"South Delhi Was Too Expensive": MobiKwik CEO On Why He Shifted To Dwarka

MobiKwik co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bipin Preet Singh recently revealed that he moved out of an apartment in South Delhi after launching the fintech firm in 2009 because the rent was too high. Speaking at a Masters' Union podcast titled 'From 2 Lakhs to a Billion Dollar Company | Co-Founder, @mobikwik', Mr Singh recalled his struggles during the early years of the digital banking platform. He revealed that he moved to Dwarka with his wife because South Delhi was "way too expensive". 

"We had an apartment in South Delhi earlier, but then we figured out that South Delhi was way too expensive - to pay the rent and running a startup. Then we moved to Dwarka," Mr Singh said in the Master's Union podcast. 

The MobiKwik CEO shared details of how the couple used their Dwarka house as the company's first office. "That apartment where we lived on rent, I still remember it was Rs 10,000-12,000 rent. It was the first office, in a way, of MobiKwik. Because that's where we hired the first person," he said.

Mr Singh also recalled that he had to wake up every morning at 7:30am to open the door to an enthusiastic employee they had hired. "In the drawing room we had these tables set up. We hired another crazy guy who wanted to come at 7:30 in the morning, so he used to ring the doorbell. You would open and he would come and start working. So that's what it takes. Basically, to bet everything that you have, your life, your everything to start something on your own," he said in the podcast. 

Mr Singh also said that it was easier to start a company now than it was earlier. "If you're building an internet startup, the amount of money that you need to just make a product is very small today compared to what it was because the cost of technology has come down dramatically," he said.

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Mr Singh also pointed out that as founders one does not need to look at top institutions alone for talent. "India is very fortunate to have a huge supply of engineers," he said. "I come from IIT, the point that I'm making is I actually rarely hire from IIT. I've actually hired most of my engineers not from IIT... if you go across India and see the diversity of people. [In] the length and breadth of this country, there's talent everywhere. So, you can find great engineers. You can build it with very less amount of money," Mr Singh added.

Notably, Bipin Preet Singh and his wife Upasana Taku founded MobiKwik in 2009.