Accelerating Global E-Commerce: Adyen Cofounder Peter Caparso (Part 3)

Sramana: The payment clearinghouse is a very large market with a lot of competition. What did you see in the marketplace that made you believe you could be successful?

Peter Caparso: The nine original members had all worked in the industry and had vast experience. Our collective knowledge led us to believe there were some gaps we could fill. We wanted to address three basic areas in the marketplace. >>>

Accelerating Global E-Commerce: Adyen Cofounder Peter Caparso (Part 2)

Sramana: When did Adyen officially get started?

Peter Caparso: In December of 2006. >>>

Accelerating Global E-Commerce: Adyen Cofounder Peter Caparso (Part 1)

Peter Caparso is a cofounder of Adyen, a global e-commerce company which provides outsourced Internet payment services. Prior to cofounding Adyen, Peter worked at various companies ranging from Fortune 500 firms to startups before becoming a key figure at Bibit. In 2004, Bibit was acquired by the Royal Bank of Scotland, where Peter then headed the global e-commerce sales and account management teams for the United States. Peter received his MBA with a concentration in finance and strategic management from Boston College and holds a BA in economics from Villanova University.

Sramana: Peter, let’s begin by reviewing your background to explore the genesis of your company.

Peter Caparso: I started right out of college working for New England Telephone. I had received my undergraduate degree from Villanova University. After working for one year, I went to Boston College at night and earned my MBA. >>>

Building India’s Amazon: Flipkart CEO Sachin Bansal (Part 7)

Sramana: Does your customer base access Flipkart only through desktops and laptops?

Sachin Bansal: We have mobile commerce, but it has very little traction. >>>

Building India’s Amazon: Flipkart CEO Sachin Bansal (Part 6)

Sramana: At this point, India has developed a digitally savvy consumer base which is very affluent. How will this impact the future of Flipkart?

Sachin Bansal: I expect that people will adopt e-books, but at a rather slow pace. The digitally savvy consumer base may have money, but most of them have the same background as ordinary Indians and have kept some of that mentality. They are misers. >>>

Building India’s Amazon: Flipkart CEO Sachin Bansal (Part 5)

Sramana: Internationally, the book industry is going through huge changes. Now that you have years of experience in the book industry, what are you hearing in terms of dealing with e-books and e-readers? Amazon expects that e-books will overtake paper books in the near future.

Sachin Bansal: I have been following that, but as I am focused on India I follow that news in terms of the Indian market. India is slower moving with e-books. >>>

Building India’s Amazon: Flipkart CEO Sachin Bansal (Part 4)

Sramana: Let’s fast forward to March 2009. How have the relationship with the distributors and the operational mechanics of your business changed?

Sachin Bansal: We actually opened another distribution center in Dehli. To our surprise, almost every distributor in India knew about us, so it was not hard to make a new relationship in Dehli. >>>

Building India’s Amazon: Flipkart CEO Sachin Bansal (Part 3)

Sramana: How much money did you put into acquiring inventory to sell?

Sachin Bansal: They had computer systems which maintained inventory of their stock. We received a download of that every day. >>>