Archive · 19 Aug 2025
Hike Messenger's Founder Shares Why the App Failed
Hike, a messaging app created in India, closed down despite having lots of users and money.
The person who made Hike said that it failed because bigger apps like WhatsApp were already very popular, making it hard for a new app to catch up.
He also mentioned that it's tough to make money from messaging apps in India, where people's spending habits are still changing.
Hike had cool features like stickers in Indian languages, but it couldn't compete with the more popular apps.
Hike messenger, a made-in-India app, shut down in January 2021.
Hike reached unicorn status in 2016 and had over 100 million users.
Kavin Bharti Mittal, Hike's founder, cited the strong 'network effect' of competitors.
Mittal also mentioned challenges in building a sustainable business model in India.
Hike offered features like Indian language stickers and offline SMS.
- Who
- Kavin Bharti Mittal, founder of Hike.
- What
- Hike, a messaging app, shut down.
- When
- Hike shut down in January 2021.
- Where
- India
- Why
- Due to strong network effects of competitors and challenges in building a business model.
Founder's Perspective
Not applicable
Competition
Founder's Perspective
Network effect of competitors was too strong, making it hard to compete.
Not applicable
Not applicable
Business Model
Founder's Perspective
Difficult to build a business model around messaging in India.
Not applicable
Not applicable
- Founder
- Kavin Bharti Mittal
- Launched
- 2012
- Unicorn Status
- 2016
- Peak Users
- 100M+
- Shutdown Date
- January 2021