“Things that happened in your life helped you grow, but things that did not happen also helped you grow more.” – Ruchi Rathor, Founder and Investor at Payomatix.
There are some people have the zeal to do something bigger in life, but financial issues come their way – realizing the fact in today’s world led, Ruchi Rathor, an investor and payment expert, to start a company whose key focus would be supporting people, especially the passionate youngsters to build their dream careers by fulfilling their financial needs. She shares her aspirations with Business Upside India. Here is an edited excerpt of the interview.
Edited Excerpt of the Interview
Business Upside [BU]: What Inspired you to become an Investor in the Business Field?
Ruchi Rathor [RR]: I am from a middle-class background. I was born to parents who are not in the business. They were working as government employees. In my family, nobody ever thought about doing business. But in my mind, I’ve always thought I don’t want to do a job. I don’t want to work under anyone. I wish to do something for myself independently. Whatever effort I put in, I should get a return for my hard work. But then, what happens whenever you want to start a business? Naturally, we need some funds. We need funds to start anything and to grow that thing. A computer center was the first thing I wanted to start because I was into computers, electronics, and software engineering, and I was teaching in a computer center. Most students wanted me to be their teacher and preferred me to other educators. So I thought, “If I can manage a full computer center for someone else, why can’t I do that for myself?”
However, the issue was that a business needed an infrastructure to launch. For instance, you need infrastructure, a workspace, and the internet to start a computer center. In that early stage of mine, about 25 years ago, it was very difficult. You cannot have everything at the age of 21 or 22. I worked for 22 to 23 years, and now have money and everything. I wondered how many people have skills and can do something but cannot do those things. Why? Due to the lack of funds. 25 years ago, if I had gotten some support, my life could have advanced ten times faster than it has. Starting from 0 to 100, I did everything by myself. Generally, we need to work harder to reach from 0 to 10. If anybody supports at that 0 to 10, it becomes very easy to go from 10 to 100. Then I realized that if there is someone with the talent, the passion, and the fire to say, “Yes, I want to accomplish this, and I am fully committed to achieving my goals,” then even if it comes down to money, I will 100% support him/her. That was the first thought where I felt that regardless of whether inside or outside the family, if there are people, especially youngsters, who generally have no funds but have lots of ideas and are passionate about their goal if they come to me, I will support them. That was the first thought that motivated me to start investing.
[BU]: What are you Immensely Passionate About and why?
[RR]: Throughout my entire childhood, my passions shifted depending on the phases of my life I was experiencing. For instance, I was extremely passionate about making money when I was studying and graduating. The reason was that, despite having talent, I was unable to get the rewards I deserved since I could see those who were not even as talented as I am, who did not work as hard or in the same manner as I do, or who had everything in a spoonful because of their parent’s wealth or backup. For example, my math will improve if I’m good at math and get mentoring. But then, I could not afford the tuition because my parents were paying school fees, which was also difficult for them to arrange. That’s why it was so impossible to afford tuition differently. Even though others weren’t particularly smart or hardworking, students who could pay such tuition could get ahead of me due to their additional support. So I felt that whatever had happened had happened. I must break the cycle of poverty.
To fulfill the desire I once had, I had to work on my ideas after finishing my studies, no matter how much effort was required. The desire to earn money eventually turns into the desire to work after around three to four years. My necessities were met once I had enough money. My next points of attention were the job quality and service I was offering. When we entered the sector, our goal was to create a system where receiving and processing payments for anyone anywhere in the globe would be simple.
I’m talking about a period when people in India were unfamiliar with PayPal and credit card processing. We were dealing with global acquirers in the payment business then. The objectives are to facilitate the payment process for the remaining merchants and bring the payment platform to India or offshore through them. That was the passion that came after the passion for money. I have established businesses, conducted business, and earned money. If someone were to ask me today what my passion is after everything is accomplished, it would be getting youngsters, helping them to develop their skills, to offer some advice, and to see how people’s life is changing because of my small guidance, the glow on their faces, the smile on their faces, that makes me happy. I am telling you this from the bottom of my heart. I have all I need in life and have no desire. But today, my passion is to see people happy, and I can contribute something to someone’s life, and they can grow with their passion. That’s it.
