Misbah Ashraf, co-founder and chief product officer of Jar, has built one of India’s fastest-growing consumer fintech platforms by focusing on a simple idea: saving small amounts every day. At 29, Misbah Ashraf leads Jar, a fintech app that helps users save and invest, starting with digital gold. In 18 months, Jar crossed 11 million users and now handles close to 300,000 transactions each day.

Misbah Ashraf’s success with Jar did not come overnight. It followed two startup failures and a clear shift in how he views timing, scale, and long-term building.

Early life and lessons from home

Misbah Ashraf grew up in Bihar Sharif, the district headquarters of Nalanda in Bihar. He comes from a middle-class family that faced financial limits. His father worked as a school teacher.

One memory shaped Ashraf’s thinking early. His father walked fast wherever he went. When asked why, the answer was direct. If you move slowly, you get pushed aside. Ashraf carried that lesson forward.

From a young age, he understood that effort and speed mattered. But later, he learned that speed without patience also carried risk.

Dropping out to build the first startup

Ashraf left college in his first year and co-founded his first startup, Cibola, in 2013. He worked with friends from IIT Delhi. Cibola aimed to build a social payments platform at a time when digital payments in India were still early.

The team built a basic product, tested it with users, and raised angel funding. Despite early interest, the startup shut down after about a year.

The reasons were structural. Payment licences were pending. Large players were entering the space. The market was not ready. Ashraf later said the idea was right, but the timing was wrong.

A second venture and another hard stop

In 2017, Ashraf launched his second startup, Marsplay. The platform focused on community-led commerce in fashion and beauty. It grew fast and crossed one million users. The company raised two rounds of funding.

Then the pandemic hit. Funding slowed across the ecosystem. Consumer spending patterns shifted. Ashraf struggled to raise new capital.

In February 2021, Marsplay was acquired by Foxy, a beauty shopping and live commerce platform. The exit brought closure but also clarity. Once again, Ashraf had overestimated how fast user behaviour would change.

Rethinking how startups grow

Two ventures had failed to scale the way Ashraf expected. He began to question his own assumptions. He realised that founders often push the future forward faster than users are ready to move.

This time, he decided to slow down. He wanted to build something that fit daily behaviour, not long-term promises. The focus would be habit, not hype.

Within a month of exiting Marsplay, Ashraf started work on his third venture.

The idea behind Jar

Jar began with one clear goal. Help people save money without effort. The product avoids large deposits or complex steps. It works with small amounts saved often.

Ashraf chose gold as the first asset. Gold is familiar to Indian users. It carries trust and cultural value. That familiarity helped new users start saving without fear.

Jar allows users to save spare change through everyday actions. These small savings convert into digital gold. Over time, the app added other saving and investment options, but gold remained the entry point.

Growth driven by habit

Jar grew fast. Within 18 months, it crossed 11 million users. The platform now processes around 300,000 transactions per day.

The company raised more than $58 million from investors including Tiger Global, Rocketship.vc, and Arkam Ventures.

Unlike many fintech apps that focus on trading or lending, Jar focuses on repeat use. Many users save small amounts daily. This behaviour supports long-term retention.

Product decisions shaped by failure

As chief product officer, Ashraf stays close to product decisions. He reviews user data and feedback before expanding features.

His earlier failures shaped this approach. Instead of adding features fast, Jar adds them only when users show clear demand. The company avoids pushing complex financial products too early.

Ashraf says Jar aims to bring back the idea of a piggy bank in digital form. The goal is to make saving feel routine, not forced.

Jar’s place in India’s fintech space

India’s fintech sector has grown fast, driven by payments, lending, and trading platforms. Savings often receive less attention.

Jar positions itself between spending and investing. It targets young users who may not think about long-term savings yet. By starting small, the app builds confidence.

Industry observers say habit-based fintech products tend to see better engagement when built well. Jar’s usage numbers suggest that users return often.

Recent focus and updates

Over the past year, Jar has focused on improving app stability, security, and ease of use. The company has also invested in financial education within the app.

Ashraf has said the next phase is about depth, not just scale. Jar plans to guide users from simple savings into more structured investing, step by step.

The company continues to hire across product, engineering, and compliance roles as it prepares for the next phase of growth.

From Bihar Sharif to Bengaluru

Ashraf now works out of Bengaluru, India’s startup hub. His journey from Bihar Sharif reflects how India’s startup landscape has changed. Talent no longer stays tied to location.

For Ashraf, Jar represents more than growth numbers. It reflects learning from failure and building with patience.

This time, he believes the pace matches the market.

FAQs

Q1. Who is Misbah Ashraf?
Misbah Ashraf is an Indian entrepreneur and fintech founder. He is the co-founder and chief product officer of Jar.

Q2. What is Jar app used for?
Jar is a fintech app that helps users save and invest small amounts daily, starting with digital gold.

Q3. What is Misbah Ashraf’s age?
Misbah Ashraf is 29 years old.

Q4. How many users does Jar have?
Jar has crossed 11 million users and processes close to 300,000 transactions every day.