-founder of the prominent fintech company MobiKwik, the organization achieved profitability during the March quarter of the 2022-23 fiscal year. As of now, the company has set its sights on doubling its revenue and accomplishing profitability for the entire fiscal year. In the previous fiscal year, MobiKwik recorded revenue of Rs. 560 crore. The company aims to achieve a profit of Rs. 50 crore by 2024. Taku added that the number of active credit users increased from 2 million to 4 million, and the success of the “Buy Now Pay Later” scheme contributed significantly to the company’s achievements. Taku also revealed that MobiKwik plans to go public with an IPO following 2-3 consecutive quarters of profitability. The company’s valuation stood at 700 million dollars (Rs. 5,723 crore) after raising funds in December 2021. However, the valuation exceeded one billion dollars following the exercise of ESOPs by MobiKwik’s employees.
Taku currently holds the position of chairperson of the board at MobiKwik and also serves as the COO within the company. Together with her husband, she founded the aforementioned organization. Taku completed her engineering studies at Punjab Technical University and later went on to earn a Master’s degree in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University. With over 17 years of experience in related fields, Taku previously worked as a product manager at the renowned American payments company, PayPal. She also held positions at HSBC. Taku had been living in the United States but returned to India in 2008 with the aim of making a positive impact on a local level.
In a previous interview with Forbes, Taku expressed her desire to address significant challenges within India. Given the country’s enormous size, untapped potential, and various issues, Taku saw India as an ideal place to tackle such problems. Although she had examined other markets, Taku ultimately recognized the potential impact she could have in India.
Taku’s decision to return to India was not supported by her family. Her father was a physics professor, and her mother was a musician who had lived in Africa. Nevertheless, Taku and her family returned to India in 2009.
Despite doing well at PayPal, Taku left everything behind to pursue her entrepreneurial dream. She owned a spacious house, a car, and a motorcycle, but returning to India was a significant risk. Upon her return, she worked for a non-governmental organization (NGO).
Upasana Taku met her husband Bipin Preet Singh in 2008 at a play. According to Bipin, Upasana had returned to India not for an easy life, but to make an impact. The couple got married in 2011.
Singh, the co-founder of MobiKwik, had been considering the idea for the platform as early as 2008. Despite not being happy with his job at the time, he was hesitant to quit since he had financial responsibilities towards his family.
Upasana had a heated debate with Singh and encouraged him to pursue a career that would make him happy and fulfilled, even if it meant leaving his job to start something new.
According to an interview with Forbes, Singh had mentioned that during a heated debate with Upasana, she bluntly asked him, “If you aren’t going to do this now, when do you think you’ll be able to do it?”
Upasana Taku joined Bipin Preet Singh in launching the MobiKwik startup in 2009, after encouraging him to quit his job and pursue his entrepreneurial dream.
Upasana Taku faced gender bias as an entrepreneur. During her pitch meetings, some financiers expressed their preference for male founders, which she found discouraging. She would respond by telling them that her male counterparts might not be able to answer their questions as well as she could. She made it clear that she would never work with such people.
Upasana Taku and Bipin Preet Singh, the co-founders of MobiKwik, are among the highest paid startup founders. In the financial year 2021, they received a salary of Rs 1.4 crore and Rs 35 lakh respectively.
As of March 2022, Upasana Taku and Bipin Preet Singh were eligible for a combined total annual pay of Rs 4 crore.
Together, Upasana Taku and Bipin Preet Singh hold over 63 percent of the MobiKwik company.
The combined net worth of Upasana Taku and Bipin Preet Singh is over Rs 5040 crore.
