CXO of the week: Milan Ganatra - Founder & CEO, 1SilverBullet

1SilverBullet is a Covid-born fintech, fully digitized state-of-the-art B2B gateway serving three financial services verticals - Investments, Insurance, and Lending. Headquartered in Mumbai with a development center in Pune, the company was founded in March 2021 and is helmed by serial entrepreneur, angel investor, and the former CEO of Miles Software, Milan Ganatra, who has over two decades of experience in the financial services space.

Currently, most financial service companies and B2B2C/B2C enterprises are focussed on setting up digital-forward business models. But building these platforms usually requires extensive frontend and backend development, and creating various workflow tools/business process management tools. Most importantly, financial services companies require middleware platforms for integrating internal and external microservices.

We recently interacted with Milan Ganatra - Founder & CEO, 1SilverBullet. He shared important details about 1SilverBullet, his entrepreneurial journey, the company’s growth, and much more. Read below to know more about it.

Introduction.

I have been an entrepreneur in the fintech space for over 25 years and throughout this time, I have been fortunate enough to witness the evolution and amalgamation of these two industries. My journey in the financial sector started out in a very unconventional way because no one in my family ever was a business owner. In fact, my first job ever was as a newspaper vendor and an office assistant at a brokerage firm where I was lucky enough to find a mentor who helped me discern my interest in finance and technology. I backed this up with a simple Bachelor of Commerce degree from Jai Hind College in Mumbai and eventually, started my first company with the help of my combined knowledge in these both fields.

Kindly brief us about the company, its specialisation, and the services that your company offers.

A Covid-born fintech 1Silverbullet is a fully digitised state-of-the-art wealth and insurance B2B gateway serving three financial services verticals –wealth, Insurance, and Lending.  The goal of my company is to simplify, speed up, and secure the workflow of buying and selling financial products.

Currently, most financial service companies and B2B2C/B2C enterprises are focussed on setting up digital-forward business models. But building these platforms usually requires extensive frontend and backend development, and creating various workflow tools/business process management tools. Most importantly, financial services companies require middleware platforms for integrating internal and external microservices. Whether it is for the validation of customer credentials or generation of an OTP or pulling data from multiple government platforms, it is a complex layer of criss-cross communication between multiple stakeholders that is non-standardised and inefficient, and in dire need of integration.

Furthermore, an average of 2000+ active financial services companies currently operate in wealth, insurance, banking, lending, and distribution of financial products across India, and their technology budget ranges from 5CR per year to 2000CR per year. It is estimated that approximately 20% of this goes directly into integration-related costs for new platforms as well as maintaining integrations of existing platforms. Thus, if the integration of APIs can be standardised between the various permutations and combinations of consumers and publishers, it would help financial service companies to fast-track their platform and product launch times immensely.

This is where 1SilverBullet is stepping in to help alleviate the pain of publishers and consumers who are hamstrung by a lack of standardised communication protocols. We provide our clients with a user-friendly, plug-and-play console to choose and integrate APIs based on their use cases and run a pilot within a sandbox environment. We are leveraging the power of technology such as Blockchain through which the platform acts as a single point of contact for investors and financial institutions, linking them in one place via a secure API. Thus, we enable businesses with a 100% digital, secured infrastructure for acquiring and selling sophisticated investment avenues such as AIFs, MFs, PMS, and similar products.

We also have features that help in managing the APIs; for example - monitoring the performance of APIs, metering the number of calls made (for billing), and high-quality documentation to help them (investors and financial institutes) understand how they can better use the APIs of 1SilverbBullet to their benefit.

In another use case, where the industry doesn’t have a platform built yet, 1Silverbullet may build a SaaS layer and launch it as a sub-section of the overall 1SilverBullet platform (for instance: PMS providers’ onboarding in the investment track)

Thus, 1SilverBullet is primarily a financial infrastructure company that is building networks akin to a SWIFT or a VISA for investment and insurance products.

Brief us about the Founder/CEO of the company and his contributions to the company and the industry.

I am a first-generation entrepreneur and began my journey in the fintech space with my very first company, Miles Software, in 1999. Back then, the term finance-technology or fintech was still making its way into India's vocabulary. In my role as CEO of Miles Software for 19 years, I developed a deep understanding of the gaps in the market and had a ringside view of the pain points in the financial services ecosystem. Thus, through Miles, I worked to leverage my expertise in both finance and technology and provided comprehensive, automated, digitized tech solutions such as Robo advisory in the purview of investment management. Miles Software was eventually sold in 2018 to a Nasdaq-listed company, Ebix, and while I knew that I had made my mark in the industry, I didn’t want to stop and just rest on my past laurels. Hence, when the time came for me to take on my next venture and challenge within the ecosystem, I founded 1SilverBullet.

