Bandul Bansal started trading in the stock market when he was doing his engineering course at PEC University of Technology in Chandigarh. He soon started advising friends and colleagues to build his financial portfolio and realized that finance was his passion.
As a student he worked at Quadby, a B2B customized apparel startup founded by his batchmate Litesh Gumber.
Brother says,
“I had always enjoyed helping people manage their finances and it also helped us increase crowdfunding for Quadby.”
He soon began to reach potential customers and began consulting about how to improve his financial departments. Within a year in 2016 he decided to bootstrap Finstreet, a personal finance coaching platform to help people understand the various forms of alternative assets.
Early days
Chandigarh-based Finstreet offers a variety of learning experiences across all areas of investment, be it high capital investment such as real estate investment or low capital investment such as poker staking.
Bandhul recalls, “I found some clients and advised them on how to use their property appropriately. They got excellent returns on their investment and seemed satisfied with our service. I remember the first time I got a call from my client to thank me. They had bought shares of Quad by (very clearly) and were happy when they tripled in value. The joy in his voice was enough to make me realize that this was the work I always wanted to do. ”
Along with Litesh, Bandul’s core team consists of college mates Nishant Chawla and Sahil Thakur. The total team size is 12.
The team had to work to build their reputation as they were college students. He began by providing important information to the public in a simple, promising way. He conducted free workshops in colleges to teach students how to manage their finances.
Brother says,
“It helped us in the beginning to build our reputation and scale business. Soon, we were conducting workshops at prestigious institutes like IIT-Delhi, IIT-Bombay and IIT-Gandhinagar. ”
What does Finstreet do?
This online platform offers a wide range of services, including online classes, workshops, programs, mentoring sessions and content such as cheat sheets and books for an overall understanding of the industry.
“People can visit our website and choose from the many services available. Finance is a scary industry for those who have misinformation. ”
Brother says,
“We focus on providing a seamless line of communication between us and our customers so that we can answer every query in detail. It guarantees 360 degree understanding. These business ethics make our customers always happy and satisfied That’s why. “
He says that the Finstreet team is targeting the common man and plans to expand to regional languages soon.
The market
In the financial education segment, startups compete with Zerodha, PolicyBazaar, BankBazaar and others. But Bandhul focused on the difference, saying that most finance platforms focus on Finance 1.0.
They say
“We educate individuals about new asset classes such as cryptocurrency and REITs, in addition to traditional asset classes. These can be smart investments for beginner investors. Our goal is to take existing financial knowledge, break it down, and present it to our students in a simple, clear way. ”
He says, “To this end, we have enlisted the help of social media platforms such as YouTube to help us spread our message. Visual aids are a better medium of learning, which is why our education model largely focuses on video for fun and engaging learning. ”
Business model
The team’s business model includes online classes, which are paid and free. Services including fees include online programs, webinars, courses and workshops.
Brother says,
“During the first few years, we focused on strengthening our brand and building credibility among people. It was not very high in terms of revenue. But it helped us build a strong community which has helped our company grow faster. ”
The team claims that there are more than 150,000 followers on the social media platform and more than 40,000 people are connected through offline channels. Finstreet is focusing on Tier III and IV cities as people there are generally unaware of smart financial planning.
He says, “We have a wide range of services to offer our customers: courses, events, workshops, and so on. They can be free or cost up to Rs 10,000. ”
Future plan
The target customer of the team is the one who needs financial management, which means “all”.
Bandhul says, “We want to help individuals use their assets smartly and build a fluid portfolio that improves their finances. Our business model is dependent on many costs such as content development, marketing and operations. These costs are mostly fixed. For example, the cost of content development is stable despite the number of courses we sell. ”
He said Finstreet is gaining traction for its services with a profit margin of 15 to 20 percent.
He says, “Our future plans include raising awareness about decentralized finance among the common man. Decentralized finance will revolutionize the finance industry and it is important that people understand the true implications of informing. Apart from the decentralized economy, we will focus on other lesser-known, yet highly profitable asset classes. ”
Finstreet’s ultimate goal is to create “a class of individuals who have financial literacy and who are consistent with all developments in the industry.”
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