Gupshup: A cockroach turned unicorn

Gupshup is a story of how a company once touted as India’s response to world’s social media apps emerged as leading B2B conversational service.

Gupshup, launched in 2007, had a loyal feat of 7 crore within 3 years of its launch. Its user base far exceeded that of Facebook and Twitter combined. Users could send text messages in their groups which could accommodate 10,000 members. But there was a problem here, Gupshup had to pay the telecom providers to facilitate these services. The reason Gupshup was ready to bear the cost on behalf of its user was to reap the benefits of network effects in the longer run. Which means larger the merrier as winner takes it all. Unfortunately, Gupshup could not compete with the global giants- thanks to integrated user interface facebook and twitter provided.

Roadblock #1

Gupshup had a plan to monetize these networks but it could not work out because of a regulation put forward by the government which prohibited placing ads in these messaging services.

But Gupshup was known for its agility and it decided to focus on a niche by entering into the B2B conversational services leaving the social networking space wide open for global companies. But then arrived another roadblock:

Roadblock #2

In 2013, Gupshup ran out of cash and had to make a choice between growth and investing in its tech infrastructure. Gupshup decided to prioritize improvements in its tech infrastructure taking a small dent at its pace of growth. This approached helped it to become profitable in near future, which is a rare phenomenon in modern Indian startup space. Such startups are known as cockroaches as profitability helps a startup to survive in extreme conditions.

Cockroach to Unicorn

Gupshup turned into a unicorn in April 2021, after Tiger global invested $100 million. The total valuation reached $1.4 billion. With more and more businesses embracing technology for support function, Gupshup has a promising future.