My dual roles as a fintech solutions provider and an investor have always provided me with first-hand experience of the deficiencies in communication between investors and financial product providers. This communication process was evidently highly dependent on paper documents, physical signatures, and human intervention. Through 1SilverBullet, I continue to endeavor to alleviate these pain points by leveraging my industry experience and knowledge in both finance and technology. My hope is to leave behind a legacy in the financial industry that will be known for its ability to provide simple solutions to complex problems.

What, as per you, are the most important things that fintech should be looking at today?

According to me, Fintech is rapidly evolving and having an impact on the financial sector in a variety of ways. In order for Fintech companies to remain competitive, they should pay close attention to the following four key areas:

Regulatory framework/compliance:

As we all know that with new technologies and services emerging every day, it can be hard to keep up with the latest trends. However, one thing that fintech companies should always keep in mind is regulatory compliance. Depending on the jurisdiction, there may be strict rules and regulations governing the financial sector. Failure to comply with these regulations can result in costly penalties. As such, it is essential for fintech companies to stay up-to-date with the latest regulatory developments. By doing so, they can ensure that their products and services are compliant with all relevant laws and regulations.

Security of data

It is generally agreed that fintech has revolutionised the way we handle our finances with the rise of mobile payments and online banking. However, as our financial lives move online, security concerns have also grown. Hackers have increasingly targeted financial institutions, and data breaches have become more common. As a result, security is one of the most important issues that fintech companies need to address. There are a number of steps that Fintech companies can take to improve security, such as encrypting data, implementing two-factor authentication, and using biometrics. By taking these steps, fintech companies can help to protect our financial information and keep our money safe.

Total addressable market

As the fintech industry continues to grow, it's important for companies to think about their total addressable market (TAM). This refers to the potential reach of a product or service, and it's an important factor in gauging a company's future growth. A product that is only tailored for a small segment of the population can only go so far, even if it dominates its market. An idea that is limited by its market may become unsustainable in the long run. That's why it's important for fintech companies to consider their TAM when planning for future growth. By doing so, they can ensure that their products and services have the potential to reach a wide audience and remain profitable in the long term.

Convenience is being brought to the ecosystem and not just the end user

Today, many people are looking for ways to make their lives more convenient. Therefore, fintech companies should consider ways to make financial transactions more convenient for businesses and consumers alike. This could involve developing new payment methods, such as mobile apps that allow people to pay for goods and services with the click of a button. Alternatively, it could involve working with existing financial institutions to make the process of transferring money between accounts more efficient. Either way, by making the financial system more convenient, fintech companies can help to boost the economy and make life easier for everyone involved.

How is your company helping customers deliver relevant business outcomes through the adoption of the company’s technology innovations?

1Silverbullet is providing its clients with a user-friendly, plug-and-play console to choose and integrate APIs based on their use cases and run a pilot within a sandbox environment. It also has features that monitor the performance of APIs, meter the number of calls made (for billing), and high-quality documentation to help them (investors and financial institutes) understand how they can better use the APIs of 1Silverbullet to their benefit.

In another use case, where the industry doesn’t have a platform built yet, 1Silverbullet may build a user interface or SAAS layer and launch as a sub-section of the overall 1Silverbullet platform e.g. portfolio management services’ PMS onboarding in the investment track.

How do you plan to revolutionise the Indian market and what are your plans to tap the market?

We are India's first B2B platform for investments, insurance, and lending within the financial services industry. Our digitization efforts will allow us to eliminate excess documentation and streamline a disjointed infrastructure. Our goal is to remove the clutter from the Indian investment market by providing a more secure workflow. AIFs and the use of blockchain technology can facilitate mutual funds, portfolio management systems, and similar investment avenues to connect investors and financial institutions. All three verticals should be operational by the end of next quarter, except for the Investments and Insurance verticals.

How has the adoption of APIs in India evolved over the last few years?

The proliferation of technology has led to consumers expecting highly personalised and tailor-made solutions. Keeping up with these fast-paced demands has been harder than ever for financial institutions that have struggled to keep up with rapidly changing trends and technology advancements. Open APIs, which use already available APIs, give businesses the ability to integrate third-party services without having to build their own. In this way, consumers are able to easily access services.

The COVID-19 pandemic contributed greatly to the adoption of digital models and there has been a shift away from traditional methods of doing business toward digital ones. This paradigm shift has taken place across a wide range of industries, including retail, manufacturing, finance, and hospitality. APIs have helped facilitate this transition and made the process of connecting and collaborating easier for businesses.

What are your growth plans for the next 12 months?

While we are in the advanced beta phase of developing the insurance gateway, It is our immediate goal to add at least 14 life insurers and 10 to 12 health insurers to it. As well as to add corporate fixed deposits under the investment gateway.

Our products will eventually be introduced to a wider array of industries. Further, as we expand our clientele, we expect to have at least 200 employees on staff.