Kunal Jhunjhunwala: A Young Serial Entrepreneur with Virtues of Lateral Thinking & Constant Learning
Kunal Jhunjhunwala
Managing Director & Principal Founder
It is conspicuous that the payment landscape in India has been triggered substantially by the waves of digitalization over the recent years. Especially post the initiation of demonetization, people are largely propelled towards the adaptation of cashless transactions both in the urban and rural sectors. In fact, Morgan Stanley has lately stated that the digital payments have tripled – from 2.5 to seven percent of the GDP during the past three years, which is further forecasted to touch 10 percent by 2023. Positioned in an utterly cashless world, Airpay Payment Services Pvt. Ltd. is a unique, all-encompassing, reliable payment platform presenting businesses with incredible cashless experiences. Focusing on the unserved traditional business sectors, Airpay enables the payment transactions to be carried-out seamlessly in a simpler, easier and quicker manner while strictly adhering to all the requisite security standards.
When did the idea to pursue entrepreneurship spark in your mind?
Despite being dyslexic, I was an average student in school. Like most leading dyslexics, I was always a lateral thinker and applied what I learnt instead of just emphasizing on my grades. During my ninth grade in school, I laid the foundation of my first firm where I
was developing software solutions for companies based out of North America and Europe. After this, I went down to establish many other companies – a print magazine, security consulting services firm and software development firm, to name a few.
All my life, I was more an intrepreneur rather than an entrepreneur, especially during my stints at Beverly Enterprises and Hungama. Essentially, I honed myself to explore opportunities that helped me in innovating beyond the frontiers across these organizations. It was during my tenure of almost five years at Hungama, I realized my true inner potential and ventured-out to setup Digitalhathi, a vibrant experiential agency. After over seeing Digitalhathi for about two years, I went-on to co-found Airpay Payment Services.
"I constantly connect with entrepreneurs from different sectors, assist them in evaluating their businesses, and resolve their problems"
It is indeed imperativeto stay committed as an entrepreneur no matter what obstacles may come. Enlighten us about your journey during the initial days as an entrepreneur.
As expected, the word ‘no’ kept slamming on my face every time I suggested the idea of establishing my own startup. Since I was a techie, it was important for me to learn skills integral to running a business before I could start my own venture – a hard lesson I learnt through my initial startups. So, I worked with Beverly Enterprises and Hungama, trying to establish my credibility as a dedicated and more importantly a capable entrepreneur. It was only after five years of working that I was able to convince my family to back my choice of leaving a secure, comfortable job to start a venture in a field, which at that time most didn’t understand. “Sab bakwas” I was told, “most Indians don’t have bank accounts, credit cards and others. Cash is king!” But we saw things differently and saw the change coming! And so, Airpay Payment Services was created. We have grown from a three-member team with a vision to over 100 people today; silently processing millions of transactions in the background on behalf of some of the largest business houses in India. At Airpay, I constantly focus on solving problems of customers instead of offering them generalized services. In fact, we go beyond the convention to get their concerns answered! However, establishing the company and building credibility has been back breaking. It is like bringing-up our child, each failure personal and each success shared with the team. Being an entrepreneur takes an emotional toll on you. My biggest challenge has been to detach myself from the emotional side of the business and instead articulate my passion well
All my life, I was more an intrepreneur rather than an entrepreneur, especially during my stints at Beverly Enterprises and Hungama. Essentially, I honed myself to explore opportunities that helped me in innovating beyond the frontiers across these organizations. It was during my tenure of almost five years at Hungama, I realized my true inner potential and ventured-out to setup Digitalhathi, a vibrant experiential agency. After over seeing Digitalhathi for about two years, I went-on to co-found Airpay Payment Services.
"I constantly connect with entrepreneurs from different sectors, assist them in evaluating their businesses, and resolve their problems"
It is indeed imperativeto stay committed as an entrepreneur no matter what obstacles may come. Enlighten us about your journey during the initial days as an entrepreneur.
