Skip to content
Best Place To BuildBest Place To Build

JEE Prep LIED to You: Here's Why You Need To BUILD a Career After JEE | Propelld CEO on BP2B S2 Ep.5

Everyone says the end goal of IIT coaching is admission. But here’s the truth: cracking JEE is not the finish line. It’s only the beginning. In this episode of the Best Place to Build Podcast, Victor Senapaty (CEO & Co-Founder of Propelld) reveals the untold realities of the IIT journey, his path to building a Series D fintech startup, and how education loans are transforming opportunities for lakhs of students across India. From life after JEE to how to start a business in India, this episode connects student journeys with the rise of fintech in Digital India. What you’ll learn in this episode: * Why IIT admission is not the end goal — the real journey begins after JEE * The truth about IIT salaries and “highest package” myths * How Propelld funds 2.5 lakh+ students every year with education loans without collateral * The fintech model behind keeping NPAs at ~1% (vs 10% industry average) * Scholarships, loan apps, and how to apply for an education loan after 12th * Lessons on building a startup in India in the Digital India & Make in India wave * Why persistence matters more than quick milestones in entrepreneurship * Victor’s story is one of redefining success — from IIT Madras classrooms * to building a ₹1200+ crore fintech business that empowers students, parents, and India’s education system. 🚀 Whether you’re preparing for IIT, exploring fintech startups in India, or figuring out how to get an education loan without collateral, this episode has insights you won’t want to miss. Looking for the exact topic you want to know about? Here’s a breakdown: 00:00 Intro 00:47 Welcome to the Best Place to Build 01:43 What Does Propelld Do? 03:10 How Did Propelld Change Education Financing in India 09:05 Victor’s Entrepreneurship Journey 15:22 The Origin Story of Propelld 20:44 How Did Victor End Up At IIT Madras 23:52 Victor’s Insti Story 25:23 The Truth About IIT Coaching | Why “admission” is not the real end goal 31:09 Moving Past Stressful Times & Building Your Own Career At IIT Madras 32:37 Victor’s MBA Story & Introduction to Global Competitions in Finance 34:00 How Victor’s Impatience Led Him to a Life of Entrepreneurship 38:47 How Was Propelld Scaled Up? 41:40 How Did Propelld Evolve? 44:44 What Was the Pandemic Effect on Propelld? 51:44 The Byju’s Breakdown 57:00 Propelld Setting An Example 58:30 How Has FinTech Evolved as an Industry in India? 01:03:15 Closing Thoughts #bestplacetobuild #education #fintech #digitalindia #techpodcast #liferafterjee #jeepreparation #iitmadras #inpiration

Victor Senapatyguest
Aug 21, 20251h 4mWatch on YouTube ↗

At a glance

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

JEE is just a start; build careers and education-finance trust

  1. Propelld is an education-finance NBFC lending to ~2.5 lakh students annually with ~₹1200 crore AUM and ~1% NPAs, far below the ~10% industry average cited in the conversation.
  2. Their underwriting thesis treats education as a family investment and prices risk primarily using institute/course outcome quality rather than only individual borrower proxies typical of personal loans.
  3. Victor’s path to Propelld ran through three earlier startups (planetarium-based astronomy education, hyperlocal grocery delivery, and apparel), which he frames as a practical MBA in product, scalability, and unit economics.
  4. He argues JEE coaching sells a “half-truth” that admission is the end goal, while real progress comes from leveraging IIT as a platform to build skills, careers, and long-term direction.
  5. Propelld’s conviction-driven decisions helped it grow during the pandemic and avoid exposure to the BYJU’S-linked credit blowups that damaged lender trust in education/edtech financing.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Education loans behave differently than personal loans—intent is structurally higher.

Propelld’s core bet is that learners and families treat education as an investment, so willingness to complete the course and repay is stronger than in consumption-driven personal loans.

Underwriting can be improved by prioritizing institute-and-course outcome data.

Instead of relying mainly on borrower income/credit history proxies, Propelld optimizes for “wholesale risk” by validating the quality of institutions, programs, and their placement/outcome signals.

Scaling lending safely is about buying the right risks, not avoiding risk entirely.

Victor frames lending as “evaluating and buying risk,” where wrong risks get punished via NPAs; consistent underwriting discipline builds long-term profitability and partner confidence.

Crises reveal whether your business is built on a thesis or on opportunism.

During COVID, Propelld doubled down on the view that people upskill in downturns, while the BYJU’S episode showed the cost of funding products you don’t fully understand or can’t justify to end users.

Avoiding concentrated exposure can be as important as finding growth.

Victor highlights lenders facing ~20% NPAs on BYJU’S-linked portfolios (sometimes ~50% of AUM), while Propelld’s lack of exposure protected balance-sheet health and credibility.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

Education is an investment... it’s a family investment.

— Victor Senapaty

I always pictured it as... there’s a back gate, and there’s a sand beach starting from the back gate.

— Victor Senapaty

You were sold a lie... You’re not at an end goal now. You’re at a beginning point.

— Victor Senapaty

The mistakes we regret are less of commission and more of omission, things we didn’t do.

— Host (Amrit)

In lending, we think... you’re in the business of evaluating and buying risk.

— Victor Senapaty

Propelld’s education-loan model and metrics (AUM, NPAs, scale)Education as a family-level investment and intent/ability framingUnderwriting via institute/course outcomes vs individual-only credit proxiesFounder journey through multiple startups as skill progressionJEE/IIT myth: admission vs long-term career buildingPandemic as counter-cyclical upskilling tailwind for lendingBYJU’S meltdown and rebuilding lender trust in educationFintech regulation cycles in India and tech’s role in NBFC efficiency

High quality AI-generated summary created from speaker-labeled transcript.

Get more out of YouTube videos.

High quality summaries for YouTube videos. Accurate transcripts to search & find moments. Powered by ChatGPT & Claude AI.

Add to Chrome