Following India’s complete prohibition on real-money gambling (RMG), Bharti Airtel scion Kavin Bharti Mittal is closing his 13-year-old firm Hike. In order to concentrate on international markets, including the US, UK, and Australia, Mittal had already announced ambitions to leave India.
In a statement on the mailing platform Substack, Mittal stated, “After regrouping with our investors and the team, I’ve made the difficult decision to wind down Hike completely.” He said that the company’s US operations, which were only started nine months ago, are going well. But following the ban in India, expanding internationally would necessitate a complete overhaul, which is not the most efficient use of time or money.
According to Mittal, Rush employed over 100 people and functioned as a group of “SWAT teams” in India, the US, Dubai, and Singapore, as he told Moneycontrol last month. Small, highly competent, and agile teams that swiftly resolve complicated or urgent issues are frequently referred to as SWAT teams in the corporate world.
Hike’s Network and Growth in India
Before shutting it down in January 2021, Hike, which began as a messaging service in 2016 to compete with market leader WhatsApp, reached 40 million monthly active users. Later, the business changed course and started developing Rush, a casual RMG platform. In addition to including Web3 technologies that allow user ownership and play-to-earn principles, it included 14 mobile games with a financial component.
India’s Real-Money Gaming Ban and Its Impact
The new online gaming law in India forbids online money games in which a user deposits money, either directly or indirectly, in the hopes of making a profit. “RMG was never the destination,” Mittal said in the piece, but rather a “way to test unit economics and traction in India while working towards a bigger vision.” “In hindsight, starting in India locked us into the model and regulatory headwinds, turning a temporary path into a more permanent one,” he stated. Although it may be ahead of its time, Mittal stated that the “vision for Gaming Nation is real.”
“In gaming and Web3 Company 2.0, the world will eventually shift towards a nation-type model. We don’t want to recreate India, where we hoped for clarity that never materialised, but crypto legislation is still evolving globally,” he said. He went on to say that there are greater chances to use outstanding talent and money, as well as more pressing issues to address. Sunil Bharti Mittal, the founder and chairman of Bharti Enterprises, the parent company of Bharti Airtel, is the father of Kavin Bharti Mittal.
Quick
Shorts
•Hike was planning expansion in US, UK, Australia,
but ban forced full wind-down.
•Rush (Hike’s gaming unit) had 100+ employees across
India, US, Dubai & Singapore.
•India’s new online gaming law bans
money-deposit-based games.
•Launched in 2016 as a messaging app; Hike hit 40M
MAUs before shutting in Jan 2021.
Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verifiedinformation ondifferent startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by Hike.
Development in the communication sector has been fast and amazing. From letters to landline phones; from pagers to smartphones, we have come a long way. And now, one of the most loved ways of communicating is messaging apps, which are making communication not just easy but fun too!
Speaking of the most trending messaging apps, one name that we won’t afford to miss is the Hike Messenger app owned by Kavin Bharti Mittal. With over 100 million users, this homegrown messaging app of India has given fair competition to WhatsApp, the world’s most preferred messenger app. Founded by Kavin Bharti Mittal in 2012, Hike Messenger was once a billion-dollar startup. However, it failed to capitalise on the headstart it received, and slackened down through the years ultimately to be shut down.
Hike Messenger is Officially Shut down and has been removed from Google Play Store and Apple App Store. However, the company still exists. Yes, though Hike has been shutdown as a messenger, the company has not stopped altogether. It is currently aiming to build a web3 gaming platform (Rush Gaming Universe), and might also successfully pivot. Of its messaging platform, the Hike Stickers can still be used though on other platforms like Signal, Whatsapp, and Telegram by downloading “Stickers by Hike”.
The company has constantly looked for monetisation plans through which it would be benefitted and had also pivoted on numerous occasions, but it failed on most occasions. The Hike messenger app certainly failed with the tough competition it got from Whatsapp. However, there was one occasion where it tried to create a super app, it focused on Hike Sticker Chat, it turned the way of gateway for microtransactions with HikeLand, and has finally decided to launch Vibe and Rush in 2021, with a complete focus on multiplying the app revenues.