As expected, the word ‘no’ kept slamming on my face every time I suggested the idea of establishing my own startup. Since I was a techie, it was important for me to learn skills integral to running a business before I could start my own venture – a hard lesson I learnt through my initial startups. So, I worked with Beverly Enterprises and Hungama, trying to establish my credibility as a dedicated and more importantly a capable entrepreneur. It was only after five years of working that I was able to convince my family to back my choice of leaving a secure, comfortable job to start a venture in a field, which at that time most didn’t understand. “Sab bakwas” I was told, “most Indians don’t have bank accounts, credit cards and others. Cash is king!” But we saw things differently and saw the change coming! And so, Airpay Payment Services was created. We have grown from a three-member team with a vision to over 100 people today; silently processing millions of transactions in the background on behalf of some of the largest business houses in India. At Airpay, I constantly focus on solving problems of customers instead of offering them generalized services. In fact, we go beyond the convention to get their concerns answered! However, establishing the company and building credibility has been back breaking. It is like bringing-up our child, each failure personal and each success shared with the team. Being an entrepreneur takes an emotional toll on you. My biggest challenge has been to detach myself from the emotional side of the business and instead articulate my passion well
and give them better reasons to opt for my business. By and large, it was an interesting experience where I learnt to evaluate myself from someone else’s perspective.
How has your family’s support been in your journey till date? Also, have you struck the chords of a perfect work-life balance?
I have been extremely fortunate to have an understanding father who never lost hopes in me despite my unstable academic performances and stubbornness to take a less ‘risk free’ path. He believed that I would stabilize and anchor myself in a suitable business at some point of time. Indeed, he has been favourable and supportive in assuring that I had every single thing essential while setting-up my firms. My mother has been my light of encouragement,cheering me at every milestone, pushing me to keep going inspite of all the hurdles, while my sister is the mirror that shows me what is right and wrong. I got married two years after starting Airpay and my wife has always comprehended the need of thehour since then, supported me relentlessly and made sure that I don’t get stressed-out on petty things.
I trust that the perfect work-life balance can be achieved only when you get disciplined in terms of answering calls or responding to emails and make sure that only real emergencies get pushed to you while your team is empowered to take ownership and responsibilities.
Apart from your stint at Airpay, what other pursuits do you engage in?
I constantly connect with entrepreneurs from different sectors, assist them in evaluating their businesses, resolve their problems and foster them to move in the right direction. Moreover, I’m a ferocious reader, be it audio books, paperbacks, newsletters or online magazines. I read to keep myself updated and trust that there is no alternative to this. In my pursuit of constant learning and sharing ideas, I have recently become a member of Entrepreneur organization, Mumbai Chapter. I am also pursuing my Executive MBA – TRIUM Global Executive MBA.
Key Management:
Kunal Jhunjhunwala, Principal Founder & Managing Director
Holding a Bachelor’s degree in Science & Information Technology and currently pursuing Executive MBA, Kunal has proven to be the perfect example of a well-polished business leader enriched with experiences across multiple domains.
Favourite Pastimes:
•Sci-Fi Movies
•Technology Development
Best-Liked Cuisines:
Cold Pizza & Chinese Takeaway
Favourite Holiday Spot:
Lakshadweep
How has your family’s support been in your journey till date? Also, have you struck the chords of a perfect work-life balance?
I have been extremely fortunate to have an understanding father who never lost hopes in me despite my unstable academic performances and stubbornness to take a less ‘risk free’ path. He believed that I would stabilize and anchor myself in a suitable business at some point of time. Indeed, he has been favourable and supportive in assuring that I had every single thing essential while setting-up my firms. My mother has been my light of encouragement,cheering me at every milestone, pushing me to keep going inspite of all the hurdles, while my sister is the mirror that shows me what is right and wrong. I got married two years after starting Airpay and my wife has always comprehended the need of thehour since then, supported me relentlessly and made sure that I don’t get stressed-out on petty things.
I trust that the perfect work-life balance can be achieved only when you get disciplined in terms of answering calls or responding to emails and make sure that only real emergencies get pushed to you while your team is empowered to take ownership and responsibilities.
Apart from your stint at Airpay, what other pursuits do you engage in?
I constantly connect with entrepreneurs from different sectors, assist them in evaluating their businesses, resolve their problems and foster them to move in the right direction. Moreover, I’m a ferocious reader, be it audio books, paperbacks, newsletters or online magazines. I read to keep myself updated and trust that there is no alternative to this. In my pursuit of constant learning and sharing ideas, I have recently become a member of Entrepreneur organization, Mumbai Chapter. I am also pursuing my Executive MBA – TRIUM Global Executive MBA.
Key Management:
Kunal Jhunjhunwala, Principal Founder & Managing Director
Holding a Bachelor’s degree in Science & Information Technology and currently pursuing Executive MBA, Kunal has proven to be the perfect example of a well-polished business leader enriched with experiences across multiple domains.
Favourite Pastimes:
•Sci-Fi Movies
•Technology Development
Best-Liked Cuisines:
Cold Pizza & Chinese Takeaway
Favourite Holiday Spot:
Lakshadweep