OTPless Elevates Co-founders Satyam Nathani and Tanmay Sagar as CEO and COO, as Bhavik Koladiya Steps Down
Bengaluru-based identity and access management startup OTPless has elevated co-founders Satyam Nathani and Tanmay Sagar to CEO and COO respectively, marking a leadership transition as incumbent CEO Bhavik Koladiya steps away from the role.
Here's the backstory that makes this transition interesting. Nathani and Sagar founded OTPless in 2023 after dropping out of IIT Delhi, and before that, both were founding members at BharatPe, where they played a role in the fintech company's early growth on its journey to becoming a unicorn. Koladiya, who joined as CEO in January 2023, had earlier co-founded BharatPe himself before later starting VC firm Finix Partners, so this is essentially a founder-built company returning to founder-led leadership after an experienced operator helped scale it.
The numbers behind this transition are genuinely strong. Under Koladiya's leadership, OTPless scaled to authenticate more than 300 million users and reached Rs 36 crore in annualised revenue, marking 2.5X growth over the previous year. The 12-member team has also been profitable for the past two quarters, a rare and notable milestone for a startup at this stage. Under the new structure, Nathani will lead strategy and expansion while Sagar takes charge of operations and execution.
The business itself is quietly critical infrastructure. OTPless provides authentication and identity solutions through technologies like Silent Network Authentication, WhatsApp Authentication, Device Intelligence and Passkeys, helping businesses reduce dependence on OTPs, PINs and passwords while improving fraud detection and conversion rates. Its client roster includes major consumer platforms like Meesho, Navi, PhysicsWallah, ShareChat, Shiprocket, ixigo and Zepto.
In his own words on LinkedIn, Koladiya described his journey, particularly the past four years as CEO, as "exhilarating and exhausting," while expressing confidence in Nathani and Sagar leading OTPless through its next phase of growth. He told Inc42 he plans to retire, without elaborating further on his future plans.
From dropping out of IIT Delhi to leading a profitable, 300-million-user authentication platform, Nathani and Sagar's return to the CEO and COO seats is a clean example of founders reclaiming the wheel once the scaling groundwork is done.
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— Sandeep Raiza