Kunal Shah
{{Short description|Indian entrepreneur and angel investor (born 1983)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Kunal Shah
| image = File:Kunal Shah in FreeCharge T-Shirt.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1983|05|20|df=y}}
| alma_mater = Wilson College, Mumbai (BA)
| occupation = Entrepreneur
| known_for = Freecharge, CRED
| title = Co-founder of Freecharge
Founder and CEO of CRED
| spouse = Bhavna Shah
}}
Kunal Shah (born 20 May 1983) is an Indian entrepreneur and angel investor{{Cite news |last=Maloo |first=Malvika |date=29 December 2022 |title=Kunal Shah, Aman Gupta, Anupam Mittal among most active angel investors |url=https://www.livemint.com/companies/start-ups/kunal-shah-aman-gupta-anupam-mittal-among-most-active-angel-investors-11672327213544.html |work=Livemint}} known as the co-founder of Freecharge and the founder of CRED, a fintech company valued at around $6.4 billion.{{Cite web |last=iyer |first=rahul |date=2024-02-21 |title=Who is Kunal Shah: CRED CEO & A Tech Enthusiast |url=https://www.leaderbiography.com/who-is-kunal-shah/ |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=Leader Biography |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Jose |first=Teena |date=2022-06-10 |title=CRED Raises $80 Million In Series F Funding |url=https://www.entrepreneur.com/en-in/news-and-trends/cred-raises-80-million-in-series-f-funding/429243 |access-date=2024-10-03 |website=Entrepreneur |language=en}}
Shah co-founded Freecharge along with Sandeep Tandon in August 2010 as a financial services company that allowed users to pay bills as well as recharge mobile, broadband, DTH and metro cards. In 2015, e-commerce company Snapdeal acquired Freecharge for ₹2800 crore (US$400 million) in cash and stock.{{Cite web |date=2015-04-08 |title=Snapdeal Acquires FreeCharge Online Recharge Service |url=https://www.gadgets360.com/internet/news/snapdeal-acquires-freecharge-online-recharge-service-679075 |access-date=2024-10-03 |website=Gadgets 360 |language=en}}
Early life and education
Kunal Shah was born and raised in Mumbai, Maharashtra.{{Cite web |date=2023-03-12 |title=The Life Story of Kunal Shah |url=https://vedaon.com/the-life-story-of-kunal-shah/ |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=Vedaon |language=en-US}} He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Wilson College, Mumbai. Shah later enrolled in a part-time MBA program at Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) but dropped out within a few months.
Career
In 2010, Kunal co-founded FreeCharge, a digital payments company, with Sandeep Tandon. FreeCharge quickly gained popularity, attracting millions of users. In 2015, Snapdeal acquired FreeCharge for $400 million.{{Cite news |date=2015-04-08 |title=Snapdeal acquires FreeCharge |url=https://www.thehindu.com/business/snapdeal-acquires-freecharge/article7081103.ece |access-date=2024-10-05 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}
In April 2018, at the age of 35, he founded CRED with his own capital. CRED is a credit card bill payment platform that rewards users for timely payments.{{Cite web |date=2023-09-13 |title=Meet Kunal Shah: The university dropout who founded CRED; know about his lifestyle, journey, and salary |url=https://www.financialexpress.com/life/lifestyle-meet-kunal-shah-the-university-dropout-who-founded-cred-know-about-his-lifestyle-journey-and-salary-3221341/ |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=Financialexpress |language=en}}
CRED has raised substantial funding from investors including DST Global, Sequoia Capital, and Tiger Global.{{Cite web |date=2021-01-05 |title=Cred raises $81 million in series C funding at a post-money valuation of $806 million |url=https://www.financialexpress.com/business/industry-cred-raises-81-million-in-series-c-funding-at-a-post-money-valuation-of-806-million-2164303/ |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=Financialexpress |language=en}} In June 2023, CRED raised $140 million at a valuation of $6.4 billion.{{Cite web |date=2022-06-11 |title=CRED secures $140 million funding in its Series F round at a valuation of $6.4 bn {{!}} Startup Story |url=https://startupstorymedia.com/insights-cred-funding-seres-f-round-valuation/ |access-date=2024-07-22 |language=en-US}} The company became the official sponsor of the Indian Premier League from 2020 to 2023.{{Cite news |date=2024-03-21 |title=JioCinema ropes in 18 sponsors for IPL 2024 |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/media/entertainment/jiocinema-ropes-in-18-sponsors-for-ipl-2024/articleshow/108670782.cms?from=mdr |access-date=2024-07-22 |work=The Economic Times |issn=0013-0389}}
