TheCconnects: Can you tell our readers a little about your professional journey & how did you come to your current role/position?
Ravi Mittal: I started my career at age of 16, dropped out of college, and started working with my father’s manufacturing company. However, things didn’t work out and I was looking to build something in the B2C consumer internet space. Having myself seeing a problem of finding the right dating website in 2010, decided to rent a small 2BHK and hired a small development team to build QuackQuack. Today, QuackQuack has 17 million users, more than 10 million app downloads, and is also the fastest-growing dating app in India. We add about 330,000 new users every month.
TheCconnects: Who has influenced you the most in life and why?
Ravi Mittal: My father has been my inspiration throughout. He has guided me with the right business sense and how to keep the focus customer-centric.
TheCconnects: What are the biggest challenges you have faced in your life & how did you overcome them?
Ravi Mittal: Running a startup is not easy and there are challenges you have to face when you run a company. At the very early stage, we faced issues with getting payment gateways as it was not easy for a dating app to get a payment gateway as it was considered high risk. We, however, came through it. Our current challenge is the enforcement of a 15% commission by Google on in-app purchases and a pretty big battle for digital startups in India like us.
TheCconnects: What lessons you have learned from your professional career?
Ravi Mittal: Quite a few! While no two businesses are the same, sometimes the broader concepts and principles of different businesses are the same, meaning something you learn in x business can be applied to y business. I’ve also learned that you should hire and fire quickly if it isn’t working for you. Being honest with your team is important and hiring talent based on their skills and not looking at lower salaries as parameters for hiring.
TheCconnects: What do you see as the biggest challenge for brands in the digital space?
Ravi Mittal: The digital space is expanding and as marketers and advertisers, there is so much more one needs to do to grab the attention of the audience. Not only digital ads, but brands also have to now invest in influencer marketing, YouTube marketing, brand shoutouts, collaborations, video marketing, PR, and a lot more. So, running a startup, especially in the B2C space has required more work in the digital space.
TheCconnects: How your product/solution can help to resolve the pain points of your customers?
Ravi Mittal: QuackQuack is a dating app and is targeted toward singles in India. We add over 330,000 new users every month and over 18 million chats happen each month. We have been helping singles in metros and Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities mingle and find partners they can chat with and meet over a date.
TheCconnects: Do you have any advice for those who want to become a chief executive officer?
Ravi Mittal: Don’t focus on the competition. Focus on how you can improve your product, your brand visibility, and improve your KPIs. Focusing too much on the competition will divert you from what you’re building.
