Regional content connects millions across India, says Ankush Sachdev, Co-founder, ShareChat

ShareChat's $100 million funding in September this year created buzz in the startup ecosystem. The regional language social platform explains how its razor-sharp focus on local content gave it a leading position in the industry.

Content is king and riding on this principle is ShareChat, the three-year-old regional language content sharing startup, which recently raised $100 million in funding and is creating waves in the Indian startup ecosystem.

Ankush Sachdev, Co-founder and CEO, ShareChat, shared the startup's journey to reaching 25 million monthly active users (MAU) at YourStory's flagship event TechSparks 2018 to a packed audience, who were keen to catch hold of every word this young entrepreneur spoke. Ankush Sachdev spoke about “Hitting the sweet spot of the New India – ShareChat’s audacious journey”.

Bengaluru-based ShareChat started by providing content in English but soon realised the greatest buzz was around local Indian languages.

Ankush says ShareChat's biggest USP has always been its simplicity. He says,

“Our idea has always been that from the first moment a user downloads the app, the user should understand it as quickly as possible and then we should retain the user.”

Also Read: ShareChat raises $100M from Shunwei Capital and others

ShareChat founders realised that hyper local content generates the strongest interest among its users. The company understood this through a minuscule focus on the user community, measuring the amount of time spent by users, the type of content discussion that generates the most engagement, and the ratio between daily active users and monthly active users.

“Our plan is to hold them for the long term,” says Sachdev.

The biggest learning for ShareChat founders has been understanding the nuances of local culture and having a ear to the ground. He says,

“We always have a tactical and experimental approach, where we change our decisions overnight.”

Speaking about the competitive landscape, Sachdev believes that unlike online shopping platforms, content apps in the market cannot be compared to each other or considered rivals as content differs considerably across different platforms.

“First, we need to capture the users' mind by providing valuable content and then one can get the user,” he says, adding that ShareChat aims to take its 25 million monthly active users (MAU) to 100 MAU in future.

YourStory's annual extravaganza TechSparks brings together the best and the brightest from the startup ecosystem, corporate world, policy makers, and of course, the investor community. Over the years, it has grown to become India's most loved tech and startup platform for knowledge sharing and networking. The ninth edition of TechSparks also marks YourStory's 10th anniversary. A big thank you for all your support over the years and keep reading and watching YourStory.