From a ₹1–2 Lakh Android App to a ₹4,500 Crore Startup.How Vaibhav Kalpe from Deglur, Maharashtra. Built Khatabook to Help His Father’s Electrical Shop — Now Backed by ₹1,371 Crore in Funding and Endorsed by Brand Ambassador MS Dhoni

Story Covered By:

✍️ Abhijit R Patil

Founder, Patil Share Market Institute

📧 Email: patil4abhi@yahoo.in

🕗 Published on: 21 May 2025 at 8:30 AM

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From a ₹1–2 Lakh Android App to a ₹4,500 Crore Startup:

The 2016 Journey of Vaibhav Kalpe from Deglur, Maharashtra, Who Built Khatabook to Help His Father’s Electrical Shop

💭 When people talk about unicorn startups, they often think of Silicon Valley, VC-funded launches, or MBA-driven plans. But here’s a story that began not in a boardroom — but in a small electrical shop in Deglur, Maharashtra.

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A Small Shop, A Big Problem

🧾 Vaibhav Kalpe saw his father struggle daily with handwritten credit records. Customers would buy on credit but often delay or forget payments. Torn pages, missing entries, and zero follow-ups made it worse.

💡 So, Vaibhav, a self-taught coder with no formal tech degree, decided to solve the problem — not for the world, but for his father.

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Birth of Khatabook

📱 In 2016, Vaibhav began developing a basic Android app — later named Khatabook — inspired by the traditional Bahi Khata. Officially founded in 2018, it allowed small shopkeepers to maintain digital credit records, send reminders, and recover dues.

⬆️ He uploaded the app to the Play Store and shared it through word-of-mouth.

⚡ By 2018, it had over 60,000 users — all organic. Vaibhav still thought he’d help his dad run the shop. But destiny had other ideas.

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Enter Kyte Technologies

🔍 In 2018, the app caught the attention of Ravish Naresh (co-founder, Housing.com) and his team at Kyte Technologies, including Jaideep Poonia, Dhanesh Kumar, and Ashish Sonone.

📦 In 2019, they joined forces with Vaibhav, rebranded, scaled, and relaunched Khatabook with stronger architecture, better UX, and serious investor backing. Vaibhav, who laid the foundation, later stepped back from active involvement.

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A Digital Revolution Across Bharat

🚀 Khatabook became a lifeline for shopkeepers across India.

🛒 From kirana stores and garages to salons and hardware suppliers — everyone now had a simple, paperless way to manage credit.

🗣️ Available in 13+ Indian languages

👥 Used by 50M+ downloads and 10M+ monthly active users

💰 Logged billions in monthly transactions, with earlier reports suggesting over ₹30,000 crore monthly

✨ All from an idea born in a small village — built for one shop, now serving lakhs.

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The Numbers Behind the Boom

📉 Despite not being profitable yet, Khatabook became a fintech giant backed by top investors.

📊 FY 2023–24 Financials:

Revenue: ₹102.7 crore

Expenses: ₹230.08 crore

Net Loss: ₹116.24 crore

Cash Burn: Estimated negative cash flow of ₹70.78 crore

💸 Funding Raised:

₹10.35 crore (Seed – Apr 2019)

₹172.50 crore (Series A – Sep 2019)

₹444.00 crore (Series B – May 2020)

₹745.00 crore (Series C – Aug 2021, including $10M ESOP buyback)

→ Total: ₹1,371.85 crore (~$187M)

🏷️ Latest Known Valuation (Aug 2021): $600 million (~₹4,500 crore) — just shy of unicorn status

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MS Dhoni Joins the Journey

🏏 In March 2020, legendary cricketer MS Dhoni invested in Khatabook and became its brand ambassador — giving the brand mass credibility and rural appeal.

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COVID Times: A Test of Purpose

🦠 When COVID lockdowns hit, while malls and markets shut down — kirana stores powered by Khatabook kept the economy moving. The app played a silent but vital role in India’s hyperlocal supply chain.

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What Can We Learn From This?

❌ You don’t need to raise crores to start.

🎓 You don’t need an IIT/IIM tag.

👨‍💻 You don’t need a team of 50 engineers.

You need:

🛠️ A real problem

🔥 The will to solve it

💪 And the courage to scale

💼 That’s how a ₹2 lakh side project became a ₹4,500 crore startup.

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Your Idea Could Be Next

🌱 Khatabook is still evolving — from a ledger app to a full-scale MSME platform. But the core message remains:

💡 Solve a small, real problem — and the world might just back you to scale it.

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