From 8K Per Month To 5 Million - How Mumbai Startup Peon Become A Millionaire

Shyam Kumar, 42, was satisfied with his salary of 8,000 rupees a month, who was a peon in the Mumbai-based startup, simply because the amount was more than he could earn as a security guard in his previous job. He did not expect a high-paying job because he left his education unfinished due to the poor health of his father. Despite the CEO, who explained it to him many times, he didn't know anything about ESOP techniques. All he knew was that ESOP was something that would benefit him in the long run.

Shyam Kumar stayed in a 10 × 10 room in a poor neighborhood in the Malad area on the outskirts of Mumbai. The 100-square-foot area would accommodate 10 people, including Shyam and his own family; his parents, and his brother's family. The family divided the sleeping area with a curtain because the room was too small for any other arrangement. Shyam would arrive at his small warehouse office in Santacruz, Mumbai, every morning at 10 p.m. He was often alone in the office because other people, including CEO Jitendra Gupta, used to be in meetings and business expansions. He was often skeptical about the nature of the business in which he operated his company.

Today, Shyam lives in a 1 BHK rental apartment in Mumbai, plans to buy a new home in the suburbs, has a better cell phone, plans a vacation in Goa, and also has health insurance. Thanks to his constant trust in the company he worked for, he knew a lot about his business.

Kumar got the job back in 2010 when his company Citruspay was formed. While the company was working on business development, they got funded in several rounds by Sequoia Capital, Ascent Capital, eContext Asia, and Beenos Asia, and few others. By 2016 Citruspay had customers that included Indigo, Go Air, and Amazon India. That same year, South African-firm Naspers-backed PayU acquired Mumbai-based CitrusPay for USD 130 million in September last year, in an all-cash deal. Making Shyam one of those 50 odd employees who got benefited from the deal.

When he acquired Citruspay in 2016, his CEO called him personally and told him that he would receive 50 lakes for his share of the business. At first, he didn't believe the news, but later they explained the technical problems to him. When Shaym delivered the news to his wife, she didn't believe it until the money was actually in the bank.

Shyam Kumar's story is an excellent example of the growing startup culture in India and represents the great Indian dreams.