We secured 2nd place at the Gillmore FinTech Hackathon 2025, and I'm incredibly proud of what our team built. Among the four problem statements—debt management tools, loan explainers, banking solutions, and micro-investing—we chose the micro-investing challenge.

Students often want to start investing, but most platforms unintentionally create high barriers: complex interfaces, financial jargon, and the assumption that users already have capital and confidence. Our goal was to rethink this experience from the ground up.

We built **Brokee**, a student-focused micro-investing platform shaped through a design-thinking lens. We began with **desirability**: What would make a student genuinely want to learn? What would make them return the next day? This led us to an experience centred on clarity, progression, and low-friction learning. We then evaluated **feasibility**, ensuring the platform could technically support adaptive modules, real-time data, and layered simulations. Finally, we focused on **viability**, creating systems that support long-term engagement through behaviour design, challenges, and peer-driven motivation.

Our solution brings these principles together through:

- **A structured learning journey** that unlocks real-market access after key concepts are mastered
- **A simulation environment** covering bull, bear, and crisis scenarios, including 2008-style downturns
- **Competitions, savings challenges, and inter-university clans** designed to create network effects
- **Real-time market integration** ensuring learning remains relevant and contextual
- **A lightweight avatar layer** that introduces the foundation for a future social/community dimension of the platform

Our MVP prototype of Brokee can be viewed here: [investstart-tutb.vercel.app](https://investstart-tutb.vercel.app/)

I'm deeply grateful to my teammates — Narayana Menon S, Shameer Hussain, Timothy Ninan, Ivan Chirkov and Fahad Khan — for the creativity and momentum they brought throughout. My sincere thanks to Dr Bo Kelestyn PFHEA, and to my module leaders Jochem Hummel, Mo Moeini, and Zhewei Zhang. The concepts and frameworks from their classes played a significant role in shaping our approach. A special thank you to the judging panel — Dr. Kalina Staykova, Matthew Hanmer, Dan Philps, CFA, PhD, Ram Gopal — for their thoughtful feedback and guidance. And thank you to the WBS community and the Gillmore Centre for fostering such an innovative environment.



The hackathon brought together exceptional teams with diverse perspectives and varied approaches. I was especially proud to see another MISDI team take home a prize as well, a great moment for our cohort and WBS. Experiences like this remind me why I love building products grounded in impact, accessibility, and thoughtful design.

---

_Originally shared on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7396613828815478784/). Try the app: [Brokee](https://investstart-tutb.vercel.app/)._

2nd Place at Gillmore FinTech Hackathon 2025 — Building Brokee


My cat, Rumi has zero interest in being useful—and I wouldn't have it any other way. He's not here to guard the house or chase off strangers. But when I wake up, there he is—bouncing around like he owns the place, doing his daily cat inspection.

But I adore this stupid cute cat because he doesn't disturb until I get up in the morning. But the moment I so much as shift in bed, he shows up like clockwork—plops down beside me, demands his royal rubs, and then walks off like he did me a favour.

Having a cat in my life has made it calmer, gentler—just a little more worth it.

![](/images/posts/rumi.png)


Rumi, My Cat


Year 2015 wasn't that long ago. I was in my late teens, I should remember how things were. But honestly? It all feels like a blur. Those days of carrying cash to the store, buying Stationeries and Snacks — they almost play out in greyscale in my head. Wild, right? I'm not even that old — but UPI has completely flipped the script.

It's convenient, clean, and everywhere. Just a couple of years ago, I was still carrying some cash to buy fruits from street vendors in my hometown, Salem — a tier 2 city. But not anymore. Now, nearly every vendor has a Paytm or PhonePe QR code hanging from their cart. If this isn't a definition of success, I don't know what is.

It's slick, simple, secure **(sorry Apple Pay, we've got 2FA too 😎)**. But behind the scenes, I know it's a beast of a system.

As someone who's tried to stay in the loop with Tech and and is trying to understand payments, I've realized — for something that looks super intuitive and obvious on the outside, there are quite a few terminologies that don't land right away.

So, I've decided to stop assuming things and finally research how this whole system really works. Because let's face it—just because we use something every day doesn't mean we understand it.

If you've ever nodded along in a meeting or while reading a news article without truly getting what a "payment aggregator" or "issuer bank" is, this one's for you.

Let's begin with the **terminologies**—the building blocks. To make it easier, I've broken them down into five key sections:

---

### **1. Stakeholders**

The people and institutions involved in the payments journey — consumers, merchants, banks (as issuers and acquirers), and platforms. Everyone plays a role in how money moves.