[BU]: Why do you Think Self-development is Significant?
[RR]: I’ll discuss three lessons I’ve learned from my life.
- All the decisions we make in life, no matter how trivial or significant, are done for our satisfaction. We all want to be happy in our lives. For happiness, we work. We eat for pleasure, drink for pleasure, and travel for pleasure. The irony is that 99% of people are still unhappy even after trying everything. They don’t feel good about themselves. Why? Unless you embrace who you are, you will never be happy. For instance, I have had endocrine disorders since my birth. I’ve had thyroid issues ever since I was sixteen. I lost a lot of hair. In the 7th or 8th grade, hair started to turn white. For the past 11 to 12 years, I have had diabetes. I’ve always been overweight. My genetics caused me to have medical problems. People nearby started body-shaming me. Even if you have everything in the world, you cannot be happy if you are troubled by those who bully you. Even if I had everything in the world, I could not be happy if I did not feel good about myself. No one else can make me happy. Therefore, accepting yourself should be your priority if you want to be happy. In this world, everyone has flaws; nobody is flawless.
- The second rule of life regarding self-development is Confidence. You are unique. No one in the world is like you. You are special; you are the one who can do anything if you want to. When your fear inside of you ends, if you can bring that confidence to yourself, you can conquer the world. You are the only one who has the power to frighten yourself, and that fear will make you the loser.
- The 3rd thing is never expect anything from anyone. Just try to give instead of expecting anything in return. The universe will naturally reward you ten times over when you learn to offer without wanting anything in return or being greedy. I’ve learned everything from my experiences.
[BU]: How has your Transition from a Technical Expert to an Investor Shaped your Career and Personality?
[RR]: The kind of role I was playing earlier as a person who was into technology development and software development—I was working most of the time—has undergone a significant shift. I was making use of my time by completing necessary tasks. However, after that time had passed, we had a team, and many more people joined us, so now my function is to act as a guide. As a result, I focus more on advising others and telling them what they need to do to get positive results. Now I sit down with my team, lead the team, and tell them that this is to be done like this. When the team works, in the same way I have experienced, great results come 99% of the time. That makes me happy. So from doing things myself to guiding others, this is the shift I have experienced in the last 10 years.
[BU]: How do you Keep yourself Motivated in an Adverse Situation or when you Fail?
[RR]: Simply 2 things make me so positive. Nobody is born fearless; everyone experiences fear. People become anxious if bad things happen right away. However, I have gradually learned that you immediately know something is wrong once something goes wrong. However, if you look back on the last ten or five years, you realize that the bad things that have occurred in our lives have paved the way for us, and wherever we are now is a direct result of those things that did not happen.
Of course, things that happened in your life helped you grow, but things that did not happen also helped you grow more. In previous years, we worked in a call center. When the recession hit in 2009, we stopped receiving sales procedures from tree mobiles, tea mobiles, and some financial initiatives that had previously reached us. When the call centers were shut down, someone in the payments sector approached us and said, “Why don’t you join us since you are well-experienced in a call center? You must have a team, so let’s do one thing, come to payment processing, you bring all the companies that need payment processing, we will give them, and you will earn as an introducer.” Therefore, I wouldn’t have shifted from that call center to payment processing if the former had not been closed. So, always believe that whatever happens is for the best. You may feel that something went wrong at the moment, but it paved the way for your future development.
The second thing is that I believe in Karma. I am confident that nobody can do wrong to me if I have not wronged anyone. I challenge people to try to harm me. I believe the universe cannot harm me because I have never harmed anyone. So that superpower is always with me.
[BU]: What Hurdles did you Encounter along the way, and how did you Get Through them?
[RR]: I’m only going to mention three or four things that happened, and after that, we have covered them up.
