E183 - From Hike's Billion-Dollar Loss to India's Gaming Revolution: Kavin Mittal

Indian Silicon Valley with Jivraj Singh Sachar

In this episode, we delve into the extraordinary journey of Kavin Bharti Mittal, founder and CEO of Hike, as he shares insights on building India's first unicorn messaging app and its evolution into a Web3 gaming platform. From Hike's meteoric rise to a $1.4 billion valuation to its pivot in the face of changing market dynamics, Kavin offers a candid look at the challenges and triumphs of tech entrepreneurship in India. He discusses the importance of self-reflection and clarity in decision-making, sharing a pivotal moment when he took three days of solitude to reassess his company's direction. Kavin explores the intersection of Eastern philosophy and modern business practices, drawing from concepts in Zen Buddhism and Vedanta to inform his leadership style and company culture. The conversation covers a wide range of topics, from the intricacies of building and scaling a tech startup to the future of gaming and crypto in India. Kavin's unique perspective on personal growth, adaptive thinking, and the evolution of digital platforms offers valuable lessons for entrepreneurs and business leaders. 0:00 - Preview 2:22 - Kavin Bharti Mittal's 12-Year Journey as Hike Founder 9:14 - Decision-Making Factors in Building Hike 10:57 - Does the Mindset of Not Complicating Things Help as a Founder? 12:54 - Scaling to 100M Customers: How He Did It 17:48 - Unknown Factors Founders Can't Predict 22:54 - His Outlier Success 25:08 - His Decision- Making Ability 46:43 - How He Made His Hardest Decisions 52:38- His Core Learnings from Life 1:00:04 - How He Developed His Traits 1:07:40 - His Curiosity Behind Building His First Company 1:14:34 - How One Should Consume Content 1:26:16 - His Thoughts on the Gaming Ecosystem 1:35:08 - What Makes His Journey Worthwhile Instagram of Jivraj: instagram.com/jivrajsinghsachar #indiansiliconvalley #isv #indiansiliconvalleypodcast #isvpodcast #jivrajsinghsachar