# Kush Taneja

> Kush Taneja is the co-founder of Fam, the company behind FamApp by Trio, formerly FamPay. An IIT Roorkee computer science graduate, he and classmate Sambhav Jain moved from a campus dining app to a payments product designed first for Indian teenagers. FamPay entered Y Combinator's Summer 2019 batch, crossed two million registered users within eight months of launch, raised a $38 million Series A in 2021, and later broadened into FamApp. Taneja was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia in 2021 and has also made early-stage investments.

- **Role:** Co-founder of Fam
- **Organizations:** Fam, FamPay, FamApp by Trio, Y Combinator
- **Education:** B.Tech in Computer Science, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Summer 2019 batch, Y Combinator
- **Known for:** Co-founded FamPay while completing college and entered Y Combinator's Summer 2019 batch., Helped FamPay reach two million registered users within eight months of launch., Raised a $38 million Series A for FamPay in 2021 with Sambhav Jain.

## Career timeline

- **2017** — With Sambhav Jain, built Appetiser, a campus mess-management app at IIT Roorkee that reduced food waste.
- **2018** — Began exploring financial literacy and payments for teenagers during the final year at IIT Roorkee.
- **2019** — Co-founded FamPay and joined Y Combinator's Summer 2019 batch.
- **2020** — Launched FamPay's app and numberless FamCard for teenagers, with parental consent and oversight.
- **2021** — FamPay crossed two million registered users within eight months, raised a $38 million Series A, and won the Economic Times Startup Award for Best on Campus.
- **2021** — Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia in the Retail and Ecommerce category.
- **2024** — FamPay's broader product identity became FamApp by Trio, extending beyond a teen-only proposition.
- **2025** — Published personal essays and spoke to students at IIT Delhi, IIT Roorkee, IIT Madras and other institutions about the founder journey.

## Achievements

- Co-founded FamPay while completing college and entered Y Combinator's Summer 2019 batch.
- Helped FamPay reach two million registered users within eight months of launch.
- Raised a $38 million Series A for FamPay in 2021 with Sambhav Jain.
- Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2021 in Retail and Ecommerce.
- Won the Economic Times Startup Award 2021 for Best on Campus with FamPay.
- Co-created India's first numberless card aimed at teenagers.

## Latest updates

- **2025-05** — Wrote about presenting his founder journey with memes to students at IIT Delhi, IIT Roorkee, IIT Madras and other institutions.
- **2025-03** — Published observations from a 21-day trip in China focused on technology, efficiency and culture.
- **2025-01** — Appeared in a 69-minute Always Young Show conversation covering his early life, IIT, FamPay, business and AI.
- **2025** — Listed with Sambhav Jain in the Avendus Wealth-Hurun India Under 30 2025 report for FamApp by Trio.

## Links

- Website: https://kushtaneja.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamkushtaneja
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/iamkushtaneja
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamkushtaneja/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/kush-taneja
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-28