It all started in 2008 when I started my articleship for Chartered Accountancy in KPMG. I was fortunate to have audited ICICI bank, Reliance Capital asset management, HSBC and MCX as a part of audit team. I learnt so much about capital markets that the stock market bug bit me. We used to work beyond 12 at night in ICICI bank, but those were the days to cherish for. The experience was amazing and the learning curve was very steep.

Post qualification in 2011, I joined CRISIL research in Pune where I was a part of HOLT team which used to value banks and NBFC enities of European region based on a proprietary Cash flow Return on Investment (CFROI) model. My Gujarati blood and CA mind wont let be give a buy signal to a fundamentally weak company, but still I had to do it. I eventually realised, whatever I am doing is of no value because ultimately, some senior head of our organisation has met the company which is being valued and changed the call from SELL to BUY. It was all based on relationships. Hence, I decided to quit and start my own venture.

My entrepreneurial journey – failed CA Practice, failed cricket turf business, failed restaurant business, failed real estate business, to a thriving Financial Market business. You only have to be right once 😊

Scale Up Financial was born in early 2012 wherein I was the only person in my organisation. It was a phase where it was delusion at its best. High in confidence, lot of personal learnings, setbacks after setbacks. Irony after Irony. I am still not able to recollect why I didn’t give up. Probably, it was because I had very less to start with. Where you have nothing to lose, that’s when you win.

Till 2019, Scale Up went through lots of ups and downs and expanded from 2 members to 8 members.

The breakthrough happened in 2020 wherein our Risk Management stood out. When NIFTY was down by 40%, we were in positive!. Even now, at any point in time if NIFTY falls by 20% in 1 minute, we won’t lose a single rupee. The reverse is also true. If NIFTY rises by 20%, we won’t earn 20%, we earn only 15%. The balance cost goes in hedging. This is the power of derivatives.

Our risk management is the reason why we have survived till date. As it is said about success– it’s not the best man wins, it’s the Last Man Standing. It’s a game of survival. We feel so grateful that we survived this fall.

Our current team. By God’s grace we are a team of 50 traders and 3 businesses.

At Scale Up Financial, we manage majorly our own money, although we do engage in Investments of our close circle investors. Scale Up is where my heart and passion lies. To expand this further, we applied for a license for a dollar denominated fund out of GIFT City. We got the license in 2023. Currently, Sattvic Wealth Bharat Fund caters to foreign investors and NRI investors who would like to participate in the India growth story. It’s a Category III AIF based out of GIFT City, Gandhinagar.

Apart from business, I am extremely passionate about helping people. I am a part of many NGOs which are involved in children education, women empowerment and senior citizen welfare. Also an avid cricket lover, I encourage my team and others to strive to be their version of healthy. If any individual I meet wants to learn about finance, trading etc. we have a team to explain them the basics – they can come to office and learn as long as they like!

Feel free to reach out to me in case you want to have a coffee.