Axis Bank Startup Outreach: Bridging a Rate Gap to Close a Deal

Sugin was working on a push to bring startups and financial sponsors into Axis Bank's client base. The opportunity was clear: startups were an underserved segment for a bank of Axis's scale, and there was a product suite, including Axis Burgundy, Axis Capital, and wealth management, that could be relevant to founders.

The first real test came when the team landed a startup that was willing to engage. The credit team's rate was 20%, while NBFCs in the market were offering the same startup 14 to 15%. The gap was not a negotiating position; it was a structural constraint of how Axis priced risk on early-stage companies.

Sugin's research had already mapped the competitive rate environment, so he knew the gap going into the conversation. Rather than pushing the startup to accept the higher rate on its own merits, he reframed the value proposition around the full Axis relationship: access to Axis Capital for a future IPO, Burgundy private banking, and wealth management services that NBFCs could not offer.

The negotiation went back and forth. The startup owner was not immediately convinced, but the multi-service framing gave both sides room to move. The deal closed at 18%, a rate the startup accepted in exchange for the broader relationship, and one that Axis could work with given the cross-sell potential.