I recently went one-on-one with Rohit Arora, co-founder and CEO of Biz2Credit and Biz2X.
Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks, or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?
Rohit: I came to the U.S. from India in 2003 and enrolled in a master’s program at Columbia University. Before that, I had set up an incubator as part of a venture capital fund in Singapore, which I ran for three years – so I had a lot of ground-floor experience in entrepreneurship: how to build companies, raise capital, and how to spend that capital wisely. I started Biz2Credit and Biz2X with my brother in early 2008, just before the financial crisis. Over the years, what’s made us successful is our ability to understand technology, deploy new technology while being cost-efficient, and build a business with a strong balance sheet. That’s freed us from day-to-day investor pressure, but it’s also ensured that during any downturn, we’re ready to take advantage of the moment – whether that’s capturing market share, hiring better people, or investing more in branding. The biggest asset a business has, especially in the credit industry, is its longevity and ability to go through multiple credit cycles. That builds credibility that goes beyond the size of your book or the number of clients you have.
Adam: How did you come up with your business ideas and know they were worth pursuing? What advice do you have for others on how to come up with and test business ideas?
Rohit: When we started this company, my brother and I saw a big pain point for small and mid-sized businesses in getting access to capital in a timely and cost-effective manner. Business owners are busy people, trying to do too many things at once, and you can’t change that. What you can change is how they access capital. We looked at the solutions available and saw a gap where we could build something better. Initially, we thought Biz2Credit would be a solution mainly for immigrant-owned businesses, but after the financial crisis, we realized this was a problem for every business and an opportunity not just in the U.S. but globally. The global credit gap is close to $8 trillion, and in the U.S. alone it’s over $5 trillion. Biz2X came out of recognizing that the technology we’d built for Biz2Credit could also help our partners grow and improve access to lending within their own institutions. Part of growth comes from your ecosystem: the smarter your partners get, the more your business grows.
The best way to come up with a business idea is to ask: are we solving a real pain point, or is this a fad? Another piece of that is considering your total addressable market. If it’s very small, you could become a big fish in a tiny pond, and risk your idea not resonating with customers or investors. Consider whether the idea will fundamentally change the way you do business – we saw that sort of revolution with the internet, and we’re now seeing it with AI. Entrepreneurs also need to think carefully about funding. My view is you start on your own, test the idea, and only raise capital once it’s working. Never raise too much too fast. Growing into an inflated valuation is very hard, especially if a downturn hits. It takes at least 10 to 12 years to build a strong, sustainable business, so you need to know how much firepower you have and plan accordingly.
Adam: What are the key steps you have taken to grow your businesses? What advice do you have for others on how to take their businesses to the next level?
Rohit: My philosophy is that growth is intermittent. It doesn’t happen all the time, and it’s not like a spreadsheet where you plug in a formula and can expect to grow at the same pace every year. Growth has to be calibrated and done in a sustainable way, so that when there is a white space, you’re ready to reinvest and take advantage of new opportunities accordingly. Market uncertainty and downturns, at one level, are actually the best time to build and grow. But only if you’re prepared going in. A lot of VC-backed companies fail not because they don’t have good ideas, but because they’re not efficient in what they do. For many of them, the mindset is to chase growth at any cost, which rarely pans out in their favor.
You also have to understand your unit economics and your P&L. A lot of entrepreneurs shy away from that because they’re focused on strategy or raising capital or being the spokesperson for the company. All of that matters, but if you don’t understand the unit economics, you’ll either cut bad deals or end up in a position where the only path forward is continually raising outside capital. And that means spending more time managing investors than running the business. As General Patton said: the more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war. The time to prepare is before the crisis, not during it.
Adam: What are your best sales and marketing tips?
Rohit: Be truthful and be passionate about what you’re trying to sell. If you don’t believe in your product, you can’t expect anyone else to. Being collaborative and honest with your partners, your team, and your stakeholders is equally important. You build credibility over time, and you can’t maintain that if you’re reacting in a knee-jerk way or shying away from difficult conversations. You have to be willing to address hard issues, cut your losses when needed, and pivot, even when it makes you uncomfortable.
Adam: What are the most important trends in technology that leaders should be aware of and understand? What should they understand about them?
