At neo-banking platform Open, Deena Jacob is marrying old-school finance with the audacious rules of the startup universe
I have been fortunate to have been a part of startups that are built with their heart and human touch: Deena Jacob, CFO, Open
Image: Nishant Ratnakar for Forbes India
Back in 1997, growing up in Mallappally, Kerala meant that one would either take up medicine or engineering as a profession. Keeping this in mind, Deena Jacob opted for science in high school, studying physics and mathematics. Though she enjoyed both subjects, Jacob felt her calling was in business and commerce.
Soon after school, she started preparing for the Chartered Accountants (CA) foundation course. “No one in my family was into commerce, so I didn’t even know what CAs do and what accounts look like,” recalls Jacob. But she took it up as a challenge, since she had always loved watching and understanding businesses. “Nine months into preparation for the foundation course, I still didn’t understand what debit and credit meant,” she says laughing.