Connecting the world: How mTap is making networking easy

Roopak Gupta, a seasoned entrepreneur, knows how crucial it is to maintain business relationships.

But keeping track of interactions across phone, in-person and online settings can be overwhelming for anyone. To simplify networking, Gupta embarked on a journey to create mTap, a digital business card and contact exchange solution.

His vision was to make it easy for users to consolidate their digital footprints and enhance their social equity.

“Making a lasting impression and building meaningful connections in the fast-paced digital world is crucial for professionals. Traditional methods of networking, such as exchanging business cards, can be cumbersome and often result in missed opportunities,” Gupta, Founder and CEO, mTap tells YourStory.

The digital business card startup was founded in the US in 2022 and was launched in India in January 2024.

Before launching mTap, Gupta founded US-based Hureka in 2013. Hureka helps entrepreneurs incubate their ideas into products and provides custom mobile and web application development as well as digital marketing services. 

His second venture, mTap, has over 14,000 registered users, with around 7,000 in the US and 1,000 in India, and the rest from around the world.

Onboarding users hasn’t been easy, especially in a market like India.

The New Delhi-based startup had to educate the users on the value proposition of digital business cards.

“This required demonstrating the clear advantages of digital cards, not just in convenience but also in enhanced features and environmental sustainability,” the founder says

“Additionally, ensuring seamless technological integration across various devices and platforms was another hurdle,” he adds. 

The digital business card market in India currently has players such as Indore-based TapOnn Digital and New York-based Mobilo. According to Gupta, mTap stands out from its peers by providing advanced features like auto follow-up messages, reminders, and notifications to maintain communication with prospects and clients.

Digital networking 

mTap’s digital business cards use NFC (near-field communication) technology for contactless sharing. This allows users to easily share profiles, social media links, and other digital assets.

The platform has customisable templates, which enable users to personalise their cards to reflect their brand identity. Users can create digital profiles with unlimited links, a custom email signature, a profile QR code, and a lead form.

The platform also supports auto-follow-up messages, reminders, and notifications to maintain contact with prospects and clients.

Additionally, mTap facilitates the scanning of paper cards, offline QR code scanning, and efficient management of multiple profiles. 

The platform is compatible with both iPhone and Android smartphones, which means users can create personalised profiles with contact information, social media accounts, payment methods, and various digital assets without requiring an app for viewing.

Apart from digital cards, it offers a range of NFC-enabled products, such as stickers, and table stands, priced between Rs 500 and Rs 5,000.

Centralised data management

mTap can be integrated with CRM platforms, email marketing tools, and social media platforms. It automatically creates leads when a new contact is saved.

“The integration allows businesses to centralise customer data, track interactions, and automate processes, providing real-time insights and enhancing lead nurturing and customer service,” Gupta adds.

mTap operates on a freemium model. Users can create digital profiles with unlimited links, a custom email signature, a profile QR code, and a lead form without any subscription fees. 

For advanced features, users can upgrade to mTap Pro plans, which include multiple profiles, advanced fields, link analytics, auto follow-up, offline QR codes, and CRM integrations. These plans are priced at Rs 469 per month, Rs 4999 per year, and Rs 24,900 for a lifetime.

The startup has registered an annual recurring revenue of $1 million, with plans to reach $5 million by the end of the fiscal year.

mTap aims for global expansion. Initially, the startup wants to focus on India and the US, and has plans to subsequently expand into Mexico, Canada, the Middle East, and Australia.

Market and way ahead

The global digital business card market, valued at $163.5 million in 2023, is projected to reach $360.4 million by 2032, with a CAGR of 9.18% from 2024-2032, according to IMARC Group.

The bootstrap startup plans to raise funds by the end of next year.

mTap also aims to expand its platform into five languages including Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, and Tamil. It wants “to cater to India's diverse user base and improve the overall user experience by enabling access in their preferred language,” Gupta says.