Raghav Mehra’s Story: From Rejection to ₹400 Cr Valuation Only conviction remained when Raghav Mehra exited his third unsuccessful company pitch meeting, soaked in monsoon rain and investor rejections. At the age of 24, he had already witnessed the failure of three of his businesses: a freelance project platform, a college clothing brand, and a food delivery software for dorms. Most would have given up. He didn’t. At the age of 27, Raghav is the founder and CEO of PaySpring, a fintech company worth over ₹400 crore that is revolutionizing the way gig workers obtain financial services and rapid credit.
Early Years: More Work Than News Raghav, who comes from a middle-class Indore family, demonstrated his entrepreneurial spirit early on. He started selling personalized T-shirts to make pocket money during his second year of engineering school. Due to poor inventory management, that business closed down in six months. Due to operational issues and lack of scalability, his subsequent idea which was an app for late-night food delivery in the hostel failed. The third, a portal that linked freelancers and startups was a little more sophisticated. However, it was shut down after a year due to competition from bigger businesses.
What Shifted: Labels Were Lessons Raghav began to treat each setback as if it were tuition rather than calling himself a failure. He claims to have lost three startups.He spent the following year learning about India’s financial environment, rural banking, and UPI acceptance after relocating to Mumbai and starting work at a tiny digital payments business. He was surprised to learn that, despite having consistent revenues, millions of delivery agents, independent contractors, and service providers there was lack of access to official credit.
The pivotal moment: PaySpring’s launch Raghav established PaySpring in 2022 with the audacious goal of enabling India’s unorganized labor class to obtain short-term finance and financial planning. The concept was straightforward but effective: use transaction history to evaluate the earning patterns of gig workers and provide quick microloans, savings plans, and insurance on a single platform. It wasn’t simple. Banks didn’t believe it. The rules were strict. The funding was not clear but still Raghav onboarded 300 employees in Mumbai and bootstrapped the MVP also began to produce outcomes. PaySpring raised its first seed round in less than a year. It now has 11 delivery platform agreements, more than a million users.
What Is Unique About PaySpring? There’s No conventional credit ratings. Other information such as digital wallets, gig revenue, and consistency. There’s approval of the loan in two minutes. completely mobile-first, paperless, and seamless. There are modules for financial literacy that are integrated into local languages. It’s a savings-first strategy using nudges based on goals. PaySpring is creating a financial identity for the invisible workforce that goes beyond loans.
Only in hindsight does success appear to be successful. Raghav’s story is more about the art of not giving up than it is about success. He claims that he has failed more than succeeded. became more focused and resolute.His story serves as a reminder that perseverance, not chance, creates legends in a society that exalts instant success.
