Imagine you’re part of an NBFC, how would you lend to a person running a Kirana business? Without any proper credit score, current account or other standard checks.

Finding it difficult to evaluate the credit worthiness of the shop owner. Right? In the age of the internet, UPI, net banking, Jan Dhan Bank account and almost all transaction-related data available with transparency, it seems possible.

Now imagine dealing with the same issue, back in 1984. Seems impossible right?

Well, that’s when Five Star Business Finance, ventured into small business financing.

In this episode, we have with us, Rangarajan Krishnan, CEO, Five Star Business Finance.

Dive into this episode as Rangarajan shares the journey of Five Star, their experience of going IPO recently, how RBI regulates NBFCs, what differentiates them from other NBFCs, Banks Fintech, and more.

This episode is a must-listen for entrepreneurs, small business owners, and anyone looking to learn more about the working, valuation, and scaling of NBFCs in India.

Notes -

00:00 - Highlights of the conversation

01:28 - Intro to Rangarajan & Five Star Business Finance

02:38 - Valuation for NBFCs while going IPO

03:14 - Their IPO journey over three phases

10:29 - Private round valuation Pre-IPO

13:33 - History and background of Five Star

22:03 - RBI’s regulations around deposit-taking NBFCs

23:26 - How does the lending market in India looks like?

26:29 - The simplest way to define a customer of Five Star

31:51 - Branch presence across major geographies in India

37:10 - RBI scale-based regulations for 10,000+ NBFCs

39:45 - What differentiates them from other NBFCs?

42:41 - Do they aspire to be amongst the Top 10-15 NBFCs in the next 2-3 years?

44:11 - Prerequisites from RBI for starting an NBFC

46:16 - Do they want to become a Fintech eventually?

49:20 - Being a CEO and a Non-founder

51:39 - His interaction while joining Five Star

56:53 - Managing his & promotor's responsibilities

57:46 - Things he has changed & retained in the company in the last 7+ years

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