- After finishing grade 12, I chose aeronautical engineering since I wanted to become one. I’ve also been studying for two years. I finished the Aeronautical Society’s Section A, but I had to return because my father had an accident. At that moment, I had to quit aeronautical engineering and enroll in BSC, MSC, and other programs. So, that was my first blow in life. I would not be where I am today if my aeronautical engineering degree had not got left.
- The second strike, I’ll reveal that I started a computer center, but due to family and health problems, I was forced to close it in 2004. We also opened a call center in 2005. So that phase between 2004 and 2005, there was no earning, work, or health issues. So that was also a phase that I had to deal with.
- The third incident occurred in 2009, and I was forced to close the call center due to the recession. Following that, we started the payment procedure. And after a year and a half, it was also closed. The biggest setback was having to close the iPay Total. However, in that case, the reasons were caused by issues that employees internally generated. Then, as they had an opportunity to criticize us, our rivals and people affiliated with our work—acquirers who didn’t even pay—began to accuse us of failing to pay the merchants.
I had COVID at that time for three months. Behind me, several situations occurred. As a result of internal conflict among our employees, which led to rivalry, I came to the conclusion that I could no longer handle this. Afterward, I closed the business. In fact, till today, I get queries related to that company. In essence, I would be happy to speak with anyone interested in knowing what actually occurred and why my business was completely shut down. Everything that is written online is nonsense.
[BU]: What, in your Opinion, is the Significance of Positive thinking or Positivity?
[RR]: 99% of the time, when I go anywhere with a group of people, such as a restaurant, my order is the one that is taken first. Many people in my family have aspirations, but no matter what, I think will turn into reality within a year. This, in my opinion, is the power of positivity. The universe will always offer you what you are thinking about. Positive thoughts produce positive results and vice versa. It entirely depends on the strength and intensity of your thoughts.
For example, around 15 years ago, we used to travel from Delhi to Agra. There was a motel that resembled a haveli. At that time, we had nothing. But I once believed I should have a dwelling with gardens, like a farmhouse or a haveli. And at the time, no one could have imagined those things because we rented a small two-bedroom home. But today, I have everything I have dreamt about, even what I did not. That will undoubtedly occur when you think from the inside out. Even now, it eventually becomes a reality when I picture anything in my head.
[BU]: How do you Support People in Achieving their Goals?
[RR]: Since I started from scratch, I have accumulated a ton of experience. I always share this wealth of knowledge with my learners because I believe that learning shouldn’t always come from making mistakes. If I have made mistakes, I will warn you not to repeat my mistakes. Therefore, what happens is that you will learn from me in a year what I learned in ten years. 90% of people believe that by sharing their faults with others, they will appear less smart than they are. No. Share your errors with those you are working with if you want them to avoid learning the same lesson the hard way after ten years.
Second, I have money, infrastructure, offices, and accommodation resources. I’ll assist someone who needs financial assistance within that limit even if we don’t employ them. They can even use our office when they need it. I will allow new employees to stay if they require a place. I don’t think twice whenever I notice that my small support can make someone else’s life easier. Sharing my expertise, experience, or funds with others can be done professionally, socially, financially, or emotionally. People have shared things with me who are incapable of telling their parents because of our strong bond.
[BU]: What Success Means to you?
[RR]: You know what? I admire the way when the people in my company listen to me and understand me and when they learn something from me. That, for me, is the epitome of success. Being able to help those around you reach their full potential is success. What I get and other things are different. Hard work pays off, but anyone can accomplish it. However, when I hear how you all speak to me, love me, respect me, and say that I am there for you all, all the materialistic things seem to fade away, Even though I cannot take money with me when I leave this world, I will think positively of these words when I do. It reflects my true accomplishment as a person. That is the greatest gift this life has given me. I am quite happy with everyone’s regard for me and their unwavering support.
Also Read: Success Story of Nilesh Kataria – Founder & CEO of Speak to Uplift
