Is Chingari Trying to Become India's OnlyFans? - Video

In this case study, we look at the journey of Chingari, from a social media app to a web-3 and now with a one-on-one call feature, trying to get into the dating scene.

0:00 Intro
0:46 Chingari's Origins
4:53 Chingari's Pivot
7:48 Adult Industry Overview
10:55 How this Business works?
15:52 Rise of Indian Market
23:30 Chingari's Current Focus
31:23 Future Predictions

In July 2023, Chingari, an Indian app, achieved a remarkable feat by entering the top 10 grossing apps on both Apple's Indian App Store and Google's Indian Play Store. This was a stark contrast to its position at the beginning of the year when it didn't even rank in the top 200. The transformation was attributed to Chingari's foray into adult-oriented content, similar to OnlyFans but with distinct nuances.

Chingari's journey began in 2018 as a content-sharing platform for video, audio, gifs, and photos, targeting tier 2 and tier 3 Indian audiences with multilingual support. Capitalizing on TikTok's ban in 2020, it shifted focus to short videos, albeit facing tough competition from YouTube and Instagram's Shorts and Reels. An attempt at entering the web3 space with the GARI token and Salman Khan's endorsement ended in disappointment as the crypto market crashed, leading to Chingari's decline. Despite facing financial difficulties and having no clear monetization strategy, Chingari amassed 175 million users with an investment of $88 million from investors. The lack of a viable business model caused concern among their backers. Co-founder Aditya Kothari left the company in May 2023, leading to significant layoffs, and reducing the workforce to just 50-60 employees. Desperate to survive, Chingari ventured into the adult content industry, introducing 1-on-1 private video calls and virtual gifting using their GARI token. Within three months, they transformed their fortunes, becoming a top-grossing app on Apple and Google, generating substantial revenue, and turning their precarious situation around. Industry Overview In the late 1990s, the internet saw the emergence of adult content with Danni Ashe, an unexpected pioneer, launching the first adult website, "Danni's Hard Drive," using her HTML programming skills. She created a paywall, establishing one of the internet's first subscription-based businesses, eventually earning over $5 million annually.

However, the industry later shifted towards free adult content flooded with various websites and chatrooms. With the rise of YouTube and free "Tube" adult sites, the industry consolidated under MindGeek, now owned by Ethical Capital Partners. It wasn't until 2016 that OnlyFans revived the subscription-based model, changing how adult creators monetized their content and making it mainstream. Chingari's Business Model Chingari has adopted a unique payment model for adult content, unlike OnlyFans' subscription-based approach. Chingari allows users to pay for individual private 1-on-1 video call sessions, offering flexibility in pricing and duration. This pay-per-minute model is distinct from OnlyFans, where users subscribe monthly for access to a creator's content. Chingari's approach was inspired by China's live-streaming market in the early 2010s, where adult performers charged users for content during private video calls. This model, originating in China, was later adopted by Chingari. And later this payment model revolutionized adult content consumption in India, driven by its Chinese roots, particularly through platforms like iPayChat and Chamet. Current Scenario Chingari ventured into the adult content space due to market demand and financial pressures.

They observed a segment of users creating adult content on their platform and noticed similar apps topping the Google Play Store's grossing list. To survive, Chingari introduced paid 1-on-1 private calls and incentivized women creators to engage male users. They used ads and third-party agencies to promote these services discreetly. Chingari claimed to use AI and a 40-member content moderation team to control explicit content. While they initially faced financial losses, they claim to have turned profitable. Chingari aims to emphasize other features and their GARI token for creators while acknowledging the possibility of explicit content on their platform.

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