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pathik | 12 years ago

Not really. We don't believe ads are the best way to monetize. And anyways, why create a beautiful UX and then plaster ads on it?

We'll start looking at that once we hit a certain critical mass, but in much smarter ways. Right now, all focus is on growth and engagement.

PS: I'm the growth hacker at hike.

discuss

orangethirty|12 years ago

Growth hacker, eh? Tell me one thing: how do plan to recover the cost of sending the sms? You cant really call it growth when you are losing money on every user.

pathik|12 years ago

Well, to enter and grow so fast in such a competitive space, you've to differentiate yourself from your competition.

Our differentiators are: 1. A beautiful UX/design 2. The ability to message everyone through hike/SMS

#1 works everywhere and has driven growth for us globally. #2 combined with #1 gives us a compelling proposition for Indian users, the first market we intend to dominate. It's very powerful for a market like India where more than 80% mobile users have yet to experience data.

The unit economics in the long term are quite favorable and we expect to have a positive average LTV across the user base.

It's going to be tough, but we're betting we can do it. Just wait and watch. ;)

kbmittal|12 years ago

Almost every consumer business in the Internet space loses money initially on every customer no matter how small or big. Else there wouldn't be a need for VC industry now would there? :). Having a viable business model is important and we have a few that we believe will work well. Time will tell (Hint: Not ads)

(Creator @hikeapp)

arkitaip|12 years ago

Maybe having a viable business model should be a top priority from the start. The only way this approach to starting companies makes sense is if you're aiming to get acquired from the very start.

pathik|12 years ago

We do have a lot of ideas in mind, but in a space like this, you can start looking at monetization only after you've hit a certain critical mass in terms of user base.

Ultimately, it's going to be a "content and connections" play, but the initial focus has to be on growth, otherwise you're just putting the cart before the horse. :)

artursapek|12 years ago

Tell your marketing team that your home page video is hilariously lame, and unrealistic.