Sasidhar N. Thumuluri is an accomplished professional in inclusive and digital finance, impact investment, and strategic advisory. He started his career with the BASIX group and later worked for International Finance Corporation (IFC); Microvest, a global impact fund, and Habitat for Humanity, an international NGO focused on affordable housing. He rejoined BASIX and currently serves as MD & CEO of its fintech startup, Sub-K. Under his leadership, the company has grown 20x in revenues, secured multiple rounds of funding, survived two major crises, and won many accolades including the prestigious InclusiveFintech50. Sasi has been named among 30 influential fintech leaders in India by Digital Fifth (a leading fintech think tank). He is often invited to speak in national and international forums. He also serves as board chair of the Business Correspondent Federation of India and as a member of the advisory council of the Center for Analytical Finance of the Indian School of Business. He earned his second master’s in public policy from Princeton University.
Sasi owes his career accomplishments to his mentor, Vijay Mahajan, BASIX founder, and advises young IIFMites to find a good mentor who can guide and inspire them. He considers IIFM as a crucial turning point and credits the faculty and friends for their invaluable contributions to his professional journey. He fondly recounts his time at the school with a dose of nostalgia. Given a chance, he would be interested to teach at IIFM and happy to mentor freshers. He likes traveling, reading non-fiction, and pursuing theatre.
Q. How has been your journey from IIFM to this role?
A. Can’t complain at all! I feel lucky to have done what I did in past 23 years since graduating from IIFM. I had no idea about social enterprise or microfinance at the time but took a plunge as I liked the idea of blending commercial business with a social mission.
I started my career with BASIX, a social start-up at the time. After 5 incredibly fulfilling years of foundational experience, I wanted to pursue higher education to expand my horizons. I secured admissions in Harvard and Princeton, and chose the latter as it came with a full scholarship. My international career started with a multi-country internship with CARE while at Princeton. After graduation, I joined Microvest, a Washington DC-based impact fund where I was assigned the responsibility to build and manage a broad portfolio of investments in South & Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Europe & Central Asia. After a couple of years, a chance encounter with a friend from Princeton attracted me to Habitat for Humanity, an Atlanta-based NGO where they wanted someone to help set up a global fund for financing micro-housing projects. This was coupled with a strategic advisory to country programs made for a great experience.
While Sonali (my wife, also an IIFMite from my immediate next batch PFM 1998-2000 batch) and I were quite satisfied with our respective professional endeavors and the extent of international experience we were gaining, our urge to return to India only grew over years. An opportunity with International Finance Corporation (IFC) in Delhi opened this possibility. At IFC, I led advisory verticals for South Asia in Agri, MSME, and housing finance. This gave me a chance to learn a great deal about the financial sector in the region. However, I was yearning to get back to real action on the ground. I kept in continuous touch with Vijay Mahajan, BASIX founder who mentored me all through my professional journey, and on various occasions discussed possibilities of my returning to the group. In 2014, exactly after 10 years, I finally made the trip ‘back to BASIX’ to lead Sub-K, its fledgling fintech subsidiary. Sub-K grew multifold since then and is counted among the innovative organizations in the inclusion space. It has been a 360-degree professional tour for me, and I have thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it, all thanks to IIFM where it all started!
Q. What were some of the key milestones/learning in this journey that you would like to share with us?
A. Honestly, IIFM was a key milestone without which the rest of the journey would not have been the same. IIFM introduced me to BASIX which was the best career decision I made. It was a start-up trying to prove something no one tried before. The job was so fulfilling, and the work environment so inspiring that I never looked for a change until moving to the US for higher studies. Princeton was another big turning point that provided a launchpad for my international career. Microvest, Habitat, and IFC proved to be great learning grounds from the lenses of private, non-profit, and public sectors respectively.
Equipped with this exposure, I felt ready to take on the entrepreneurial opportunity to build Sub-K. My current role is an all-encompassing experience, especially being at the helm of a mid-size company during these turbulent times is a rare learning opportunity. I firmly believe that learning should never stop. As a part of this agenda, I have completed two year-long executive leadership programs from Chicago Booth and Stanford Seed. These world-class courses have not only helped refresh my fundamentals but also visualize their application to the fast-changing business environment.
Sonali’s role in making my professional life incredibly smooth cannot be overstated. Meeting her in college, both of us graduating from IIFM, getting married right after, and making career decisions together were undoubtedly critical yet rewarding moments.
In short, I feel every turn in the journey was an important milestone with a great deal of learning. Travels to hundreds of new places, exposure to multiple cultures, and encounters with innumerable high achievers during the past two decades have been a very humbling experience full of life lessons.
