Conversation with Shyam Tallamraju & Soumik Sarkar, Co-Founders of Hi Hello.
Tell us about your best and worst days at work
Shyam & Soumik: There is an India, and there is a Bharat. Understanding Bharat and its people require an understanding of both the pulse and the subtleties of regional flavour. As a result, the importance of marketing intensifies, so our best days are when we are able to successfully infuse that local flavour and pulse into our marketing communications. We spent at least 3-4 months traveling across the country visiting places like Prayagraj, Ludhiana, Bathinda, Kanpur, Tirunelveli, Madurai, Guntur, Vijaywada, Rajkot etc to deeply understand what appeals to the local youth in these cities. Interestingly, neither of us has ever used a dating app before, so it became even more important to build the right context before we built something for these unique Bharat users.
We have our share of bad days too when we struggle to get certain pieces right. Since we are still early in our journey, the learning curve involves a natural cycle of adding new features and tweaking existing ones. We are the first to create a product of this kind for an entirely new set of users, so we are in a discovery phase to determine what works and what does not in order to provide our users with the best possible user experience.
What do you do when you are not at work?
Shyam: I am an amateur runner, and my co-founder, Soumik, is into photography. I've been running for 7-8 years now, and I frequently participate in marathons. My motto is "Don’t overcomplicate your life, work, and problems at work." and I live by the hashtag "#FollowThePlan." Having a passion or a hobby outside of your work helps you lead a more disciplined and balanced life.
What is unique about your business?
Soumik: Even though we proclaim to not be very open to inviting strangers as guests into our homes, India is one of the major markets for Airbnb. We also hear how Indians don't like to take credit, and even then, the FinTech industry here is thriving. So, why are 92% of the Indian audience excluded from love and relationships? There are no dating apps that support local languages; the majority of them are only available in English. We introduced Hi Hello to democratize 125 million non-English-speaking youth across 3,000 towns and cities beyond the top 10 markets.
If you had one piece of advice for someone just starting out, what would it be?
Shyam: There's no right time to start a business, in my opinion; it all depends on your convictions. If you think you have a technological solution that can bring about change, you should pursue it. I mean, I started my entrepreneurial journey at age 42.
How do you define success?
Shyam: I've been a part of the corporate world for more than 20 years, so personally, money has not been a precursor to success for me. Since I began my entrepreneurial career, I have learned that it is not a straightforward road to take. Therefore, I have grown to admire entrepreneurs who have taken chances to try new things and succeeded. For me, success would entail trying new things and succeeding at them despite all the turbulence.
What is your favourite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
Shyam: I don't have to report to anyone; it's great. Haha. On a more serious note, being an entrepreneur gives you a great deal of freedom. You get to take a call and be in charge of all your shots—hits and misses. Earlier, I felt as though I didn't have any skin in the game when I shared my thoughts and ideas. Independence is a huge source of empowerment. No matter how my day ends, I always wake up with a smile on my face, and that is what really makes all the difference.
If you had the chance to start your career all over again, what would you do differently?
Shyam: I wish I had started out as an entrepreneur sooner. Maybe it's about my generation, which started off in 2000–2010. We were told India is booming, but most of us back then chose not to be very adventurous. On the contrary, because the next generation has been born into the digital world, they are more willing to take chances. I still want to remain relevant, so that's another reason I do what I do today. If I stayed in the corporate world, I would be earning a seven-figure salary and holding the title of head of the department, but that wouldn't guarantee my relevance in light of the rapidly evolving technological developments.
Where do you see yourself and your business in the next 5-10 years?
Soumik: One of our long-standing goals for Hi Hello is to transform it into a verb and make it part of people’s common expression, and we will continue working towards this goal over the years. When it comes to relationships, India should say “Chalo Hi Hello karte hai” (Let's Hi Hello).
What kind of impact do you plan to create with Hi Hello?
Shyam & Soumik: We believe the time has come for Bharat to express themselves. It's a popular misconception that those who don't speak Hindi are less hip or tech-savvy. Bharat is ready, and we are confident that this decade will be the decade for them to be seen. With Hi Hello, we hope to contribute in a small way to this shift by bringing people together.