@Chingari_IN App has achieved a remarkable milestone, currently securing the 6th position among the Top Social Grossing apps & Overall Top 16 Grossing apps🚀🚀 A week ago we held the 8th position on the list of Top Social Grossing apps 😊
@srinualavilli@BMTC_BENGALURU I don’t think
So whenever there’s a CAB and Auto driver strike
You better visit the local area and will come to know that it’s not bcz of us!!
Dating as a category was just the start, presenting the all new @Chingari_IN app which will showcase how 1-1 video calls and live streaming will playout across different verticals, with profitability and our web3 token $GARI we will win this crowded space!
Today @Chingari_IN is 8th most top grossing app in the social category in India - We are finally profitable and will do business with our monthly revenues now on. Not burning VC cash anymore or need to raise to sustain business. We still have few million USD left in the bank, which we have kept aside for the rainy days.
Had to take some very hard decisions, had to let a lot team members go, had to cut down costs everywhere, become lean and frugal again.
Key Lessons learnt in the last 3 years -
1. We tried to copy the spending culture of our competitors, who had raised 10x more money than us, without realizing its a road to no-where. In the Early days of Chingari, my focus used to be growth, growth and growth at all costs, we spent a lot of cash on in-organic user acquisition, without thinking about monetization or a solid business model, thinking if we show growth, money will come. In 2022 Markets turned, mid of 2022 even though we were growing at 500K downloads a day, no VC would take a bite as there was no clear monetization plan. I realized this wont lead us anywhere, reduced all inorganic media buys, focused on quality user acquisition, users who can be monetized. Today we are spending less than 1 crore a month on user acquisition with LTV to CAC at 4:1. Its still early as we turned on this monetization around May 2023. However the early numbers are good and it will only get better from here. Profits from every month will be invested back to growth.
2. Hiring Super Fast - When we raised funds, specially around GARI launch, we had raised lots of capital. We thought oh now we will become a big company, we need to hire professional people across the board, this was our biggest mistake, along with the good guys, we actually hired a bunch of corporate bozos who just came, did nothing , gave corporate Gyan and warmed chairs all day and left. I later realized hiring at that speed was a big mistake, these corporate guys only gave Gyan like they will change this world, but delivery of work was 0. Trust me these people are everywhere, they will talk like they are the smartest of folks, very polished and smooth talkers, but end of the day you will realize they are only good for talking and will deliver nothing. Eventually we fired them but learnt lessons the hard way. I would recommend to be slow and careful while hiring people, even when you have raised excess capital, we overspent on a lot of these people only to realize we could have done better.
3. B2C is Hard - Building a successful B2C business is hard man :) That too building B2C is india is really really hard. Hatsoff to all the Indian founders who have pulled it off from India in the B2C space and built large companies. Figuring a viable business model is super hard, first you pay Google/FB to acquire users, then you pay Google/Apple 30% tax on all the store billed payments , then you also pay 18% GST on your income from users, you have to manage your business expenses from whatever is left from this and become profitable, like Chingari is today :)
I am thrilled to share that @Chingari_IN is on a meteoric rise, making its mark as one of the top 8 grossing apps in the @GooglePlay ! And guess what? We're aiming even higher, with our sights set on the top 3 in no time 🚀 🚀
I had the privilege of engaging in thought-provoking discussions with distinguished industry professionals during the recent @YourStoryCo#TechBlaze event. The exchange of ideas and insights was truly fascinating and valuable!!
@Chingari_IN has achieved a momentous feat by surpassing 100 million downloads on the @GooglePlay. This outstanding accomplishment truly showcases the app's remarkable growth and popularity, propelling it to reach new heights of success 🚀🚀
https://t.co/gEzeb0MvTS
🤩 Thank you to the hardworking, innovative projects on Aptos like @Chingari_IN for choosing Aptos as the place to build your big ideas.
When you don’t have to compromise on speed, gas costs, reliability or scalability - you can build killer apps used by millions globally.