You would obviously agree that the company’s vision of putting the customer first has paid off and has raised the bar for the competition. How did emerging technologies or digital strategies play a role in this transformational journey?
Both emerging technologies and an overarching digital strategy have helped Upstox reach where it has. The pandemic brought several opportunities for digital optimization and transformation. Exponential technologies have played a leading role in digital transformation, allowing businesses to gain a competitive edge. They have not only improved operational resilience but also enabled flexibility in a new reality characterized by rapidly changing market dynamics.
Upstox’s intuitive technology along with advanced charting and analysis tools makes investing and trading simple and accessible for people from all walks of life. This is reflected in the demography of our user base. We have seen significant growth in the number of young investors who are keen to take control of their finances and achieve their goals of wealth creation. Presently, we have a total customer base of over 4 million, of which more than 80% of customers are in the age group of 18–36 years. And over 80% of our total customer base is from Tier 2 & 3 cities.
Often people say that if you are saving your money in a savings bank account, it is resting but if you are investing then you are putting your money to work. How has the pandemic impacted the market dynamics and how did you cope with it as a company which had set its eyes on growth?
We all know the market situation is quite dynamic. It would be hard for anyone to make projections at this point. The pandemic created a situation that no one could have predicted. It became extremely important for businesses to be agile and to adapt intelligently and optimally to digital and remote working, working style. Also, people used this opportunity to enhance their financial knowledge and diversify their portfolios.
Growing financial awareness, rising interest in equity participation, digital trading platforms that offer intuitive technologies at flat brokerage fees, and easy internet access are key factors behind the record additions of Demat accounts in India. Given our observations of the retail customer and their behaviour patterns, we strongly believe that this trend is here to stay, and it’s not just a lockdown phenomenon.
The proliferation of smartphones and low-cost data have propelled investing and trading through digital modes. eKYC and Aadhaar eSign have made the process of opening a Demat account paperless and easy. As a result, it has enabled equity participation in the country to expand at a faster pace. Upstox’s biggest USP is that we are a technology-first company. Our platform combines cutting-edge technology with a seamless user experience. We achieve this by placing customer feedback at the centre of our product innovations. It is a major driver for ensuring an enhanced user experience.
You have earlier said that women are now becoming more open to stock markets even though one would consider a large part of the Indian population to be intimidated by stocks or trading in general. How do you plan to accelerate this trend and set another milestone?
The pandemic pushed the world to rethink their spending and investment patterns. It highlighted the importance of an additional source of income besides the traditional ones. Women from across geographies took the lead to support their families and ensure financial security amidst adversities. At Upstox, we have witnessed a nearly 5x jump in accounts opened by women since FY21. The participation of women is not limited to metro cities and is resulting in deeper penetration in the hinterlands of India.
In terms of employees, how are you seeing the tussle between thrive skills and digital skills playing out? How is your company setting up employees for more success? Are there specific training programmes?
At Upstox, we currently have over 400 employees. Over the last one year, we have been hiring rapidly across India, and have been assisting new employees to set up offices from their homes. We firmly believe a robust plan of action is needed to properly fulfill your business’s staffing needs that will ultimately lead to business growth. Businesses should consider the current crisis as an opportunity to accelerate work initiatives, create successful strategies for remote working, and launch new upskilling programs to address new skills and capabilities.
In a competitive environment, the smartest way to attract top-notch talent and retain them is by providing a healthy organisational culture, learning opportunities for them to grow as professionals and, most importantly, giving them space to create impactful innovations instead of focusing only on execution. At Upstox, we plan to hire more talent comprising of engineers, product managers, designers, growth & brand marketers, content creators and compliance & legal professionals.
What are some of the trends that you expect post the pandemic and what we can expect from Upstox in the coming months?
The need for additional sources of income at a time when returns from the traditional instruments are falling will keep the equity markets in focus. That is going to keep the fintech industry not only busy but on its toes in times to come. Rapid technological transformation has brought a radical shift in the way people invest today.
And, to add to it, digital onboarding of clients, along with a wide untapped market in the retail sector, favourable demographics, growing financial literacy, and increasing smartphone and internet penetration have enabled fast growth across the brokerage industry. We want to increase financial awareness with the aim of improving the rate of equity participation in India, which is presently at 3–4%.
We aim to build a diverse suite of investment products for customers and be a one-stop-shop for all of their investment needs. We aim to be the partner of choice for the new generation of traders and investors.
