OTPless handed its CEO job to an ex-BharatPe cofounder to push WhatsApp logins

OTPless is a Delhi-based fintech SaaS platform whose APIs let businesses authenticate users via WhatsApp logins and drive conversations there.

OTPless bet websites would replace OTP forms with WhatsApp logins — a free unlimited plugin first, with APIs that turn logins into WhatsApp conversations.

OTPless was founded in 2021 by Tanmay Sagar and Satyam Nathani, who were also founding members of BharatPe; Dharti Koladiya, Bhavik's wife, is a director per the company's Registrar of Companies filings. Bhavik Koladiya had cofounded BharatPe with Shashvat Nakrani in 2018 and led the unicorn's product and tech teams.

Koladiya exited BharatPe in August 2022 — nine months after Ashneer Grover's well-documented exit, part of as many as eight top-level departures — joined OTPless's board the next month, and announced on 1 January 2023 that he had become CEO. He is also managing director of Finix Ventures, an NBFC consulting entity he set up for Unity Bank. Inc42 noted his 2015 conviction in a US credit card fraud case, which had kept his profile low at BharatPe.

The hire reunites a founding team with its earliest clients: OTPless's client list already included BharatPe and PostPe.

Documents BharatPe's diaspora at work — its founding members and a cofounder regrouping around a new fintech bet.

The wedge is concrete: a free unlimited WhatsApp login plugin, with named clients already live.

A startup staffed by one company's diaspora — founders, CEO, even clients — turns insider trust into its first distribution channel.

As of the January 2023 report, Koladiya was CEO with the free plugin live and a client list including BharatPe and PostPe; the source reports no funding or usage figures.