Shreyas Srinivasan, Paytm CPO And Insider Founder, recently took social media platform LinkedIn to announce his departure from Paytm and Insider.in. After a journey spanning over a decade, Srinivasan’s exit marks the end of an era filled with technological innovation, leadership challenges and cultural impact.
Reflecting on his career, he shared, "Today is my last day at Paytm, and August was my last month at Insider.in. This marks the end of a glorious personal journey," he said. Srinivasan’s tech journey began in 2010 with NH7, where he realised the potential of using technology to influence pop culture, learning "how concerts work, how businesses are built, and more importantly, the joy of building consumer experiences."
In 2014, Srinivasan founded Insider.in, addressing a gap in the market as "there was no platform dedicated to live entertainment." Insider quickly gained traction, and in 2017, he partnered with Paytm’s Vijay Shekhar Sharma and Madhur Deora, whom he credits for their unwavering support. "Insider couldn't have become the success it did without their backing," he remarked, pointing to Insider's eventual acquisition by Paytm in 2018.
Under his leadership, Insider emerged as a market leader in sports ticketing, only to be abruptly halted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Reflecting on the crisis, he noted, "Great teams figure out a way to stay alive; great culture allows you to grow coming out of a crisis." Post-COVID, Insider adapted by splitting into two teams, one of which continued to drive the live entertainment business, growing by over four times in the past two years.
With the recent Zomato and Paytm Entertainment deal, Srinivasan felt it was time to move on. "It felt like the right time to take a break, fix tech debt of my body, and re-discover a passion I can chase for the next two decades," he concluded. Srinivasan’s journey would not have been possible, he acknowledged, without the steadfast support of his wife, Divya Ravichandran.