Q. What is the most satisfying part of your current role?
A. My current role as CEO of Sub-K has been a roller-coaster ride, to put it mildly. However, the most satisfying part is that I get to drive a mission that has great potential to make a positive impact in a meaningful and sustainable way. I feel so fortunate to be here at this time when the world is undergoing so many changes and to have a chance to challenge the status quo and build a futuristic organization.
Q. Has your learning at IIFM helped in shaping how you approach your professional roles?
A. IIFM was a window into the social/development sector for me. Before that, I didn’t know something like this existed. IIFM offered a unique opportunity to blend my undergraduate training in agriculture with management education and build a meaningful career out of it. Life at IIFM was peaceful yet challenging in its own way. I was faced with new friends (who were equally confused as I was) and a potential future in a relatively unknown sector. This seemingly challenging situation brought with it a unique opportunity to take charge and carve a niche for ourselves. Batchmates, seniors, and juniors turned into a huge support system while the faculty became caretakers and career builders.
Q. Who (or what) are the biggest influences or drivers in your careers. What would be your advice to freshers and IIFM graduates who are looking to choose similar sectors/roles?
A. Vijay Mahajan was the biggest influence for me. I am so thankful to IIFM for connecting us. He is truly a “Visionary Saint”. I feel lucky to have gotten a chance to not only be mentored by him but also drive a part of his mission through Sub-K.
For whatever it is worth, here is my sincere advice:
a. Try to find a genuine mentor who inspires you and cares for you.
b. Have an eye on the long term while making short-term decisions.
c. Don’t chase others, sketch your own path.
Q. What are your favorite memories during your IIFM days?
A. I fell in love with IIFM on the day of the interview itself. Felt so disappointed when my name was on the waitlist. The way I kept close track of every dropout and managed to finally secure admission will remain one of the most memorable experiences. The other favorite was running the student-managed mess. I used to spend half of the time in the kitchen with Chandu and the crew. We became great friends, and I make it a point to go into the kitchen and have chai with them every time I visit the campus. Countless late-night parties, cheating from others’ assignments, watching “A” movies in the Nehru Nagar theatre (no laptops those days!), writing long letters to Sonali (no emails either!!), walking downhill to make it to the phone booth well before 5 AM for making long-distance calls to her at deeply discounted rates (no cellphones too!!!), weekend trips to New Market to savor Chole Bature were some other beautiful memories. I don’t think any B-School would come close to the kind of life we lived at IIFM those days (all expenses paid, that too without any adult supervision).
Q. In hindsight, what was the biggest contribution (courses, faculty, library, friends, and alumni. Anything else!!) from IIFM that you think played a critical role in shaping you as an individual or professional?
A. I was inspired by Prof. C S Rathore’s teaching methods, care for students, concern for the school, and his immense contribution towards modernizing its IT infrastructure. As an OT advisor, I remember how meticulously he guided me on the project I did in MIS, a topic that wasn’t taught to us until the following term! Prof. Biswas, Prof. Madhu Verma, Prof. Pethiya, and Prof. Majumdar were my favorites too. Each of them had a unique style of teaching and were genuinely interested in students’ progress.
I owe big time to all my classmates who came from different parts of the country and some from SAARC countries too. Each of them went out of their way to help others so that all of us can succeed together. Some seniors and juniors also became lifetime friends. The network I built at the school became a huge support system throughout my career.
Q. Favorite Books, movies, authors.
A. I read a lot of non-fiction, especially on leadership, strategy, and political economy. Recent favorites are No Rules Rules by Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer, The Ride of a Lifetime by Robert Iger, Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari, and The Third Pillar by Raghuram Rajan.
I love acting and ended up grabbing 2 brief roles in regional language (Telugu) movies. Hope to pursue this passion and find similar opportunities in the future too.
Q. IIFM is driven by alumni’s passion and commitments towards its goal. How would you like to contribute to IIFM or IIFM alumni, students?
A. I enjoy teaching and wish to teach at IIFM. I think alumni should be invited to structure courses on various topics based on their expertise. Experiential learning should be a part of the curriculum. I am also happy to mentor any young IIFMites.
Q. Any suggestions on who you want to get profiled/interviewed here?
A. I think several of my favorites are already profiled. Some more suggestions.
a. Sandeep Sengupta PFM 1997-99
b. Ashish Raj, PFM 1997-99
c. Reena Gupta, PFM 1997-99
d. Ravindra Agrawal, PFM 1997-99
e. Tanmay Chetan, PFM 1995-97
f. Rajiv Gupta, PFM 1996-98
g. Bharti Joshi, PFM 1996-98
h. Mukesh Saran, PFM 1999-2001
i. Sachin Bansal, PFM 2002-2004
j. Sailesh Kumar, PFM 2001-2003
k. Kumar Rahul, PFM 2001-2003