We are building something India has needed for a long time.
Honest, fee-only personal finance guidance that works for ordinary people — not just those who can already afford a wealth manager.
Why we exist.
India has no shortage of financial content. What it does have is a shortage of financial content you can actually trust. Almost everything you read or watch online is funded, directly or indirectly, by the products being recommended. Commissions, affiliate links, sponsored posts, and brand deals have quietly become the default business model of financial media in India.
We think that is a problem. Not because every creator with a sponsored deal is dishonest, but because the incentive structure makes honest advice structurally difficult, even for the most well-intentioned.
Vessify is built on a different model. You pay us, or nobody does. That is the only way we know how to keep the advice clean.
Fee-only research. SEBI-registered (in progress). No commissions, no affiliate links, no sponsored recommendations. Ever.
Indians under 45 who want practical, honest guidance on what to actually do with their money. Not HNIs. The 28-year-old in Bengaluru or Pune figuring it out.
Starting with free tools and educational content. Moving into research-backed model portfolios and paid memberships once SEBI RA registration is confirmed.
Built by someone who has seen how money actually works.
“I spent over a decade advising Fortune 500 companies on deals worth billions. When my own family had a question about their retirement, they had nowhere honest to go. That is why Vessify exists.”
Suraj Shanbhag spent over a decade as a Vice President in investment banking, first at Nomura and then at Deutsche Bank, working across Mumbai, Melbourne, Chicago, and London. He was not learning about finance from a textbook. He lived inside it, advising some of the world's largest companies on how to move capital and structure transactions worth billions.
In 2023, he made a deliberate choice to step off the VP-to-MD track and come back to India. Family, presence, and building something that genuinely helps people mattered more than the next rung on the ladder.
During his years abroad, he consistently chose a practical car over a premium one, sensible housing over the most expensive he could afford. That is not because he could not afford otherwise. It is because he understood, from years inside the industry, that wealth is about security and options for your family, not what you post.
- CD&R’s USD 2.2bn acquisition and combination of Multi-Color Corp and Fort Dearborn
- KPS’s acquisition of Crown Holdings’ European packaging business
- AB InBev’s USD 3bn stake sale to Apollo Global Management
- Sale of Morton Salt and other Fortune 500 mandates
The people building this.
A small, focused team with real depth across investment banking, technology, cybersecurity, and content creation.
A former Vice President at Deutsche Bank and Nomura, Suraj spent over a decade advising Fortune 500 companies on cross-border M&A transactions across Mumbai, Melbourne, Chicago, and London. He returned to India in 2023 to build Vessify — a personal finance platform that gives ordinary people access to the kind of honest financial thinking he saw reserved for the world’s largest corporations.
Supriya brings a grounded, operations-first perspective to Vessify. She spent five years at Bank of Baroda in banking operations before stepping back to build a Footprints preschool franchise, which she continues to run today. Her experience navigating both institutional banking and independent business ownership gives her a practical instinct for what operational rigour actually looks like on the ground.
Krishna manages all content creation and social media for Vessify across YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn. A BCA student at Manipal University Jaipur, she brings hands-on experience managing social media and video editing for multiple brands simultaneously. She joined Vessify in January 2026 and leads all editorial output and channel growth.
Jothsana is a Computer Science student at Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Technological University and joined Vessify in January 2026. She works on the back-end infrastructure of the platform, bringing skills in Solidity, Ethers.js, and decentralised application development alongside prior experience with finance and trading concepts.
Several key members of our team are currently employed elsewhere and contributing to Vessify in a stealth capacity. They will be formally announced once they transition full-time.
A senior front-end engineer with nearly 10 years of experience building products at high-growth technology companies. Currently leading front-end at a Y Combinator-backed startup. Building Vessify’s technology foundation in stealth.
Full profile to be published on transition
A cybersecurity specialist with over 10 years of experience in embedded systems and advanced driver assistance technologies. Currently a senior lead at a global automotive group. Building Vessify’s security architecture in stealth.
Full profile to be published on transition
A full-stack developer completing his degree at a Mumbai-based engineering institution. Contributing to Vessify’s front-end development part-time while building skills in Next.js and full-stack web development.
Full profile to be published on transition
Where we are going.
We are building in stages, sequenced around what our regulatory status allows us to offer you at each point.
Free tools and content
90+ calculators, articles, and a YouTube channel focused on practical personal finance for Indians under 45. All free, no login required to start.
Research and model portfolios
Life-stage model portfolios, rebalancing alerts, and paid membership tiers for anyone ready to start building real wealth with proper research behind every pick.
Responsible. Transparent. Regulated (In Progress).
Stratus Selyn Enterprises Private Limited (CIN: U85101KA2024PTC190455), operating under the brand name Vessify, has submitted an application to SEBI for Research Analyst registration under the SEBI (Research Analysts) Regulations, 2014. Registration is currently pending SEBI approval. Until registration is granted, all content on this platform including articles, calculators, and model portfolio previews is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute regulated investment research, advice, or any recommendation to buy or sell securities. Investments in securities markets are subject to market risks. Please read all scheme-related documents carefully before investing. Past performance is not indicative of future results.