ORGANIC USER GROWTH: The Slow and Steady Approach to Success

In a booming economy like India, where high-speed internet penetration has reached almost all of the 1.5 billion people, it is only natural for start-ups to go after a large user base from the getgo. But, as we have seen in many cases, the cost of user acquisition in business-to-consumer start-ups can often outweigh the potential revenue brought into the fold by new users who stay. This is especially true when companies are trying to establish new business models.

- Anshoo Sharma

Anshoo Sharma

Anshoo Sharma is the CEO and co-founder at hyperlocal ecommerce firm Magicpin

During the initial stages of creating a new business, using platforms like Google and Meta for paid marketing on a large scale is a capital-intensive proposition. One smart strategy for success is to focus on organic user growth first and then amplify that with paid marketing. There are multiple phases to this journey of scaling users while building a company.

Doing Non-Scalable Things

This is something which might be contrary to popular belief. A non-scalable model can let you improve the product, because in the early days, what you are trying to do is to test what is working and what is not, and refine the rough edges. You are not trying to hyperscale from day one; in most situations, you are figuring things out. But getting those insights right is what matters a lot more.

Magicpin is a very unique business, which is driving online demand to offline merchants.

In the early days of the company, using platforms like Google and Facebook was never the starting point for us. What we wanted to do instead was to test if people are going to be interested in sharing where they are spending money for our rewards or if local merchants would be willing to spend with us for getting users.