Read on to know more about this successful Indian startup, its founder, startup story, business and revenue model, its current revenues, competitors, funding and investors, growth, acquisitions, future plans and more.
Hike Messenger Officially Shuts Down (Latest News)
Hike shut down its messaging service, by shifting its focus to two new social products—Rush and Vibe. It was rebranded as Hike Sticker Chat with a sticker-centric experience in April 2019
11/ Finally → StickerChat by hike.
Millions of users spending 35 mins / day.
A very loyal user base that has been a fantastic launchpad for us to bring our innovations to the market → HikeMoji & HikeLand.
On January 6, 2021, Hike informed its users that it will be shutting down its messenger and was given a deadline till January 14 to migrate their data.
Kavin Mittal didn’t give a reason for shutting down the service, Mittal tweeted that global network effects are too strong for India to have its own messenger.
India won’t have its own messenger.
Global network effects are too strong (unless India bans Western companies)@telegram UX, Groups better than @signalapp
Both are very good. As entities they have the right incentives (more aligned with consumers) unlike FB products.
Hike is an Indian app and essentially is a cool messaging platform for chatting with funky and killer stickers that came in to innovate the messaging world. Hike, founded in 2012 by Kavin Bharti Mittal, was the first messaging and social technology company made in India. Some of the features of Hike are:
Two-way option: This option on Hike enables the users to add or accept the contacts before messaging and also the application has security measures that allow the users to prevent messages from strangers.
Offline messages: The users can receive message notifications even when the mobile data is disabled.
Free SMS: Hike messenger allows its users to send free SMS to any given number.
Theme-based interface: The whole idea of Hike is having conversations using some interesting graphic mediums like reaction stickers etc.
Hike Messenger introduced HikeLand
Tencent-backed Hike Messenger has introduced a new offering called HikeLand which is a mobile virtual world where people can participate in many activities. HikeLand allows users to hang out with their friends and watch videos together in a virtual environment. The move has come when sharing experiences via social networks has strengthened due to people staying at homes.
The early preview of HikeLand includes two shared experiences – ‘Home’ and ‘Big Screen’.
It explained that the home screen will be only for the user themselves, more like a private space. In this mode, users can watch YouTube videos and talk about it with another user. There will be eight themes to choose from and the home screen can be customized depending on the likes of the user. No one who is uninvited can enter this room.
The Big screen, on the other hand, is unlike Home and is more open. Hike’s Big Screen allows users to watch videos with other people. To start with, Big Screen is currently powered by YouTube and would be running shows 24×7 around comedy, sports, and others. Users that enjoy similar content can be a part of it. While viewing the show/video of choice, users can find out more about others watching the same content through their profiles and even message them.
1/ We’ve been wondering why the world is still using decade old social experiences built for the 2G world – Messaging, Feed etc → It's time to move on
“With advancements in technology, so much is possible today that wasn’t even just a few years ago. The world has evolved, it’s time for social products as well. With HikeLand, we’re launching the world’s first mobile-first Virtual World. A brand new take on how people can hangout online, transcending beyond the limitations of the offline world”, Hike founder and CEO Kavin Bharti Mittal said.
The company said HikeLand is a homegrown product that has been built from the ground up keeping India in mind.
“It is an India-first product built for a mobile-first/mobile-only audience. Leveraging diversity of art skills and resources, HikeLand also brought together a design team of not only UI (user interface) and UX (user experience) but also fashion, art, and 3D artists”, it added.
Rush Gaming Universe
Hike introduced Rush Avatar. It would be debuting with Rush Avatar, which is planned to stand as an NFT and digital identity for the Rush users, thereby moving the Rush Gaming Universe to the blockchain on February 28, 2022.
The Rush Avatar NFTs would be offered by Hike for free to the most active members of its community, where the rarest editions would go to the most active members. Furthermore, it has also been decided that 10% of the Launch Edition’s supply would be further used for future community giveaways, NFT sales, and partnerships.
