What was the problem you were grappling with?
In the early days of Cashfree Payments, Reeju (co-founder) and I were focused on solving a specific challenge—digitising Cash on Delivery for e-commerce businesses. We saw traction, but as the ecosystem matured, it became clear that while the model was innovative, it wasn’t scalable and didn’t fully align with the evolving needs of our merchants
Whom did you approach for advice and why?
We turned to Michael Seibel, Partner Emeritus at Y Combinator. His clarity of thought and knack for cutting through complexity helped us.
What was the advice you received?
Seibel asked us to focus on products with the biggest market and growth potential, even in a competitive landscape. He urged us to double down on building and scaling up solutions that solve the pain point of the larger market. It was a reminder that success isn’t just about being first, it’s about going deep where it matters most.
How effective was it in resolving the problem?
That became a key tenet of our journey. Looking back, it wasn’t just about solving the scalability problem but also evolving our purpose. That early challenge strengthened our vision to embrace change, stay obsessed with customer success, and build with intent.
—Team BT
