Yesterday was Ugadi / Gudi Padwa (and many other spring festivals across India). I was enjoying lunch with a few friends and somewhere between a rant about the state of Bollywood and our different cultures, the conversation turned into a debate about what India should do vs what India really wants.
Meanwhile, a quiet escalation was unfolding at work. One of our customers (no names here) saw a massive traffic spike on their app. Escalations started coming in. Turns out, the app helps people create image creatives for WhatsApp — the kind you see in family groups wishing “Good Morning” and “Happy Diwali”.
What surprised me: this app sees serious volumes. It serves a real need. And most people I know have probably never heard of it. Almost like a Canva — but built for the rhythms of small towns, vernacular culture, and WhatsApp-native users.
I found myself saying, half-jokingly:
Indira Nagar is rooting for “that” shiny app. The rest of India is running their business on Whatsapp
It’s a sharp contrast to the kind of apps that dominate pitch decks and headlines. A quiet reminder that the most interesting businesses often start with problems many of us laugh off, until they’re too big to ignore.