The messenger app company has previously tried to pivot via a super app business, where Hike planned to integrate the digital wallet, ticketbooking and ecommerce services into the app. However, this didn’t pay off well for the company, which is why it ended the same idea in 2019. hike then tried to run its Hike Sticker Chat, focusing on it largely, but even this didn’t materialize profitably for the company, and was shuttered in January 2021. HikeLand was the next venture that it tried, where Hike turned into a gateway for microtransactions, and in-app spending.
Launched in June 2020, HikeLand saw a good traction right form its testing days, where the users spent a minimum of 50 minutes in the app on an average. This is why the HikeLand idea was again integrated into Vibe and Rush. Hike launched Vibe and Rush in 2021, where:
Vibe is a rebranded version of HikeLand and offers interactive social media experiences to the customers.
Rush is a mini-games platform by Hike, which would offer the users casual gaming experiences that will include microtransactions.
Hike also has HikeMoji, which extends animated avatars for the users, and will further be incorporated into Vibe and Rush.
“With Vibe & Rush, we now have 2 Virtual Worlds that focus on a single ‘Job to be Done’ each thus simplifying the UX. A much better approach for today’s world that is unconstrained by cheap, fast data & powerful smartphones,” tweeted Mittal recently.
Before he started his venture, the founder of hike was studying Electronics and Electrical Engineering at the University of New York and then went on to Imperial College in London to study further. He first joined McLaren Racing as an Associate Vehicle Engineer Intern, after which he joined as an Associate Technology Manager at Google. Then it was Goldman Sachs that Mittal joined as Summer Analyst before founding Hike, where he is still serving as the Co-founder and CEO.
All of this was based on a basic insight to make the messaging module a little bit more interesting, and right when the world was busy chatting on Whatsapp and Facebook, Kavin, owner of the hike app, thought of coming up with a trendy and cool way of messaging. This is why Hike was launched on 12-12-12. It’s quite interesting that this application was made available in more than 100 countries ever since its launch.
Hike Messenger – Name, Tagline and Logo
Hike 4.0 launched on 26 August 2015 with the tagline ‘Got a Gang? Get on Hike’
Hike Logo
Hike ran a full fledged marketing and brand campaign across TV, radio, and Cinemas. The tagline for one of their TV ad was “Hike up your life” to convince youth to download the Hike app.
Hike Messenger – Business and Revenue Model
Hike Messenger believed in providing the users with an interactive social media chatting app that helped them to communicate and make their communication interesting via an amusing set of stickers. It later went on to build a virtual economy business model.
Hike’s operational revenues were disclosed to be Rs 13K in FY20, while its total revenues stood at Rs 11.9 cr during the same fiscal. Almost all of its revenue came from sources other than the operations of the company, which includes the interest income on fixed deposits, current investments and more. There was around 55% decline in the Hike revenues from FY19, where the messenger picked up revenues close to Rs 26.4 cr and around a 70% decline from Rs 39.6 cr revenues, which it pulled off in FY18.
Hike Messenger – User Acquisition
Operating in multiple countries can be a tedious task but Hike kept the users glued to the app using multiple marketing methods.
Following that, in August 2013, Hike launched its first-ever digital campaign which ran under the banner “keep your friends close”. The advertisement was a big hit and the users took it very well. Kavin knew that the key to any successful business is customer satisfaction. Hence the team started taking in real-time feedback from the users for further and better development of the product.
What also worked well for Hike was their tie-up with Airtel. They ran a scheme that if the user had an Airtel postpaid connection in India, they would be given free data for three months for using Hike Messenger. This campaign gave Hike the needed hike in their consumer base.
Hike also tied up with various brands like Dominos, CCD, Pizza Hut for discount coupons. This intrigued the actual customers and brought potential customers on board. With all these creative marketing strategies, Hike gained a base of 15 million loyal customers in just one year of inception.
Hike Messenger – Competitors
Hike Messenger competes with messaging platforms like WhatsApp, WeChat, Signal, Viber, and Telegram. All these platforms have a great market standing and each has its own set of user bases. Though Hike provides a unique kind of interface, it still faces cut-throat competition from these platforms.
