Srivatsan Sridhar, co-founder of Skydo, is building a cross-border operating system that's transforming how Indian businesses receive international payments.

In this conversation, we dive into how Skydo enables 0% FX fees for freelancers and businesses, making them the cheapest option in the market.

Srivatsan shares how traditional payment methods like PayPal and wire transfers cost Indian exporters up to 8% in hidden fees – a problem Skydo directly solves with local collection accounts and transparent pricing.

The discussion covers Srivatsan's journey from running his family business to co-founding a fintech startup, the importance of finding the right co-founder with complementary skills, and how persistence helped secure crucial banking partnerships.

We also explore Skydo's approach to building an MVP, their fundraising strategy, and how they've processed over $300 million in annual payments.

Connect with Srivatsan:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/srivats80/

Connect with Subah:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/subah-wadhwani/

Email: [email protected]

Start your podcast: https://atomikgrowth.com

00:00 Trailer

01:07 What is Skydo and how it works

03:08 Cost comparison: PayPal vs wire transfers vs Skydo

06:10 The cognitive overload problem for international clients

07:26 Building a cross-border operating system

09:37 Growing up in an entrepreneurial family

13:02 Finding self-motivation and academic excellence

14:45 Why he returned from the US to India

19:30 Getting a scholarship and the decision to study abroad

20:10 Starting with entrepreneurship first, then finding the idea

22:40 Meeting his co-founder at Ola

25:14 Complementary skillsets in co-founding partnerships

26:51 Why venture capital vs bootstrapping

30:08 The credibility factor of VC backing

31:42 Hiring philosophy: mindset over pedigree

34:47 Building an MVP with spreadsheets

36:42 Getting first customers through Twitter

38:10 Multiple layers of product-market fit

41:06 The process of getting PACB entity approval

43:54 Building international banking partnerships

47:11 How money moves through Skydo's infrastructure

51:10 Regulations as enabler, not blocker

55:09 Customer onboarding and KYC process

57:54 Revenue model and transparency in pricing

01:01:41 Fraud detection and AI implementation

01:05:30 Competition with Revolut's India launch

01:08:08 Could you build this without college?

01:09:43 Fintech opportunities in crypto and IoT

01:11:48 Advice to younger self: be bolder