Startups nowadays are a dime a dozen. Everyday, there are plenty of them shutting shop for plenty of reasons; this holds especially true for fintech startups. In early 2014, ClearTax faced overwhelming pressure after a couple of setbacks and nearly joined the ranks of the unknowns.
We faced closure, and it was gut-wrenching to figure out what was next. Funnily enough, morale was still high, I trusted my mates, and they trusted me, too. Absolute faith in the product laced with perseverance presented a turning point. Our click moment arrived when YCombinator, an American seed accelerator, decided to invest in ClearTax. We became the first Indian startup to be selected by the accelerator and the rest was history. Our journey continued, we experimented with the brand and the product.
With the advent of goods and services tax (GST), we decided to enter the market with a new set of products to make GST simpler. Our focus was to simplify GST compliance for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that were struggling to cope with the change—it was a high stake bet that we won. The year 2018 was another milestone for us as we raised $50 million in a round led by Composite Capital, more than two years since our last fundraise. I’m happy to state that ClearTax today has expanded its reach in both scale and scope. For consumers, we enable online filing of income tax returns and offer mutual funds. For businesses, we offer software dedicated to GST and a business advisory service by in-house chartered accountants (CAs) who manage everything from the incorporation of a firm to compliances.
The ClearTax GST Software is currently used by 600,000 businesses, 40,000 CAs and tax professionals, and over 1,000 large enterprises.
Archit Gupta, founder & CEO, Cleartax
There was one moment when fate turned their way, a moment that they can look back upon and say, that was when it started. Capturing click moments.