Hike has raised over $261M in funding over 7 rounds. Their last funding was raised on Aug 24, 2021 from a Venture round led by Justin Mateen and Sean Rad. The round further saw participation from Kunal Shah, Binny Bansal, Softbank Vision Fund CEO Rajeev Mishra and others. Hike hasn’t disclosed the amount yet. After this, Hike recently received an undisclosed amount of funding from Jump Crypto, Tribe Capital and Republic Crypto, which came on May 6, 2022, and is reported to be utilised for its web3 gaming platform, Rush Gaming Universe (RGU). Developing RGU’s product strategy and hiring new talents across verticals would be the sole aim of the funding that Hike received via this Venture round.
The recent funds, according to the company, will be utilized to hire skilled employees across a wide range of sectors in order to improve the product strategy of Hike.
Date
Stage
Amount
Investors
May 6, 2022
Venture Round
–
–
August 24 2021
Corporate Round
–
Sean Rad, Justin Mateen
August 16, 2016
Series D
$175M
Foxconn Technology Group, Tencent Holdings
January 11, 2016
Venture Round
–
–
August 26, 2014
Series C
$65M
Tiger Global Management
March 31, 2014
Series B
$14M
Bharti Soft Bank
April 25, 2013
Series A
$7M
Bharti Soft Bank
Hike was launched in 2012 and soon after in the next year they raised $7 million from Bharti, SoftBank and others. This funding went straight into launching the most popular USP of the app – STICKERS to increase their customer engagement. In March 2014, Hike raised $14 Million from Bharti SoftBank, and put this money into more innovative features on the application, soon Hike crossed the 20 Million user mark. In August 2014, Hike again raised $65 Million from Tiger Global.
In January 2016, Hike raised an undisclosed amount in a venture round. Again, in August 2016, Hike raised around $175 million led by Tencent and Foxconn Technology Group in a Series D round. With this latest round of funding, the startup was valued at $1.4 billion and achieved the “unicorn” status. However, its valuation decreased eventually and it lost its unicorn valuation.
In just one year of its launch, Hike was rated #1 App on Android Playstore, iOS Appstore, and Windows Store and had a customer base of 15 million.
In 7 years, more than 35 million user base out of which 60% of the base is in India and the rest is in Germany, the Middle East, and other countries around the globe.
The Hike Messenger revenues dropped significantly in FY20, which was valued at Rs 11.9 cr lately in FY20. Along with its revenues, the company also witnessed a decline of its operational income, expenses and losses throughout the years.
Hike Operational Revenue Decline
Years
Hike Operational Revenue
FY20
Rs 13K
FY19
Rs 3.5 lakhs
FY18
Rs 51 lakhs
Hike Expenses Decline
Hike’s expenses and losses also dropped. However, this was rather due to the decline of its operations rather than its business growth. The company’s total expenses were noted to be Rs 193 crore in FY20, which is 16% and 56% lower than the previous years, FY19, FY18 respectively. The losses of Hike also declined at the rate of 12% YOY.
Years
Hike Expenses
FY20
Rs 193 cr
FY19
Rs 232 cr
FY18
Rs 439.2 cr
Hike Losses Decline
Years
Hike Losses
FY20
Rs 181 cr
FY19
Rs 205.8 cr
FY18
Rs 399.5 cr
The company spent around Rs 193 cr in FY20, which was 16% lower that what it expended in FY19, and around 56% lower than what it spent in FY18.
Hike Expenses Breakdown
Hike Expenses Verticals
FY20
FY19
Employee benefits
Rs 81.7 cr
Rs 109.3 cr
Server cost
Rs 31.8 cr
Rs 33.6 cr
Marketing expenses
Rs 23.4 cr
Rs 24.1 cr
In app costs
Rs 6.6 cr
Rs 4 cr
Facility expenses
Rs 4.3 cr
Rs 4.7 cr
Video usage expenses
Rs 5.3 cr
Rs 7.5 cr
The most interesting fact is that Hike was once valued at around $1.4 bn, and was also known as one of the fastest growing unicorn then, while it failed to generate any operational revenues back then.
Hike has acquired 3 organizations – CREO, InstaLively, and Thought Mechanics.
