Simpl co-founder drags fintech startup to court

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Editor's note: When founders leave an Indian startup, it's usually a silent affair. Whether because of a personal dispute, cultural problems or a better job offer, the departure isn’t publicized much. But in the case of Simpl, one of the early buy-now-pay-later fintech companies in India, what should have been a simple exit has turned into an ugly legal battle.  Simpl was founded in 2015 by Nityanand Sharma, a former Goldman Sachs banker, and Chaitra Chidanand, who has worked across IT, content marketing and venture capital. Over the last six years, it built a BNPL app that the startup says processes over $140 million in annualized payment volumes with, nearly 490,000 monthly users as of June 2021. But beneath the surface, the business was bleeding and heavy losses depleted all of its capital. So, Sharma, the CEO, decided to restructure the company by setting up a Delaware-based entity called Simpl Inc. and a new Indian subsidiary called Xeropay Technologies that would take over the business he and Chidanand started a few years back. This was a simple strategy to start afresh and …