Co-founder & CEO

Location: Gurugram

Commitment: Full-time

Stage: Early-stage / Prototype

Compensation: Founder equity; no salary at the current stage

About SambalPay

SambalPay is an early-stage fintech start-up helping users make better financial decisions by understanding their financial profile, needs and eligibility before choosing financial products.

We are currently at the prototype stage with a team of around 10 members, including a Co-founder, CTO, Product Manager and interns.

So far, we have validated the problem through conversations with:

• 150+ potential customers
• 35+ industry experts and business leaders

We are now looking for a Co-founder & CEO who can take ownership of the business side and help build SambalPay from an early-stage product into a scalable fintech company.

What We Are Solving

For Customers:

Help users identify suitable financial products based on their needs, profile and eligibility instead of applying blindly.

For DSAs:

Provide better customer insights, eligibility guidance and product-routing support.

For College Students:

Provide simple financial learning modules to improve financial awareness and help students make better financial decisions.

For Lenders:

Help lenders receive more relevant and better-qualified leads through smarter customer-product matching and routing.

Your Role

As Co-founder & CEO, you will work closely with the founding team and take ownership of business strategy, fundraising, hiring, partnerships and overall company execution.

This is a hands-on founder role, not a traditional management position.

Key Responsibilities Strategy & Execution

• Define company priorities and execution plans
• Build the business model and go-to-market strategy
• Track key business, product and fundraising milestones
• Take ownership of important company decisions

Fundraising & Investors

• Build and manage the investor pipeline
• Initiate conversations with angels, VCs and strategic investors
• Lead investor meetings and follow-ups
• Build long-term investor relationships
• Drive fundraising strategy and execution

Pitch Deck

• Own and continuously improve the investor pitch deck
• Build a clear story around the problem, solution, market, traction, business model and vision
• Prepare financial projections and fundraising materials

Hiring & Team Setup

• Identify critical hiring requirements
• Interview and hire strong early team members
• Define clear roles, ownership and accountability
• Build a high-ownership startup culture
• Establish regular team reviews and execution rhythms

Product

• Work closely with the CTO and Product Manager
• Stay involved in product strategy and prioritisation
• Speak regularly with customers and partners
• Help validate product-market fit and monetisation opportunities

Partnerships & Business Development

• Build relationships with banks, NBFCs, fintechs, DSAs, colleges and strategic partners
• Identify opportunities that support distribution, revenue and product growth

Day-to-Day Work

Your day may include:

• Speaking with investors
• Improving the pitch deck
• Reviewing product progress
• Meeting customers, DSAs and lenders
• Interviewing candidates
• Building partnerships
• Reviewing company priorities and metrics
• Solving execution blockers
• Planning fundraising and growth
• Working directly with the founding team

At this stage, responsibilities will evolve quickly. You should be comfortable doing whatever is required to move the company forward.

Who We Are Looking For

We are looking for someone who:

• Thinks and acts like a founder
• Is strong in communication and relationship building
• Can sell the company vision to investors, partners and talent
• Is comfortable with uncertainty and early-stage execution
• Can build and lead teams
• Understands business, fundraising and go-to-market
• Has a strong interest in fintech and financial services
• Can work closely with product and technology teams
• Takes ownership without waiting for instructions
• Wants to build for the long term

Experience in startups, fintech, lending, business development, product, consulting, VC or financial services is useful, but founder mindset and execution ability matter more than titles.

Founder Commitment

This is a full-time co-founder role.

At the current stage, there is no fixed salary. Compensation will primarily be through founder equity, with the final structure mutually agreed based on experience, responsibility, commitment and long-term contribution.

We also expect the selected co-founder to have meaningful skin in the game and be willing to invest a minimum of ₹30 lakh as founder capital, with the ability to invest up to ₹50 lakh based on mutually agreed business requirements.

The investment will be made into SambalPay under proper legal documentation and is not a fee for joining the company.

What Success Looks Like

In the initial stage, you will help SambalPay:

• Move from prototype to MVP
• Build a clear business and go-to-market strategy
• Acquire early users and partners
• Build a strong core team
• Develop lender and DSA relationships
• Build an investor pipeline
• Prepare SambalPay for fundraising
• Raise initial external capital
• Find early signs of product-market fit

Why SambalPay

This is an opportunity to build a company from the ground up.

The product, business model, partnerships, team, fundraising strategy and go-to-market are still being shaped.

You will not be joining to execute someone else's roadmap.

You will help build the roadmap and the company.

If you are looking for a fixed salary and a highly structured role, this may not be the right opportunity.

If you want to take ownership, build from zero and help create a meaningful fintech company for India, we would like to speak with you.

To Apply

Please share:

1. Why you want to join SambalPay as Co-founder & CEO
2. What you would focus on in your first 90 days
3. Your relevant experience, network or strengths
4. Whether you are comfortable joining full-time without salary initially
5. Whether you are comfortable investing at least ₹30 lakh as founder capital

We care more about ownership, execution, clarity of thinking and long-term commitment than a perfect resume.