2. 1. Vijay was the third of four children born to school teacher Sulom Prakash and Asha Sharma, a home-
maker. He has seen the tough life of the economically backward section of the country. When he was a
12-year-old kid who used to sport a chappal and visit his school, his batchmates had no money to afford
a pair of slippers. After witnessing this, he wrote a poem expressing his bewilderment at the inequalities
of life.
2. Vijay hailed from Aligarh, where he was based in a small town. Earning around Rs 10,000 a month at the
age of 27, Vijay was once considered an ineligible bachelor. Though the challenges tried hard to mar him
down, he always had the ember in him to shine.
3. Sharma didn't even have an educational background in English and was hence quite poor in the
language. However, he didn't shy away from it but taught himself English through rock music.
4. Vijay Shekhar Sharma was nevertheless, quite inclined to literature, Hindi literature to be precise, since
his early school days. He wrote many poems and even got some of them published
5. Vijay was one of the two people from his village who went on to pursue engineering. Vijay holds an
engineering degree from the prestigious Delhi Institute of Technology. As per Vijay, if one used to study
in a Hindi-Medium school, he/she had to face many difficulties. A child reading in the 1990s framed
Hindi-medium school rarely had any access to books and coaching facilities! Therefore, Vijay realized
that he was all alone on his path to success.
6. During his time at DTU, he expressed his life similar to the popular Bollywood movie, Tare Zameen Par!
That is, he could see the lips of his teacher moving, but he could not understand a single word! While
preparing for the exams, he and his friends would read the answers and not know the questions because
the questions were written in English. However, he conquered one of his greatest fears successfully!
OVERCOMING THE TOUGH CIRCUMSTANCES
3. 1. Paytm, which was founded in August 2010, has always been highly valued as a company and features as
one of the biggest digital payment services relied upon by merchants and users alike. Furthermore, it has
recently witnessed one of the biggest IPO in Indian history, which kickstarted on November 8, 2021.
However, ever since the listing of Paytm shares, the company has witnessed some challenging drops in
the share prices, which declined to a record low of nearly 37% to hit an all-time low of Rs 1,283 per share.
Nevertheless, the shares of the company had finally seen a rise of 9% in its prices, as reported on
November 23, 2021.
2. Vijay Shekhar Sharma's Paytm was recently barred by the RBI from onboarding new customers under its
banking vertical, Paytm Payments Bank. This significantly affected the performance of Paytm on the
share market. Right after the spreading of the news, the company's shares tank 14% to hit a new low of
Rs 672 on the BSE in the intra-day trade on March 14, 2022. All of this started after it went for its public
listing.
3. Paytm, which once commanded the market, and looked forward to a magnanimous public listing with an
issue price of Rs 2,150, has witnessed a considerable erosion of its value, which waned by 70%. As per the
reports dated March 18, 2022, the Paytm Founder and CEO, Vijay Shekhar Sharma has lost around Rs 88
crore daily after its stock market debut on November 18, 2022.
4. Paytm has seen a whole lot of controversies since the wake of the new year 2022. Amidst the free fall of
its shares that the fintech company is witnessing, reports of the arrest of the Paytm founder Vijay
Shekhar Sharma were also circulated. Vijay Sharma was allegedly arrested and bailed on the same day
February 22, 2022, for hitting the vehicle of DCP (South Delhi) Benita Mary Jaiker. Though the fintech
company and its founder are currently pitted against challenges on all sides, this too will pass.
4. 1. He was hugely inspired by Yahoo so he wanted to study at Stanford University where it
was built, but due to lack of money and his bad English stopped him for getting in
there. When most of the college students were dreaming of their placements, Vijay
along with his friends created a CMS (content management company) and they named
it XS Communications. Their CMS was used by many major publications like The Indian
Express.
2. While trying to get funds for his company he borrowed Rs. 8 lakhs from bank with an
interest of 24 percent. Due to this he was trapped in the vicious circle of unplayable
debt. This forced him to take odd jobs to pay off his debts.
