We sat down with Ifty to get the lowdown on everything from his history, to his exciting plans for Vestd India!
Hey Ifty, people in India will want to know the person behind the platform. Could you tell us a bit about your upbringing please?
Sure! I grew up in a busy Punjabi-speaking household in Bradford in the north of England. My parents were refugees who’d been forced to leave their home town of Ferozepur in India at the time of partition. They moved to the UK in the early sixties, where they worked really hard to give me and my eight siblings a humble yet enriched childhood and upbringing.
While Dad was the adventurer, and led the way to the UK - ultimately becoming a teacher and court interpreter - it was my Mum who was the true entrepreneur. Having started as a hard worker in the Mills down the road, they saved enough to buy a corner shop and started her own tailoring and clothes business. I learned a lot from both their struggles and work ethic. My mum in particular was amazing. If she wasn’t in the shop, she was cooking, feeding and clothing us. For her, it never stopped. She was a real inspiration!
How do you get from a terraced house in Bradford to leading an international ShareTech company?
Well, I did initially want to be an architect, but then fell in love with chemistry and after my first degree, managed to secure a role at BP Chemicals as a research scientist.
It was through the amazing development opportunities provided while at BP, that I was able to develop my business and commercial skills across the world, and ultimately, through delivery and good fortune, earned my place in the Group’s senior leadership. This also afforded me the opportunity to attend Stanford’s Senior Executive Programme. When I returned to London after this, I initially took on the role of Commercial Director for Africa, Middle East, Russia & Caspian (AMRC) Region, before moving to lead ‘Asia Growth’, where I met my last employers, Essar Energy.
While those roles may sound impressive, what I really learned was this: when people work together and share success, amazing things happen. That idea stuck with me and eventually led me to create Vestd.
You were vice-president at BP and CEO at Essar - why trade that for a start-up?
After 25 years in the energy sector, I’d ticked most of my personal career boxes and wanted to go back to my own entrepreneurial roots, and help early-stage businesses grow.
I kept bumping into the same problem - founders were brilliant at building products yet hopeless at managing equity… from share options for employees to shares issued for investors. For example, just sorting out a share scheme took lawyers, spreadsheets and a small fortune, so rarely got beyond the idea stage. It was clear to me that this was a real problem, and worthy of us trying to fix it… and Vestd was born!
Why merge with Trica and launch Vestd India now?
India’s startup scene is electric, but much of the equity management is still manual. Trica knows that market inside-out, and we’ve spent a decade perfecting digital equity in the UK. Put the two together and founders get world-class tools plus local know-how. We’re not dabbling - we’re re-branding as Vestd India and investing for the long haul.
And on a personal note, I’ve always felt connected to Indian culture. It’s my heritage, I’ve been working in India in one format or another since 2005, and have so many friends and connections, it’s very much a natural next step for us.
Some founders are wary of foreign companies disappearing after a while. How can you assure customers that Vestd will stick around?
Given the recent experience of Zen Equity and Carta, it is no surprise that this question would be asked. We have entered the market knowing of that experience, and taken many lessons from studying it.
Firstly, being regulated in the UK by the FCA (UK’s Financial Conduct Authority) and having just earned full B Corp certification, we know about working to the highest standards, and the importance of ‘reputation’. So we’ve not entered India on a whim… we are here to stay.
Secondly, our team of 100+ people already works remotely across the UK, Europe, and India. We’ve been building our India for years… and now, with the addition of the whole Trica team, along with their deep knowledge and strong legacy… India is now home for over a third of the Vestd.
You often talk about the “Ownership Effect”. What is it in plain English?
When someone holds a stake in a business (e.g. Shares, ESOPS etc.), it transforms how that person relates to the business as they become vested in its success. This is the ownership effect, and is why when some one holds such a stake in a business, their relationship with that business is noticeably and tangibly enhanced, often evidenced through both loyalty and ‘above and beyond’ contribution.
Our own data show that 93% of customers say Vestd helped them grow and 95% report better retention once a scheme is in place. Those aren’t fancy marketing stats - they’re straight from the real world of our customers.
What changes for Trica customers as Vestd India rolls out, and what stays the same?
As I’ve said, the faces you know from Trica will stay. If you decide to stay on the Trica platform, you’ll see no change at all. However, if you choose to switch to the Vestd platform - at no additional cost for existing Trica customers - you’ll notice a sleeker dashboard, direct filings with India’s MCA (currently in the pipeline but we are nearly there) and round-the-clock support. Your current pricing and data stay intact either way, as we’ll honour your current pricing package; we’re just adding more firepower behind the scenes.
We’ve got over a decade of experience, and we are really looking forward to bringing that to serve our new Indian customers.
Vestd puts a lot of weight on ethics, how does that show up day to day?
In loads of different ways actually - we plant trees for referrals, run a 100% remote business to cut carbon, and hold ISO 27001 for data security plus FCA oversight for compliance and transparency.
And that’s on top of the B Corp badge. In other words, we’ve put the guard rails in place so customers don’t have to worry whether we’re walking the talk. We absolutely are.
Your UK team won a top-three spot on Breathe HR’s Culture Leaders List. How does your own mindset shape company culture?
I have a fundamental belief that people value honesty and fairness. We're careful with money, but we'll always invest in what really matters, like flexible working, mental-health support, work-life balance and professional growth. That emphasis on care is why we landed on the Culture Leaders podium, something we continue to be proud of.
What’s your message to Indian founders who haven’t set up a share scheme yet?
Don’t wait until the first big fundraise. Start small, share fairly and watch how quickly people rally around the mission.
If you think true value will only be created by you and your co-founders… think again. And if you think it's too hard or expensive - talk to us! Setting up a scheme on Vestd India will be easier and cost less than you think.
Finally, after everything you’ve achieved, what still gets you out of bed at dawn?
Simple: seeing great ideas come to life in the form of a successful business… with everyone who was key to its success being vested in it! And then able to share in the fruits of that success. When a customer tells me their entire team paid off their mortgages, or a founder says the team stayed the course because they felt like owners, that’s the real dividend.
And we’ve barely started our journey in India. The next decade is going to be something very special!