Their most recent acquisition was CREO on Aug 11, 2017. CREO is on a mission to build software that empowers every device to deliver new experiences every month. Thought Mechanics is a web development company acquired by Hike in January 2015. InstaLively helps broadcast your event Live in just a single click. Hike acquired InstaLively in June 2017.
Acquired
Date
January 2015
Thought Mechanics
June 2017
InstaLively
August 2017
CREO
Hike has invested in WinZO on Feb 22, 2019. This investment – Series A – WinZO – was valued at $5M.
Hike Messenger – Future Plans
Hike has officially called its social messenger to quits earlier in 2021 and has not been very active since then. However, the exponential growth that online gaming and the Crypto industry have witnessed has attracted the company, which is now looking to expand on those lines.
Hike has already forayed into the gaming industry by launching a social app, Vibe, and Rush, an online gaming app. The company is now looking to start its journey with cryptocurrency by offering crypto operations and services.
Hike rolled out the NFT avatars on February 28, 2022, with an eye on its blockchain gaming universe. It upped the game with Rush Avatar, which will be an NFT and digital identity for the users.
Kavin Bharti Mittal, Founder & CEO, Hike said, “With the Rush Avatar NFT, players will now own their digital identity in the RGU. This launch brings the Rush Gaming Universe on-chain and with it we plant the seeds to build a new game economy where consumers are owners.”
Monetisation is what the Hike platform is currently looking eagerly at. With the launch of Rush, Hike has already seeing the gaming experience gradually meeting its success. However, it will be interesting to note how Hike capitalists gaming boom and would earn its revenues ahead.
FAQs
What is Hike’s origin country?
Hike is a messaging app that originated in India, and was founded by Kavin Bharti Mittal.
Is Hike a Chinese app?
No, Hike is an Indian app.
Who is Hike Indian messenger app founder?
Kavin Bharti Mittal is the founder and CEO of Indian instant messaging app Hike, and also the son of business tycoon Bharti Mittal.
Who are the Hike investors?
Hike is mainly funded by investors Foxconn Technology Group, Tencent Holdings, Tiger Global Management, and Bharti Soft Bank.
What is Hike Timeline?
Timeline is an awesome hike feature where you can post photos and status updates.
What are Hike Rewards?
Hike Rewards helps you expand your network on Hike. Invite your friends using exclusive invites offered by Hike and earn rewards by sending and receiving stickers to your friends.
Earn points and redeem them for exclusive rewards and recharges.
Nothing fails like a failure, isn’t it? And when a made-in-India technology succumbs to global competition, it hurts even more. But let’s not get emotional or philosophical about it because that’ll blur our perspective through which this case must be studied & analyzed.
In short, This Happened to Hike Messenger –
Hike shut down its messaging service, by shifting its focus to two new social products—Rush and Vibe. It was rebranded as Hike Sticker Chat with a sticker-centric experience in April 2019. (Know the detailed perspective in the article ahead!)
Is Hike Messenger an overnight success story that had to fail due to its own business, technical inadequacies? No.
Was Hike’s success a fluke, a marketing gimmick, a modern day fad that lost its appeal over time? No, it wasn’t.
Then did it give in to the pressures of business from its rival tech giants WhatsApp & WeChat? Most likely yes!
Having said that, we must know that it isn’t easy to list down top 5-10 reasons for the supposed failure of a well established, popular, financially sound co… especially in a demography like that of India. It is so big & so diverse that there could be multitude of explanations as to why a good business idea/model failed.
Let’s try & capture a Few reasons of Hike’s failure keeping this inherent truth in mind.
Lets find out! What actually happened to Hike Messenger?
Hike within a few months of its launch in Dec 2012 by Bharti Enterprises, caught user’s fancy (users which comprise mostly youth below age 30) almost immediately. Millions of users got on it, 70 M by the end of Oct 2015. WhatsApp was picking up slowly but surely in India at the time. India being a huge market, there was undoubtedly enough space & scope for another co. to succeed. Hike did just that. It kept adding millions of users month over month with addition of cool smart features like free unlimited SMS called Hike Offline, in-app news, cricket scores, personalized stickers store unlike any other app; and added many superior tech features over time such as Hike ID, Hike Wallet, Hike Direct, Hike Web (some of these outperformed WhatsApp) to enhance user experience while keeping user privacy & security intact.
