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CashKaro founder Swati Bhargava recalls raising ₹130 crore while battling health issues: 'My kidney was functioning at just 3-4%'
Swati Bhargava recalled a particularly difficult phase, when she was undergoing a major health crisis while leading her company’s fundraising efforts.
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Swati Bhargava, co-founder of CashKaro and EarnKaro, recently opened up about her entrepreneurial journey, sharing insights into her career, the challenges of building a business and the personal struggles she faced along the way.
In a video posted on X, Bhargava introduced herself and spoke about her journey from a small town in Haryana to building two businesses with her husband, Rohan Bhargava. She shared that she worked at Goldman Sachs in London for 5 years before the couple started their business in the UK.
She also recalled a particularly difficult phase 4 years ago, when she was undergoing a major health crisis while leading her company’s fundraising efforts.
‘I was raising ₹130 crore for my business’
Recalling the period when CashKaro was raising funds for its Series C round, Bhargava revealed that she was dealing with a serious health condition at the same time. “Four years ago, I underwent a kidney transplant while we were raising funds for our Series C round,” she said.
“On one hand, I was raising ₹130 crore for my business, while on the other, my kidney was functioning at just 3-4% and my haemoglobin level was five and a half. And I still continued working as usual,” she added.
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From Ambala to Goldman Sachs and entrepreneurship
In the clip, Bhargava said she hails from Ambala. She received a scholarship to study in Singapore, where she completed her Class 11 and 12 education, before securing another scholarship to attend the London School of Economics.
After graduating, she worked in investment banking at Goldman Sachs in London for 5 years. She later joined hands with her husband, Rohan, to start a business in the UK before expanding their venture to India.
Today, the couple run CashKaro and EarnKaro. While CashKaro is an Indian cashback platform, EarnKaro allows users to earn money by sharing affiliate links.
Bhargava said that she has spent nearly 20 years working and building businesses, gathering several lessons along the way. She also recalled pitching to industrialist Ratan Tata and raising funds from him as part of CashKaro’s fundraising journey.
“So far, we have raised ₹250 crore for CashKaro,” she said.
Further, reflecting on the challenges she has faced, she spoke about learning to trust the universe and believe that it has her back. “These are the lessons I’ve learned about trusting the universe and believing that it has my back, which I would love to share,” she said.