3. The success of Paytm
4. His success was made possible because of his hard work, patience and will to succeed.
Things were hard when he launched One97 which is the parent company of Paytm but
later things begin to settle. For Paytm he didn't ask for any fund instead he raises $2
million all by himself.
5. True success of company comes when they start offering internet wallet service, 24 x 7
customer care services and all this developed trust among their customers. The idea of
Paytm required trust of their customers and Vijay won it with excellent customer
support.
6. Story of Vijay Shekhar Sharma proves that you can achieve anything if you are
determined and follow your passion. Life will give you opportunities; it is on you how
you take this opportunity. Always follow your passion and take risks in life.
PAYTM
5. 1. The Indian startup circuit has witnessed many astounding stories. The growth of many
multinational companies has added to its worth and value as an ecosystem where everyone
gets an opportunity to shine and rise. With the new era approaching, it is time to have a
sneak-peek into one of the most successful entrepreneurs Vijay Shekhar Sharma. Well, if
you are residing in India or if you have kept in touch with the Indian startup ecosystem, then
you might have heard about Paytm. It is one of the first e-wallets and is still considered as
the representative of the Indian startup system in the e-wallet circuit.
2. Vijay Shekhar Sharma has India's second-youngest billionaire with $2.35 billion wealth as
per Forbes list of India's 100 Richest People (2020). However, as per reports dated March
15, 2022, Sharma has lost his billionaire status, with a net worth estimated at $999 million.
Once, Sharma used to earn around Rs 10,000 a month when he was 27 years old and based
in Aligarh. From the small town of Aligarh to being the head of one of the largest fintech
companies focused on digital payments and wallet-based payments, the journey of Vijay
Shekhar Sharma is as unique and interesting as it is inspiring.
ABOUT VIJAY SHEKHAR SHARMA
6. ONE 97 AND ADVENT OF PAYTM
After quitting his first job, Vijay Shekhar Sharma co-founded One97 Communications Ltd in 2001- a mobile
value-added service company, and also Paytm’s parent company. It was called One97, as it was then the
directory inquiry service number of BSNL. Unfortunately, the 9/11 attacks followed and the business
crashed leaving him alone with his partner’s departure. Left with no money, and pressure from the
family to ‘settle down with a stable job so that he could be married off at a mere 25 years of age.
Succumbing to family pressure, he did take up a job as a consultant only to sustain himself. Despite leading a
meagre life, his mind was constantly working towards innovation around the telecom sector when
smartphones became immensely popular. With One97, he decided to reduce the use of plastic cards,
and impact people’s lives through Paytm – a mobile wallet accessible through smartphones or its web
portal.
With Paytm, One97 delved into three key areas of the internet – content, advertising, and commerce, and
could successfully raise a sum of 2 million USD on its own without a need for outside funding. Today,
Paytm’s success story is synonymous with the rise of the e-wallet start-up ecosystem in India, that Mr.
Sharma had dreamt of creating. The Paytm Payments bank is the first-platform to offer a zero-balance
account facility, besides allowing UPI payments, and online shopping facilities.
7. REVOLUTION AND GROWTH
OF PAYTM
Paytm has changed the landscape of the retail sector thanks to its easy mobile-based payment mode. Today, it
has turned into a verb, rather than a noun. The e-wallet, approved by the RBI, was launched by Vijay
Shekhar Sharma in 2010, by its parent company One97.
Although Paytm started off as a bill payments and online mobile recharge platform, today, it has evolved to
make transactions of all kinds, with the capacity to make 5000 transactions per second. The e-wallet is
secured and the app uses Verisign-certified SSL 128-bit encryption technology which ensures that all that
online data pertaining to the user is safeguarded. The payments platform further received a boost after
demonetisation, when its usage increased, with users touching 200 million by November 2017. The
payments platform also launched the Paytm Payment Bank in 2017. According to reports, the payments
platform serves more than six lakh villages in the country via digital payments