= Other ventures and Investments =
Kunal is an angel investor, having invested in over 200 companies including Razorpay, Unacademy, and Bharatpe.{{Cite web |last=M. |first=Sriram |date=2021-09-23 |title='He is his own ecosystem': Inside Kunal Shah's unique angel investing frenzy |url=https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/trends/features/he-is-his-own-ecosystem-inside-kunal-shahs-unique-angel-investing-frenzy-7496121.html}}{{Cite news |last=Shrivastava |first=Aditi |last2=Shaikh |first2=Shadma |date=2016-08-24 |title=Sachin Bansal, Vijay Shekhar Sharma and Kunal Shah join hands to back Unacademy, along with Blume ventures |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/sachin-bansal-vijay-shekhar-sharma-and-kunal-shah-join-hands-to-back-unacademy-along-with-blume-ventures/articleshow/53834379.cms?from=mdr |access-date=2024-07-22 |work=The Economic Times |issn=0013-0389}} He has served as an advisor to Bennett Coleman and Co. Ltd. (Times Group) and AngelList. Kunal is also an Independent Director at Syrma SGS Technology Limited and Pine Labs.{{Cite web |last=Verma |first=Mansi |date=2023-09-08 |title=Cred's Kunal Shah has made angel investments in close to 80 fintechs till date |url=https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/startup/creds-kunal-shah-has-made-angel-investments-in-close-to-80-fintechs-till-date-11332911.html}}{{Cite web |last=www.ETHRWorld.com |title=CRED Founder Kunal Shah joins board of Pine Labs - ETHRWorld |url=https://hr.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/cred-founder-kunal-shah-joins-board-of-pine-labs/85205855 |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=ETHRWorld.com |language=en}}
Awards and recognition
- Fortune 40 under 40 (2016){{Cite web |title=Kunal Shah - India's Young & Brightest Entrepreneurs in 40 Under 40 2016 - Fortune India |url=https://www.fortuneindia.com/40under40/kunal-shah?year=2016 |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=www.fortuneindia.com |language=en}}
- Comeback award - Economic Times (2016){{Cite news |date=2016-09-03 |title=Comeback Kid of the Year: Kunal Shah of Freecharge |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/the-economic-times-startup-awards-2016/comeback-kid-of-the-year-kunal-shah-of-freecharge/videoshow/53996737.cms |access-date=2024-07-22 |work=The Economic Times |language=en}}
- Economic Times 40 under 40 (2016){{Cite web |title=Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. |url=https://bccl.in/ |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=bccl.in |language=en-US}}
- 97th in the Fintech Top 100 Leaders for 2025 - Fintech Magazine{{Cite web |title=Top 100 FinTech Leaders 2025 |url=https://fintechmagazine.com/magazine/top-100-fintech-leaders-2025 |access-date=2025-03-25 |website=fintechmagazine.com |language=en}}
Personal life
Kunal Shah is married to Bhavna Shah, who works as a freelance graphic designer. Kunal is known for his active presence on social media platforms, where he often shares insights on various topics including entrepreneurship and consumer behavior.{{Cite news |date=2024-02-18 |title=Watch: Video created by ChatGPT maker OpenAI CEO Sam Altman using CRED CEO Kunal Shah's post |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/gadgets-news/watch-openai-ceo-sam-altman-creates-video-using-cred-ceo-kunal-shahs-post/articleshow/107785210.cms |access-date=2024-07-22 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}{{Cite web |title='Won't earn you reputation but...'Kunal Shah Of CRED Offers Tips |url=https://news24online.com/trending/wont-earn-you-reputation-but-kunal-shah-of-cred-offers-tips-highlights-importance-beyond-reputation/272185/ |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=News24 |language=en}}
As of 2023, Shah's net worth is estimated to be over $500 million.{{Cite web |title=Kunal Shah {{!}} SeedToScale |url=https://www.seedtoscale.com/people/kunal-shah |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=www.seedtoscale.com |language=en}}
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shah, Kunal}}
Category:Indian company founders