8returns founder Nilaxsa Yoganathan on the FinanceFWD podcast
Nilaxsa Yoganathan becomes co-founder at 8returns. The former Zalando manager is set to drive product development at the returns start-up and further expand its platform for retailers.
"I Googled 'Startup Berlin' and ended up at Raisin" – 8returns founder Nilaxsa Yoganathan on the FinanceFWD podcast
Nilaxsa Yoganathan belongs to a new generation of founders who learned their craft in Berlin's fintech scene. She began her career at the investment platform Weltsparen before moving on to the investment app Trade Republic. In the podcast, she talks about her plans for her own startup 8Returns and about the envy towards Number26 in the early days.
She joined the young startup Weltsparen as its fourth employee and helped build the investment platform in its early years. "I definitely didn't know the word fintech back then," says Nilaxsa Yoganathan – she stumbled upon the fintech through a Google search, at a time when it was still operating under the radar. The founding team kept assigning her new responsibilities, and she eventually took charge of the corporate clients business.
During those years, Yoganathan also witnessed the rise of the banking app Number26, which was just launching at the time. "At first I found it inexplicable that a fintech could be so 'hot'," she says – with a business model familiar from Deutsche Bank or Commerzbank.
Scene celebrities back her startup 8returns
Through an acquaintance, her path led her to Trade Republic, which had not yet launched at the time. She had wondered why a model like Robinhood didn't yet exist on the German market. The Berlin-based company has since become one of the most important fintechs.
For Nilaxsa Yoganathan, the opportunity arose to found her own company: together with her co-founder Amin Ben Said, she is now building the software company 8Returns, which handles returns management for online retailers. Business angels such as former Ratepay CEO Jesper Wahrendorf, the Raisin founders, and Verena Pausder have invested in the young company.
The FinanceFWD podcast covers the company's fintech plans and its portfolio at Trade Republic and Weltsparen.
In the FinanceFWD podcast, Yoganathan talks about …
… her start at Raisin after graduating
… the hype around N26
… Trade Republic and the launch
… founding her own company
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