From dropping out of CA to joining the fintech startup world way back in 2013: Meet this unconventional Credit Risk professional

• Hi, my name is Ashutosh Tiwary and I hail from a very small town called Bokaro Steel City, in Jharkhand, India.
• Like most Commerce students, I too decided to take the CA route only to realize after 1.5 years and a few attempts that CA is not my calling. So, I am NOT a CA.
• I did my MBA and eventually started my career at Citibank in Credit.
• Over the years I worked in very traditional setups (leading banks and NBFCs) and somewhere in 2013, I took the unconventional path of joining a Fintech startup!
• Fintech is the talk of the town today, but back in 2013, it was new in India. So mind you, it was a big risk for me…but I leaned on my intuition to guide me back then.
• It all paid off as in less than a decade I have worked with the largest and best fintech startups namely Capital Float, MoneyTap, FlexiLoans & now Razorpay Capital heading their Credit and Risk teams.

Changing lanes

Growing up in my hometown, we had no credible options for higher studies post-Class 12. The only qualifications parents aspired their children to pursue were Engineering and Medicine. So, being a Commerce student by choice, in our city was very unusual in itself.

Post by Class 12 unlike my other friends, I moved to Delhi to pursue B. Com (Hons). After graduation, I enrolled myself in the Chartered Accountancy Course –  the most obvious choice for B. Com graduates.

While I cleared my CA Inter, it took me around 1.5 years and a few attempts to realize that CA was not my calling. I decided to quit CA.