Deepinder Goyal and Navil Noronha: a study in contrasting exits
And what that says about how far Eternal can push its norm-defying acts
The Ken Podcast
How the ‘buy now, pay later’ dream soured
Subscribe to The Ken’s premium plan and download our beautiful apps for iOS, ipad or android to tune in. Or sign up to Two by Two with a monthly subscription for early access to full episodes on Apple Podcasts.
India’s fintech-based NBFC lending sector offers many lessons. Three early pioneers—Capital Float (now Axio), Zestmoney, and Lendingkart—raised significant amounts of venture capital, built solid momentum, and achieved growth and penetration. They pivoted, explored multiple opportunities, and yet, ultimately had to sell out.
In this episode of Two by Two, co-hosts Rohin Dharmakumar and Praveen Gopal Krishnan are joined by guests Shivashish Chatterjee, co-founder of DMI Group, and Arundhati Ramanathan, The Ken’s deputy editor. Together, they discuss the business models of these lenders—including balance sheet lending and the rise of “buy now, pay later”—and what lessons can be learned for the future of India’s fintech lending ecosystem.
This episode of Two by Two was mixed and mastered by Rajiv CN, our resident sound engineer.
If you liked this episode of Two by Two, please share it with your friends, colleagues, and anyone else who might be interested. And if you have thoughts on the discussion, write to us at [email protected]. We’d love to hear from you.
Additional reading
Axio—a fintech dream comes to an end – https://the-ken.com/kaching/axio-a-fintech-dream-comes-to-an-end/
And what that says about how far Eternal can push its norm-defying acts
The Walmart-backed company commands nearly half of India’s digital-payments landscape. But its financials trail its smaller, listed rival
As the logistics firm plans to pour IPO money into new warehouses and long leases, incumbents are squeezing returns from assets they locked in when land was cheaper, and rents were lower
The Ken has learnt that the Centre is holding deeper discussions on allowing private schools to run as for-profit entities to encourage transparency and long-term steady growth
A complex system with feedback loops that pulls us towards a future we imagine possible
Private labels meet brand ambition
So far, only Wechat seems to have cracked the code to creating an apps-within-an-app ecosystem. Can AI take it to the rest of the world?
The IT services firm is seeking a secondary listing to match the valuation of its Indian rivals. But logistical and regulatory challenges lie in the way
The co-founder on how Darwinbox grew quietly before it grew big
In this episode, we unpack the rise of what we are calling the “fitness warrior”. This is a new professional archetype where work follows the same logic as sport: optimise, train, perform.
As India’s data law kicks in, WhatsApp outreach is getting regulated, and a new compliance market is emerging fast
The IT services firm is seeking a secondary listing to match the valuation of its Indian rivals. But logistical and regulatory challenges lie in the way
The Sequoia-backed cross-border remittance startup Aspora wants to win over 15 million NRIs at all costs, and it has to decide which cost it wants to bear—regulatory or cross-border realities
The Supreme Court’s recent guidelines and a state’s AI mandate hint at a fragmented overhaul—one testing whether tech can cut through decades of procedural drag
Here are the ones—whether it’s The Nutgraf, Long and Short, or Trade Tricks—that you didn’t expect
Here are the stories that our subscribers read and shared the most in 2025
Here are some of the episodes—across our six different podcasts—that listeners loved
Do you know anyone else who would like to listen this podcast?
Share this episode with them.