Rohit: AI is the defining trend right now, and I think it will totally change the way businesses operate, from productivity levels to delivery mechanisms and decision-making. But the critical question is how you adapt to it before market forces give you no choice. What we saw during the internet boom and bust is instructive. The companies that failed weren’t necessarily building bad technology. Many were just investing too much, too fast, in things that weren’t solving real problems. The ones that survived, like Amazon and Google, were solving for real needs. AI will follow the same pattern. The operators who integrate it into their workflows early and intentionally will have a significant advantage. Those who wait will find the gap very hard to close.
Adam: In your experience, what are the defining qualities of an effective leader? How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?
Rohit: Staying educated and paying attention to what’s happening in the market and the real world is essential. Talk to your clients, prospective customers, and people on the ground – keep your ego in check, because I’ve found that arrogance fuels a lot of failures. The ability to pivot is equally important. Being resilient is part of entrepreneurship, but resilience is not the same as being dogmatic. There’s a fine line between the two. Some things won’t work out, and being able to recognize that, cut your losses, and move on is just as valuable a skill as persistence. And maintain equanimity. Good times and bad times don’t last. If you get too excited during good times or too discouraged during bad times, you’ll lose the respect and confidence of your team. What I’ve seen is that people respect a leader who is honest with them and can see around corners, to things beyond the bend that the team might not be able to anticipate.
Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading, and managing teams?
Rohit: You have to lead by example. You cannot ask your team to work long hours or weekends if you’re not willing to do it yourself. Lead from the front: roll up your sleeves, get work done on the ground, and pay attention to what’s happening day-to-day so you can anticipate changes before they catch your team off guard. The other thing I’d emphasize is honesty. People respect a leader who tells them the truth far more than one who just projects optimism. And when you’re honest with your team about what’s coming, it motivates them to focus. They know what they’re dealing with, and they know you trust them with that information. That builds real loyalty over time.
Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives, and civic leaders?
Rohit: For entrepreneurs: resilience is non-negotiable, but don’t confuse it with stubbornness. The entrepreneurs who last are the ones who stay even-keeled, pay close attention to the macroeconomic environment, and are willing to change course when the facts call for it. And never lose sight of your unit economics. A lot of entrepreneurs are so focused on growth and raising capital that they forget a sustainable business needs a positive foundation underneath it. Growth matters, but so does survival.
For executives: always have efficiency and adaptability in mind to keep driving success for your business. Ask yourself constantly: what resources do we have, how are we allocating them, and are we getting smarter every day? AI is changing what’s possible at the operational level; it can handle financial monitoring, benchmarking, cash flow planning, even contract review – things that used to require significant headcount or outside professionals. Executives who are not actively integrating these tools into their organizations are already falling behind. The gap between those who adopt early and those who wait is going to widen significantly.
For all leaders: think long-term, and build for resilience rather than just one moment. The businesses and institutions that have lasted earned it by navigating multiple cycles, both in good and bad times. The instinct in leadership is often to project confidence and optimism. Those things matter, but so do the unglamorous aspects of being a leader: doing the hard preparation work before a downturn hits, being willing to make difficult decisions without shying away from them, and maintaining the steady, even-keeled presence that gives the people around you confidence even when you don’t have all the answers.
Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?
Rohit: Cut the noise. People get too enmeshed in peripheral noise and start doubting themselves. As an entrepreneur, you will undoubtedly get a lot of unsolicited advice, and some of it might be worth listening to. But learn how to synthesize it, stay focused on the macro picture, and then decide your own course of action. Don’t change your position without facts or data to back it up, because that creates uncertainty for everyone around you. And let things play out. Not every situation requires an immediate decision. Some things will resolve themselves if you’re patient enough to let them. Knowing the difference between when to move fast and when to wait is something that comes with experience, and it’s one of the most valuable things I’ve learned.
Adam: Is there anything else you would like to share?
Rohit: The opportunity in small business lending has never been more real to me than it is right now. When my brother and I started Biz2Credit in 2008, we built it around the simple belief that small and mid-sized businesses deserved better access to capital, faster and more efficiently than what traditional institutions were offering. Almost two decades later, the credit gap is still enormous, and the need has only grown more complex with rising rates, changing technology, and a more fragmented global economy. The entrepreneurs we work with every day are navigating real pressures and making hard decisions about how to grow and succeed in today’s market. They deserve institutions that are as adaptable and resilient as they are.
