Full Stack Developer { Typescript, Node.js, Postgresql, Express.js,React,Tailwind,Next.js,Prisma, c#, | Mobile app dev {SwiftUI, Java, Kotlin, Flutter }
Pune, India
Joined October 2021
- Tweets1.5K
- Following982
- Followers864
- Likes6.3K
Pinned Tweet
Trust me Education is not pursuing a degree or a PhD. It is the ability to stay curious about anything & everything & listen to almost anything without getting offended & without loosing self-confidence. If you get offended by someone's opinion about something, you are shit.
Prathamesh Dharmadhikari retweeted
First yoga, then chakras, and now our gods and goddesses? “Laxmi-maxxing” is just another example of Western influencers turning sacred aspects of Indian culture into a social media aesthetic Our culture is not a costume. Our deities are not a trend. And our traditions are not +
Prathamesh Dharmadhikari retweeted
Never forget
Never Forgive
This was Bollywood before Dhurandhar destroyed The Khan mafia
Prathamesh Dharmadhikari retweeted
🚨Brahminical Patriarchy vs Progressive Feminism !
🚨 One thing is Confirmed !
👉 Either Hindus will Finish Congress in Next 5 Years !
👉 Or Congress will Finish Hindus in Next 5 Years.
🚨When Hindus will understand that Hindus are just Kaf!r for Congress !!!
For Humans,Reading is like object recognition, we dont read the word WHy as W -> h -> y we recognise it as shape and hence even if i wrote the word like Why or WHy it doesn't feel that weird
Prathamesh Dharmadhikari retweeted
Looks like we all found out who the real Indiranagar ka Gunda was after all.
Prathamesh Dharmadhikari retweeted
He studied philosophy. Dropped out of MBA. Started working at 15 to help his family.
Today Meta hired him to lead WhatsApp globally.
Meet Kunal Shah — the architect of India's fintech revolution.
> Born May 20, 1983 in Mumbai to a Gujarati family.
> Father was a small businessman.
> When his family faced financial crisis at 14.
> he started working at age 15.
> Studied philosophy at Wilson College.
> Dropped out of MBA at NMIMS.
> Chose learning over credentials.
> 2009 — Founded PaisaBack. A cashback rewards platform for retailers.
> Profitable from day one.
> But he saw the market was fragmented. Pivoted.
> 2010 — Founded FreeCharge with Sandeep Tandon.
> 2015 — Snapdeal acquired it for ~$400 million.
> Made digital payments mainstream in India.
> Then stepped back.
> Spent years observing.
> Learning.
> Investing in 200+ startups.
> 2018 — Founded CRED. A rewards platform for credit card bill payments.
> CRED has 17 million monthly active members.
> Processes 40% of India's credit card bill payments.
> Processes ₹8.5 lakh crore in annual payment value.
> TODAY — June 22, 2026.
> Meta invests $900 million in CRED at $4.5 billion post-money valuation.
> But that's not the headline.
> Kunal Shah is stepping down as CRED CEO to become Global Head of WhatsApp at Meta.
> Succeeding Will Cathcart. Leading WhatsApp's next phase globally.
> He retains his personal shareholding in CRED.
> The founder walked away from his own company.
> At the moment of its biggest inflection.
Why?
> "The delta between WhatsApp today and its full potential is massive."
> That's his quote.
> 1.7 billion users. Underdeveloped. Untapped.
> He saw an imbalance he couldn't ignore.
> Philosophy major.
> MBA dropout.
> Two billion-dollar exits (FreeCharge, CRED).
> 200+ angel investments.
> Now — global head of the world's biggest messaging app.
> On his failures: "We should celebrate entrepreneurs who take risks. In the AI-driven world, being a job seeker may be riskier than being an entrepreneur."
> This is the philosophy graduate talking.
Not the billionaire.
From Mumbai middle-class kid to shaping India's fintech.
From CRED founder to WhatsApp's global boss.
In one day.
Absolute legend.
