Kunal Shah
Wilson College & NMIMS, Mumbai · FreeCharge / CRED
Failed the Same Exam Four Times, Then Built Two Companies Worth Billions
7 March 2026
Kunal Shah grew up in a middle-class family in Mumbai and studied philosophy at Wilson College. He tried to get into IIM (India's top business school) but failed the entrance exam four times. He eventually completed an MBA at NMIMS.
FreeCharge: The First Hit
Shah founded FreeCharge in 2010, a mobile recharge platform that gave coupons as cashback. It grew rapidly during India's mobile revolution and was acquired by Snapdeal for $400 million in 2015 — one of India's largest startup acquisitions at the time.
CRED: Rewarding the Wealthy
In 2018, Shah launched CRED, an app that rewards credit card users for paying bills on time. Critics said it only targeted wealthy Indians, but Shah argued that premium customers were underserved by existing fintech.
$6.4 Billion Valuation
CRED raised over $800 million and reached a $6.4 billion valuation. Shah became one of India's most celebrated repeat founders. His story shows that academic failure doesn't predict entrepreneurial failure — sometimes the most successful founders are the ones who learn to handle rejection early.
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