So what went wrong? Why couldn’t it sustain its user base unlike its rival WhatApp? What was unique about WA? Was it just the fact that it captured the booming market of mobile phone users before tech cos. could even realize and anticipate the potential of more than 1 billion market? Probably yes. Let’s analyze further.
Hike was being hailed as the youngest startup in India to get a unicorn title, with a valuation of over 1 Billion within just 4 yrs of launch i.e. around Aug 2016. Hike was most certainly the best & biggest competitor of other widely popular Instant Messaging apps. Then came Jan 2016, when Hike revealed to press that Facebookblocked an option in its ads which allowed users to visit Hike website. FB gave no confirmation but it admitted that certain products & services can’t be advertised on its platform. Smart business decision you’d say but cutting out competition from a Co. born on the land you’re doing business in, puts the blame on the state’s unfavorable policies, inadequate regulations & not-so-friendly business environment yet, more than it does on the company. But all is not so grim, Indian startup community has begun to get its fair share of financial, policy boost.
On January 6, 2021, Hike informed its users that it will be shutting down its messenger and were given a deadline till January 14 to migrate their data.
11/ Finally → StickerChat by hike.
Millions of users spending 35 mins / day.
A very loyal user base that has been a fantastic launchpad for us to bring our innovations to the market → HikeMoji & HikeLand.
Kavin Bharti Mittal, Founder of Hike Messenger did not clearly mention the reason behind this move but tweeted on Jan 10, 2021 about it vaguely as follows-
India won’t have its own messenger.
Global network effects are too strong (unless India bans Western companies)@telegram UX, Groups better than @signalapp
Both are very good. As entities they have the right incentives (more aligned with consumers) unlike FB products.
It is a fact though, given the dominance of American tech giants globally. There isn’t another China in the world, to refuse to bow down to USA’s shrewd business practices, as yet. Even Hike’s marketing team has to share the blame for its failure. Because while WhatsApp was growing leaps & bounds, why didn’t Hike get its fare share? Why wasn’t it as conspicuous & as much talked about as its rivals WA, Telegram or Signal etc? Why wasn’t there enough buzz around it?!
All in all, the fall of Hike is as remarkable as its rise. Needs detailed study, if the start-up scene in India has to improve.
Hike, the super app may have closed its flagship IM brand but it hasn’t gone out of business or ideas. It has split up into Vibe by Hike & Rush by Hike – its two next generation apps for its loyal user base. Vibe is a community based social media platform enabling friendship & dating over secure & verified platform. Rush is an online gaming app. Well, these apps will sure have takers but given the current market scenario which is flooded with such apps…Hike sure has to innovate to set its foot in the market even if doesn’t aim to beat Tinder or Nintendo.
Conclusion
Therefore, however deeply & multifariously you look into the reasons for a big Co’s success or failure, you are bound to miss an important development or phase that must have contributed to it.
Nevertheless, if you’ve an idea you trust, and willing to take risks, there are sea of changes taking place in every business / industry, especially in technology. India is on the road to development, and in the fast lane. Hence every innovation counts in bringing along the revolution that’s happening in digital space & beyond.
Last word – Failure sure hits hard like a rock, but if you use these very rocks & turn them into what they call ‘stepping stones’, you might meet success at the very next juncture. And a budding entrepreneur must always remember that there’s never a last opportunity, just a lost one!
Hike Messenger – FAQs
Hike App is from Which Country?
Hike is a messaging app originated in India. It is headquartered in Delhi.
Who is Hike Messenger Owner?
Kavin Bharti Mittal is the founder and CEO of Indian instant messaging app Hike, and also the son of business tycoon Bharti Mittal
What happened to Hike Messenger?
Hike Messenger is Officially Shut down and has been removed from Google Play Store and Apple App Store
When was Hike Messenger Launched?
Hike Messenger was launched in 2012.
What is Hike Messenger App?
Hike was essentially a cool messaging platform for chatting with funky and killer stickers that came in to innovate the messaging world