Prathamesh Dharmadhikari retweeted
CEO of Google 🇮🇳
CEO of Microsoft 🇮🇳
CEO of YouTube 🇮🇳
CEO of Adobe 🇮🇳
CEO of IBM 🇮🇳
CEO of NetApp 🇮🇳
CEO of Palo Alto Networks 🇮🇳
CEO of Arista Networks 🇮🇳
CEO of Novartis 🇮🇳
CEO of Micron Technology 🇮🇳
CEO of Honeywell 🇮🇳
CEO of Flex 🇮🇳
CEO of Wayfair 🇮🇳
CEO of Chanel 🇮🇳
CEO of FedEx 🇮🇳
CEO of Zscaler 🇮🇳
CEO of Cadence Design Systems 🇮🇳
CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals 🇮🇳
CEO of Penguin Random House 🇮🇳
CEO of HubSpot 🇮🇳
CEO of GoDaddy 🇮🇳
CEO of Procter & Gamble 🇮🇳
+
Global Head of WhatsApp 🇮🇳
The list keeps getting longer :)
It’s been a minute.
2015–2018
- Exited FreeCharge. Spent time learning and investing.
- Pondered about: Why can't trust be rewarded? Started with $1M of personal capital.
- Launched CRED to reward people for paying credit card bills on time.
2019–2025
- Built a system run by a team that values ownership, judgment, and craft.
- Grew from 0 to 17M members by aligning incentives with behaviour.
- Built several products during COVID lockdowns.
- Raised $900M+ from global investors. Did 4 ESOP buybacks.
- Made Indiranagar and IPL ads slightly more interesting.
- Received a full stack of regulatory licences.
- Lost 35 kilos.
- Scaled from 0 to ~$325M ( ~₹3,200 crore) in annual revenue across payments, lending, insurance, commerce, wealth, and credit cards.
2026
- First profitable quarter (yet occasionally asked what our business model is)
- Raised another $900M from Meta in primary and secondary capital.
- Announcing our 5th ESOP buyback.
Today
CRED is ready for its next phase. I am stepping back and @miten steps in as interim CEO, partnered with an incredibly talented team. He has been heading strategy and finance and suffering me since 2020. I’m stepping away from the operating role and will continue as a shareholder. My commitment doesn’t change. Just the role.
Extremely grateful to our members, partners, regulators, and investors who made this possible. And to our board, Shailendra, Micky, Saurabh for their extraordinary conviction.
Team CRED, I’ll still expect you to be a 10x version of yourselves.
As for me, I’ll be joining Meta to lead WhatsApp globally.
Meta comes in as a minority investor in CRED. No access to member data.
While it’s come very far, the delta between WhatsApp today and its full potential is massive. I look forward to working with Mark, Chris, and the leadership across Meta for the next step in WhatsApp’s journey. Will, thank you for scaling something the world relies on quietly, and for making this transition smooth.
Onwards.
🥹 Inspiring af, grateful for your contribution
It’s been a minute.
2015–2018
- Exited FreeCharge. Spent time learning and investing.
- Pondered about: Why can't trust be rewarded? Started with $1M of personal capital.
- Launched CRED to reward people for paying credit card bills on time.
2019–2025
- Built a system run by a team that values ownership, judgment, and craft.
- Grew from 0 to 17M members by aligning incentives with behaviour.
- Built several products during COVID lockdowns.
- Raised $900M+ from global investors. Did 4 ESOP buybacks.
- Made Indiranagar and IPL ads slightly more interesting.
- Received a full stack of regulatory licences.
- Lost 35 kilos.
- Scaled from 0 to ~$325M ( ~₹3,200 crore) in annual revenue across payments, lending, insurance, commerce, wealth, and credit cards.
2026
- First profitable quarter (yet occasionally asked what our business model is)
- Raised another $900M from Meta in primary and secondary capital.
- Announcing our 5th ESOP buyback.
Today
CRED is ready for its next phase. I am stepping back and @miten steps in as interim CEO, partnered with an incredibly talented team. He has been heading strategy and finance and suffering me since 2020. I’m stepping away from the operating role and will continue as a shareholder. My commitment doesn’t change. Just the role.
Extremely grateful to our members, partners, regulators, and investors who made this possible. And to our board, Shailendra, Micky, Saurabh for their extraordinary conviction.
Team CRED, I’ll still expect you to be a 10x version of yourselves.
As for me, I’ll be joining Meta to lead WhatsApp globally.
Meta comes in as a minority investor in CRED. No access to member data.
While it’s come very far, the delta between WhatsApp today and its full potential is massive. I look forward to working with Mark, Chris, and the leadership across Meta for the next step in WhatsApp’s journey. Will, thank you for scaling something the world relies on quietly, and for making this transition smooth.
Onwards.
