Revolutionizing Loan Disbursement: A 10x Leap at Propelld
The Beginning: Joining Propelld’s Early-Stage Journey
When I joined Propelld as an Operations Associate, the company was still finding its footing as an early-stage startup with modest revenue and a small, close-knit team. My initial responsibility was to manage the disbursement process—the final yet crucial step in the loan application journey. The process was intricate, involving multiple dependencies, checks, and meticulous oversight. It was here that I first saw an opportunity to make a meaningful impact by streamlining these operations.
Within six months, my passion for optimizing processes and my knack for tackling challenges head-on led to a rapid progression. I was promoted to Head of Disbursement Operations, managing a growing team of 8, and entrusted with driving the strategy to scale our disbursement processes. My journey from an entry-level role to leading the charge in such a short span wasn’t just about climbing the ladder—it was about transforming the way we approached our core operations at Propelld.
Scaling the North Star Metric: 10x Growth in Loan Disbursement Volume
As a third-party loan service provider, disbursement volume was our North Star metric—a key indicator of our success and profitability. Each month-end was marked by rigorous tracking of these volumes, ensuring that targets were met while optimizing resource allocation to meet increasing demands. In my first month, we achieved a loan disbursement volume of ₹1.5 Crores (approx. $180K). Fueled by data-driven strategies, relentless focus, and collaborative efforts with my team, we scaled this number to a staggering ₹15 Crores (approx. $1.8M) per month by my 11th month, marking an impressive 10x growth in just one year.
My role went beyond just driving numbers; I actively managed relationships with multiple stakeholders, including multi-million-dollar NBFCs and leading EdTech platforms. Ensuring seamless integration of financial services with these partners required aligning their expectations with our product development to maintain a consistent upward trajectory.
Automation: Spearheading Efficiency and Innovation
Understanding that the manual workflows were consuming valuable team bandwidth, I led a groundbreaking initiative to automate our disbursement process. In collaboration with our Chief Operating Officer and Tech Lead, I designed a detailed flowchart mapping out every process step, identifying dependencies, and building a robust automation framework.
This initiative reduced the disbursement turnaround time from 4-5 hours to under 2 hours, automating 70% of manual tasks. The automation not only increased efficiency but also freed up the Operations team, saving over 20 hours of manual effort each week. It was a transformational shift that enabled us to focus more on strategic decision-making rather than operational bottlenecks.
Impact Highlights: Driving Propelld’s Growth to a $100M+ Valuation
- 10x Increase in Loan Disbursement Volume: Scaled from ₹1.5 Crores to ₹15 Crores per month, driving substantial growth in company revenue.
- Automation of 70% Manual Tasks: Streamlined disbursement operations, saving over 20 hours per week for the team and significantly boosting productivity.
- Strategic Partnerships: Built and managed relationships with NBFCs and EdTech platforms, ensuring seamless financial service integration.
- Leadership in Action: Grew the disbursement team from a one-person responsibility to leading a team of 8, implementing training programs and standardized processes that improved operational efficiency.
- Enhanced Process Visibility: Leveraged Kanban dashboards and workflow automation to provide critical insights to the COO and Lead Developer, facilitating faster decision-making and reducing development cycle time by 30%.
Propelld’s Rise to Prominence
What started as an early-stage venture with incremental progress is now a recognized player in the fintech industry, valued at over $100M. My journey at Propelld was marked by a drive to innovate, lead, and transform how financial operations are conducted. By continuously shuffling between roles, solving real-time challenges, and pushing for greater efficiency, I was able to play a part in Propelld’s exponential growth. Today, Propelld stands as a testament to what can be achieved with a blend of vision, grit, and relentless pursuit of excellence.