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KJ Singh left $300k a year as an options trader at Wall St to move to Silicon Valley. After leading growth at Union Metrics, KJ\u2019s founded Dil Mil - the world\u2019s fastest-growing dating app for South Asians. Tune in to hear why some of the country\u2019s richest people are unhappy; how KJ\u2019s growing his business with no paid advertising; and what the future looks like for Dil Mil.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? \u2013 Zero to One
What CEO do you follow? \u2014 Naval Ravikant
Favourite online tool? \u2014Slack
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?\u2014Yes
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be?\u2014Don\u2019t work on multiple projects at the same time

Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:10 \u2013 Nathan\u2019s introduction
01:40 \u2013 Welcoming KJ to the show
02:16 \u2013 \u201cI think some of the top traders at different firms are miserable with their life\u201d
03:00 \u2013 \u201cI think a lot of the hard work in the startup world is meaningful work\u201d
03:22 \u2013 KJ left finance aged 24, earning $300k per year
03:58 \u2013 He joined Union Metrics because he was attracted to the idea behind the firm
04:30 \u2013 Moved to Silicon Valley only knowing one person
05:00 \u2013 Worked at Union Metrics for 1 year, in which time it grew from 14 to 23 people
05:40 \u2013 Left Union Metrics to create a dating app for South Asians - why?
06:00 \u2013 KJ\u2019s sister was 28, a doctor and attractive - but had never found time to date
06:17 \u2013 90% of South Asians date and marry within their community
06:40 \u2013 \u201cThe traditional model of arranged model has broken down\u201d
07:18 \u2013 Raised $2.8 million altogether using two SAFE rounds
08:15 \u2013 Dil Mil makes money through a premium model. There\u2019s a free base service; it\u2019s possible to purchase more \u2018likes\u2019
09:40 \u2013 Average income per user is $10 per month
09:55 \u2013 Just under 1 million downloads
10:13 \u2013 Run rate of around $500k; currently making around $44k per month
10:45 \u2013 \u201cA lot of the metrics that SaaS companies use are relevant to us - but obviously, when we\u2019re successful people leave.\u201d
11:50 \u2013 Not using any paid advertising at the moment - growing through referrals
12:40 \u2013 Revenue goal for 2016 is $1 million
13:15 \u2013 Average customer stays for around 3 months, giving a $40 lifetime value
14:20 \u2013 \u201cThe point where you have revenue without investors is a great position to be in\u201d
14:50 \u2013 Connect with KJ on Twitter
16:44 \u2013 The Famous Five

3 Key Points:
Find a niche market with a need you can meet.
Generate revenue. So many startups run a fundraising round with nothing but a great idea - then find they just can\u2019t monetise.
Focus on one thing at a time. Don\u2019t try to work on every great idea at once.
Resources Mentioned:
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Host Gator \u2013 The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Leadpages \u2013 The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible \u2013 Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.

Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives

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