Varun Sheth is the Co-Founder and CEO of Ketto, a crowdfunding platform. The goal of this venture was to make fundraising democratic by giving donors the power to choose the cause that they would like to give their money to. The company aims at increasing transparency in the current system of contribution to making crowdfunding easy, accessible and affordable to users across the world. Varun has also been selected as a Global Shaper by the World Economic Forum and has been invited to Harvard Business School to share a case study and insights on crowdfunding and its future.

You come from a family with a background in business, so instead of joining Dad as most sons do, what made you branch out into unknown terrain?                                                                  Even as a kid, I was always interested in the idea of helping others and making a difference. Having studied financial risk management, I worked as an interest rate swap dealer with ICAP. It’s the world’s largest broking house for derivatives and fixed income products. I would advise my clients about which way the interest rate would move and trust me I had even run deals worth INR 1000 crore. However, it started to become pretty monotonous for me. As clichéd as it may sound, I realized it wasn’t making a difference to the world, except to make the rich richer.  I wasn’t comfortable with the fact that my know-how, talents and skills weren’t exactly solving the issues of radical poverty that I saw on a day-to-day basis. That was when I decided to combine my knowledge base with my passion to do good, and to create something that actually made me feel content and satisfied. The returns on this kind of an investment made perfect sense.

So this compassion drove you to start Ketto, and what exactly does the name signify?
Quitting a well-paying job that you’re actually good at to do something completely new is scary. It was scarier because all my close friends and family seemed pretty skeptical about the idea of people giving money on an online platform. But I believed in the power and potential of the internet. I wanted to explore all the possibilities it offers. I was inspired by Vinod Khosla and his venture Impact Fund. I liked how he was willing to invest in a field that was nascent to charity organizations, and the ability to give, no matter where you were.  It seemed like a door of opportunity had opened as far as donors are concerned.  So one fine day, I decided to take that leap of faith and quit my job to start Ketto which means Key to Tomorrow.  It essentially presents a platform that Charity Organizations (especially mid-size to small ones) can use to bettering their tomorrows when it comes to funding and monetary aid. My aim is to give the underprivileged a way to secure their future with a little generosity from those who can empathize and extend the support of giving.  That magnanimous thought coupled with the instantaneity of social sharing that the internet has given us with just a click of a button from the right platform like Ketto does the rest.  It is the connector between the want and need to the give.  The great part is that you needn’t step out of your comfort zone, and nobody needs to know about your acts of charity.  A lot of people who give don’t want to ever advertize the fact, and the internet allows you that anonymity.

Did you have any mentors in university? Or in the volunteer roles that you did that encouraged you to start a crowdfunding platform that makes donations to charity much easier, and a matter of choice?
I have extensively volunteered in the non-profit space in university. I worked with charity organizations like The Akshara Foundation and Care India and I’m also an alumnus of Dasra Social Impact which you know is doing some outstanding work. These grassroots’ experiences helped me understand the functioning of charities and the issues they experience. Volunteering always gives you better insight because you are not bound by a transaction of salary and eventually inspires you to create a new benchmark of hope.  As soon as I thought of Ketto as a concept, I also started reading up on inspirational men that created global impact.  If I had to mention a few mentors, distant maybe, and people I’d never met I would definitely go with Elon Musk and Steve Jobs.
Nearly everybody is into crowdfunding nowadays–from making films to soliciting for funeral expenses.  How does your platform fight for mindshare?

The concept of crowdfunding is fairly new to South Asia. But looking at the massive population and the kind of problems we experience, I feel, there’s still a long way to go. So rather than fighting for mindshare our larger objective still remains creating awareness about the platform and its advantages. Basically, to make Ketto the place to reach out and accomplish your goal.

 

Who exactly is the target audience for Ketto?  Is it the millennia’s that you want to connect with? Youngsters, or the working population, who gives more?

The majority of our campaigns are raised by people belonging to the age group of 21 to 40. But ideally, every person on the internet and everyone who needs funds is our target audience. The possibility of the youth starting a campaign is higher because they are hooked onto the social network and understand the power of the net.  And Ketto is all about reaching out to your own circle and then to an even bigger network of worldwide connectors, and connections.

 

Talk to us about your role in getting people on the same wavelength together, to work for a common cause like yourself and Kunal Kapoor for instance.

Every brand feels the need to do good to build a positive image in the minds of the consumers. India is the first country in the world to mandate a minimum spend on corporate social responsibility initiatives.  All corporations are now constantly thinking of how to align their brand with a social cause, so that makes alliances and partnerships with charitable organizations compatible. The law has made them receptive. Especially during natural calamities like the Nepal earthquake and the Kashmir floods, both companies and do-gooders wanted to reach out to people to provide help; and Ketto was instrumental in facilitating this arrangement. Also, my knowledge and experience in the financial sector helps me to understand the how and why corporate donors will come on board. Kunal himself takes special interest in spreading the word around for certain campaigns.  His support obviously elicits help from other celebrities and they have their own circle of influence—including fans—and that generates a different volume of donors’ altogether.

 

Tell us about your greatest success stories since the inception of Ketto.

Since Ketto’s inception in 2012, we’ve raised more than INR 20 crores together. There have been many campaigns on Ketto, be it people raising funds for the daughters of sex workers, or for their loved one’s medical bills.  Recently, the deluge of the Chennai rains soon turned into the Chennai floods.  It was an unforeseen disaster that saw many homes collapse in its aftermath; many people lost their lives as well.  Those of us who watched debacle from the sidelines decided to pitch in by raising funds. Around 95 campaigners used Ketto as a platform to do their bit to help. Many celebrities pitched in too. At the end of the day we raised over a crore towards the Chennai floods.

 

What are your words of advice on giving, sharing and caring especially in recessionary times like these where the rich are getting richer, and the poor poorer

As I mentioned before Ketto believes in bringing a sense of marginality between the people who need money and people who are willing to give money via the internet. Our observation with campaigns on Ketto has been that if there’s a cause that needs monetary help, there are many people who will be willing to pitch in.  It’s a misnomer to say that the world has stopped caring.  There are many who do, it’s just that they are media shy.

 

How exactly do you visualize yourself: do-gooder, networker of possibilities, mediator between give and receive? 

Honestly, Ketto as a platform allows me to do a little of all that you’ve mentioned. By giving people a space to raise funds for the causes that are close to their heart, we serve as a mediator between giving and receiving.  However I look at myself more as a networker of possibilities. I make it a point to step out my comfort zone and view Ketto as a bystander with a broader perspective, and an unemotional disconnect. This involves analyzing the current socio-economic problems we face and think of the dynamics of bringing active groups, and thinkers alike who will collaborate and make a difference using Ketto. There’s so much more that can be done to leverage the internet and to utilize it as an efficient charity space. The possibilities are unlimited.

 

What does the future of Ketto look like?

We like to apply the learning’s we’ve got so far to better and improve the platform and make the concept of crowdfunding more popular and interactive. We’ve got the love and support of over 5000 campaigners, but we feel we’ve just touched the tip of one of the glaciers before our final destination of the Himalaya. There are so many people who still are skeptical about the idea of crowdfunding and shy away from it. We want them to know that every time there’s a financial need, there is a very easy, cost-efficient and transparent platform they can partner with. I’ve always said that we want to be like the Wal-Mart of crowdfunding.

 

Jude Paul Fernandes / jude@thesouthasiannews.com