From Wallet Hacks to Fintech Scale: Inside MobiKwik’s Journey With Upasana Taku

Upasana Taku, Co-founder & CFO of MobiKwik, recently took center stage at Masters’ Union for a power-packed SeriesC session. From the humble beginnings of MobiKwik to competing with the biggest names in the game, Upasana offered students an unfiltered view into what it really takes to build and scale a digital payment platform in India.

A Front-Row Seat to the Startup Revolution

Setting the stage with a look back at India’s startup and internet revolution, Upasana spoke about how this macro shift catalysed the emergence of tech-first consumer solutions. MobiKwik, founded in 2009, was one of the OGs of the Indian wallet ecosystem - pioneering digital payments long before it was mainstream.

In an era where credit card penetration was low and online banking clunky at best, MobiKwik dared to dream big - and act fast.

The First 100 Days: Organic Growth and SEO Wins

What’s it like to build a startup from scratch? According to Upasana, the first 100 days were a heady mix of sleepless nights and relentless iterations. The team leaned hard on SEO, product optimisation, and organic acquisition.

“We didn’t spend on ads—we hacked our way to traffic,” she shared. They found ways to rank on search engines, streamline user flows, and ensure frictionless top-ups and transactions—long before UI/UX became a buzzword.

Competing With Giants and Holding Their Ground

As MobiKwik began gaining traction, it found itself competing with telecom giants like Airtel and banks trying to enter the digital wallet space. But Upasana emphasised that competition didn’t faze them. Instead, it forced them to sharpen their focus, innovate faster, and build trust deeper.

Being a startup in fintech means living in survival mode. Every day, you’re fighting for user retention, regulatory clarity, and investor confidence.

Raising Capital and Hitting Inflection Points

From Series A to Series C, the journey of raising capital was both challenging and defining. Upasana walked students through the inflection points that shaped MobiKwik’s growth—from pivoting products to refining monetisation strategies.

She also highlighted the importance of having strategic clarity, especially in an ecosystem as complex and regulated as fintech. Payments, she noted, are often seen as a “utility,” but in reality, they are the most nuanced layer of the financial stack—requiring deep trust, scale, and infrastructure resilience.

Lessons in Resilience and Strategic Thinking

Throughout the session, Upasana's message was clear: building a business is less about buzzwords and more about staying the course. She encouraged students to not just chase funding or unicorn status, but to stay committed to solving real problems—especially in industries like fintech, where execution is everything.

Why This Session Mattered

For the students in the room—many of them budding entrepreneurs, investors, or fintech enthusiasts—this was a real-time case study on how India’s fintech landscape was shaped, and how grit, product obsession, and resourcefulness can go a long way.

As part of Masters’ Union’s SeriesC speaker lineup, sessions like these continue to offer rare access to the minds behind India’s most influential startups.