Open to all ideas that can make Hike the 'WeChat of India': Kavin Mittal

While we are inspired by WeChat heavily, we want to take all that forward and localise for the Indian market, says Kavin Mittal

Kavin Bharti Mittal never says never. From getting into a tie-up with Airtel to taking on Jio, to future partnerships with Paytm and Flipkart, Mittal is open to all ideas that will make Hike messenger the WeChat of India. On the launch of his new product, Total, a refined version of Android, Mittal tells Karan Choudhury that internet companies cannot work as islands anymore. Edited excerpts:

What is Total all about?

Total lets users access essential services such as messaging, news, recharge and more even without an active data connection and paves the way for them to get on data by providing packs as low as Rs 1. For the next billion true mobile-first users, coming online can be still be quite complicated and intimidating. Simplify, simplify, simplify. That’s all we’ve been doing. We’ve taken the 15-20 step process of someone coming online and made it into only a few steps. Buy a phone, turn it on, and you’re good to go. Everything, all the essential services, work out of the box even without data.

Airtel is partnering with you. You think they are trying to take on JioPhone through you?

I think Airtel has multiple strategies via which they are competing in the market and it sees this as one of the strategies, else it would not have worked with us. Same goes for Aircel and BSNL, they would have otherwise not worked with us to build the experience in such an intimate way. The cheap data packs show that. The Re 1 data packs we have -- the best in the market are Rs 4 -- so this definitely is one of the strategies, but not the only strategy. Airtel has the Mera Pehla smartphone. There is a lot happening there as well. We are just happy that it sees the potential of this platform.

You think you can be that over the top (OTT) player which the rest of the telecom players will use against Jio?

Jio is a telecom player, too. We have this belief, of bringing a billion people online. you cannot do it alone. You have to work with the whole ecosystem. We build great software, the telecom companies build great networks and the device companies build mobile phones and offer distribution. We believe it is a collective effort.

SoftBank Group is a major investor in your company. It also has stakes in Paytm as well as Flipkart. You think a coalition with these firms is possible in the long run?

Never say never, it is only natural for these islands to merge in the Internet space. You see it happening in the US and China. I think SoftBank sees the potential of the Indian market itself. That says a lot.

How are payments doing for you?

We announced last month that we were doing 10 million transactions per month. Ours is a micro transaction platform, that is what we are heavily focussed on. We have recharge, we have peer-to-peer and blue packets. We are bringing taxi booking, movie ticketing and a few more services on the Hike app. We are talking to the two major cab players. Anything can now be added to the app.

How far are you into creating a WeChat for India?

I think we have the basics in place, now the question is can we get more services on the platform. At the same time, with Total we are doing something different which has never been done anywhere in the world. While we are inspired by WeChat heavily, we want to take all that forward and localise for the Indian market.

Are you planning to bring video content on Hike?

We have Hike video content as part of news and cricket. We have a partnership with Hotstar for highlights of matches. Video is something we are working on. We are not going to produce content, that is a completely different business. We will partner with someone such as YouTube.

What are your plans on monetising? When are you going to break even?

The goal was to start thinking about monetising in 2018, experiment with monetisation in 2019, and hopefully make a meaningful revenue model in 2020.