Founder of India's Biggest Fintech Startup Has 5 Golden Steps To Success

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the poster boy of Indian startups, is a man who has proven time and again how persistent work pays. Counted among TIME’s 100 most influential people in the world, Sharma believes in no fear and no greed.

Sharma believes unlike ever before, India has hundreds of millions of customers; it has a middle class and a young population that is ready to learn new things and ape technology. “As a tech entrepreneur, I would say this is a dream come true moment,” Sharma told Entrepreneur India.  

His humble beginning to the owner of Paytm, India’s largest fintech startup, make him a visionary to follow. And who could be better to give advice on the top things every entrepreneur should do to be successful.

5 Golden Steps To Success

No Notifications

No messages, whatsapps or no call. It means you are deciding what you are doing, not your phone deciding what you are doing. Cut down all your notifications to nearly nil. “People think I am significantly active on social media, which is true. But I don’t let the social network drive me,” says Sharma.

Manage Your Day Prudently

According to Sharma, the first half of the day should be spend with your team and internal team for complex problems and the second half should be kept for discussions where you are ready to meet outside people and where you don’t have to invest in decision making.

Shortlist Priority of Work

You can look after many functions in the business and all functions will need your attention, but you have to shortlist which one is the most impactful return.

“If I don’t take care of it now or if I take care of it now, it will give the best return. So sorting out the priority is the biggest lesson I have learnt so that you don’t mis-prioritize yourself.”

 Know What You Do

Whatever you do, have an understanding of what you are doing.

“Most important point is that the same understanding is built around the team. I believe it takes a lot of time and a lot of communication and I have to say that communication is very useful.”

 Sharma believes it’s important to clarify the vision, why the company is doing it, how will the company do it; it’s one of the things that need to be clarified. This ensures when you are not there, the team is able to take the decision.

You Never Recruit

You train your best people. In other words, there is no trophy hire you can recruit in your company.

“You will actually hire a hardworking sincere learner who is keen to learn and do what the company does and then that person becomes the trophy teammate of yours.”