---

### **2. Players in the Payment Ecosystem**

This category includes all the key entities that enable and support digital transactions in India — such as banks, payment gateways, payment aggregators, orchestrators, merchants, and end users.

---

### **3. Types of Payments**

Outlines the various digital payment methods available in India, including UPI, card-based payments, digital wallets, net banking, BNPL, contactless card payments, and Aadhaar-enabled payments.

---

### **4. Payment Networks**

Describes the infrastructure systems that facilitate the transfer of funds between payer and payee — starting with card networks like Visa, Mastercard, Amex, and RuPay; the NPCI‑operated platforms (e.g. UPI, IMPS, BBPS); and traditional bank transfer networks like NEFT and RTGS.

---

### **5. Authorizing & Regulatory Bodies**

Institutions like the **RBI**—govern, regulate, and authorize the functioning and compliance of the digital payments ecosystem.


All About Payments


Back at Cognizant, I was working with one of the largest banks in America, taking on the role of a Business Analyst within the product team. My focus was on developing internal software used by Phone Bankers—those helping Americans activate their cards, update card details, initiate balance transfers, or view payment and transaction summaries.

That engagement taught me the end-to-end lifecycle of a product—from ideation to development cycles and phased production releases. I gained hands-on experience understanding how internal tools interact with various APIs to fetch scattered data securely, and why certain information resides in distinct APIs or databases for safety and compliance. I also got a clear picture of how user access differs and how authorization logic is built, enforced, and audited.

Working closely with Product Owners, I had the opportunity to suggest product improvements. It was an eye-opening phase where I not only strengthened my foundation in product management but also developed a deep appreciation for UX and operational flow. On a day-to-day basis, I would break down product requirements into clear backlogs, ensuring developers had what they needed to build effectively.

Then came Juspay—and honestly, I don't think words can fully capture how much I've learned here. Payments have always been somewhat of a mystery to the average person, but I've come to realize just how fascinating and complex the space truly is—and how much easier it can be to grasp with just a little bit of guidance.

At Juspay, the pace is electric. It's fast, focused, and collaborative. Unlike my previous role where teams often worked in silos, here everything is accessible—if I have a doubt or need help, I just walk over and get it resolved. Whether it's the Business Development team or Backend developers, everyone is just a desk away. This kind of cross-functional fluidity is hard to find in large-scale companies and is one of the most energizing parts of working here.

What stands out most to me at Juspay is the _open-source mindset_. From the Namma Yatri initiative to Hyperswitch, the company is driven by a genuine desire to serve merchants. Hyperswitch, which once catered exclusively to the American and European markets, is now available for Indian businesses as well—and it's open-source on GitHub. External contributors actively commit to it, and everyone here shares a common goal: delivering exceptional customer service.

I take pride in being part of a company where "customer is king" isn't just a catchy phrase—it's something lived and breathed by every single person. At Juspay, for us, **the merchant is our customer**—and everything we do is centered around enabling and empowering them. That kind of culture only exists when the top management deeply believes in it and leads by example.

I know I'm still in the early stages of exploring the vast world of fintech. It feels like there's an iceberg beneath the surface, and I've only just begun to uncover it. But the journey so far has been incredible. Thanks to the learning-driven ecosystem and everyone who welcomes newcomers with open arms, I no longer fear payments—I'm intrigued by them.

> **Here's to more lessons, more discoveries, and more stories,**
>
> _Swaathy Kumaran_

---

_Originally published on [Substack](https://substack.com/home/post/p-161540059)._

Just a quick note: I neither endorse nor discourage working at any specific company. This is simply a personal reflection and a neutral comparison of two organizations with contrasting work cultures. What works for one person may not work for another—each journey is unique, and so is every workplace experience.


From Banking to Fintech: My Ongoing Journey in Product and Payments

My cat, Rumi has zero interest in being useful—and I wouldn’t have it any other way. He’s not here to guard the house or chase off strangers. But when I wake up, there he is—bouncing around like he owns the place, doing his daily cat inspection.
But I adore this stupid cute cat because he doesn’t disturb until I get up in the morning. But the moment I so much as shift in bed, he shows up like clockwork—plops down beside me, demands his royal rubs, and then walks off like he did me a favour.
Having a cat in my life has made it calmer, gentler—just a little more worth it.
<img src="/images/posts/rumi.png" alt="">

Rumi, My Cat

More blog posts

2nd Place at Gillmore FinTech Hackathon 2025 — Building Brokee

All About Payments

From Banking to Fintech: My Ongoing Journey in Product and Payments