Rahul 🌚

I talk to myself here | IPL CHAMPIONS 🏆🏆

[Rahul 🌚 @rhul_05]

@shricoder @barca_coded Messi fan looking like my twin

[Rahul 🌚 @rhul_05]

@cheeesecakees Baxball needed flat pitch to save their series, side effect of that

[Rahul 🌚 @rhul_05]

@yodontcalmdown TA? Let's go champ

[Rahul 🌚 @rhul_05]

@_zeroxinfinity_ 8 hours omg what did you do

[Rahul 🌚 @rhul_05]

@icecreammylyf Where's the final product

[Rahul 🌚 @rhul_05]

@Keerthhanaaaa She should go back to work. Will solve more than one problem for her

[Rahul 🌚 @rhul_05]

@yodontcalmdown

[Rahul 🌚 @rhul_05]

@ethiopiancheri drop

[Rahul 🌚 @rhul_05]

@Pivot2Centre In France of all the countries that too

[Rahul 🌚 @rhul_05]

@watARSHmelon They just dialed back the entire process by 2 years. Waste of time

[Rahul 🌚 @rhul_05]

@Meeenakshiiii We relied on an all-rounder to be our main bowler especially in the death. Then went on to buy Jamieson. Gave away chahal. Hesson masterclass gets covered up nicely

[Rahul 🌚 @rhul_05]

@Keerthhanaaaa very sharp memory lol

[Rahul 🌚 @rhul_05]

@ScribblinSprrow what are those theories

[Rahul 🌚 @rhul_05]

Becoming a payments product in India is extremely difficult, RBI is the most aggressive global regulator on this topic. Ask paytm and countless others, it's almost impossible to make it work.

[Sugandha @sugandhanisa]

It’s not that complicated. WhatsApp may seem like a global product but effectively it’s not. India is WhatsApp’s only “viable” market, with both the numbers and the consumer habits to make it a possible lifeboat for Meta’s otherwise flailing position as a tech company. Kunal himself has commented previously on India being the world’s DAU farm (which is true).

WhatsApp has already maxxed out its business product in India (no other country’s consumer or regulatory bodies would permit or tolerate the level of spam India deals with on WhatsApp) as well as its ads product (there are ads even between stories now, ffs, in a private messaging app).

The only lever that is yet to be maxxed out is its payments product which launched in India a few years back. Considering the growth of India’s digital microtransaction economy and corresponding consumer habits, it’s tempting to consider that WhatsApp has the chance to outdo every payment product in the region.

All of this narrows down the executive search quite a bit. The $900M investment is not only for Kunal, it’s for the intellectual property he brings about India’s fintech (a headache for global executives everywhere) and Indian consumer habits, from the homegrown CRED. It’s actually a small price considering UPI hit ~230B transactions last year, 33% increase y-o-y. I believe the microtransaction economy is projected to reach $600B in less than a decade. If that’s even fractionally true, it’s a small price for a strong hire. About half of that $900M is going to be new fuel for the company (which will certainly buy CRED good runway), the rest helps investors get an exit.

I surmise WhatsApp is planning to become a fullblown payments product. Messaging + microtransactions has anyway been the trend in Indian consumer products. Bad news for the local fintech startup economy. Worse news for the consumer, imho.

It may be time for someone to build the next messaging app for friends and families. It’s been a while.

[Rahul 🌚 @rhul_05]

@divya_16_ @BefittingFacts Ai lol easy to spot

[Rahul 🌚 @rhul_05]

@threeoneonetwo Nah it's more like windsurf

[Rahul 🌚 @rhul_05]

@watARSHmelon We saw it for Chennai metro, this approval won't come anytime soon. Better for the state government to start the construction with its own funds and adjust later

[Rahul 🌚 @rhul_05]

@Nirva_999 @Samindher_ Ai idi

[Rahul 🌚 @rhul_05]

@twisaurusss All the best!

[Rahul 🌚 @rhul_05]

@sujithag Maybe Fantasy