Razorpay Co-founder Shashank Kumar on building products that win

A good product, according to Shashank Kumar, Co-founder of Razorpay, is one that people "really really" love as opposed to something they would just be okay with having.

"The real test is always that you launch the product, put it into people's hands, and see, if they are actually using it," he said during a fireside chat with YourStory Founder and CEO Shradha Sharma at TechSparks Bengaluru 2024.

He advised entrepreneurs to focus on improving and growing the core product and the market before thinking about diversifying into other arenas. “Focus on the core product, make it better, more rich in features and then expand to more segments and demography.”

“Maybe post reaching $100 million revenue or $500-700 million valuation, you can think—I have the resources to invest in some other area, and the core product is reaching a place where growth will slow down at some point, then think of going to other areas,” he added.

He urges entrepreneurs to pivot "only if something doesn’t work".

An important factor in building a good product is the ability to say no to distractions, he said.

Recalling the first five to seven years of Razorpay’s journey, Kumar said, “We didn't do anything other than what we were doing, I truly think that you have to say no, a lot, especially for younger startups, which are in seed, Series A, Series B.”

According to Kumar, founders often get distracted due to the echo chambers of "the next big thing" created by investors as well as social media platforms. In fintech, the last few years have seen a lot of noise being created around cryptocurrency, neobanks, BNPL (buy now pay later) and wallets.

“You have to think of what it is that you can add value to because there are always 10 different things, but you can only create value if you do something truly amazingly in one or a maximum of two areas,” the co-founder reiterated.

“In the initial 6-7 years we did not do anything other than building a very solid payments product for businesses," he said.

Founded by Harshil Mathur and Kumar in 2014, Razorpay offers a suite of services including payment gateways, invoicing, and vendor payouts. It also runs a community, Razorpay Rize, to help founders connect with the ecosystem and to help them in their initial journeys.

“We have got so much from the community, cultivating those relationships are important, but it is important to know how to give back to this community... We need to promote more entrepreneurship in the country,” Kumar says.