YourQuote: Startup founders move to Himalayas to build 'Instagram for writers'

How about a space for writers, just like we have Instagram for photos? Well, that’s exactly what Ashish Singh and Harsh Snehanshu thought as they started their journey to build YourQuote. The duo, IIT Delhi alumini, have been hostel-mates and even worked on Whereabout before taking the plunge with YourQuote. YourQuote is accessible on Android, iOS and web, and already has about 4500 users across platforms, with more than 20000 writings. It can be called a mobile-first micro-blogging platform that short-circuits the whole process of building a blog. Its is also a place to crowdsource content for branding campaigns Headed by Singh and Snehanshu, it’s a team of five including Pushpak Athawale, IIT-Delhi CS graduate who leads the iOS development. Basically, writers can post their short writings, poems, one-liners and so on, on wallpapers (will soon let uses add wallpapes of their choice) and garner followers. All these quotes are quotes Google searchable, adds Snehanshu.

“At the heart of it, we are solving our own problem. Harsh, being a professional writer, felt the dearth of good writing apps on the mobile phone. Ever since mobile phones took over, one’s writing hobby has been put at bay. Avid blogs have turned dormant. Very few apps successfully merge great design, brevity of text on mobile and stunning visual together,” Singh adds. So, YourQuote is essentially built to bridge the gap.

“It gives writers an avenue to broadcast their writings as beautiful images rather than plain text on the go. Wherever, whenever,” he further adds. While many early stage entrepreneurs would prefer staying within  the networked city web, or even moving to a startup-friendly city, the duo believes that at the moment it needs to focus on the product and rather connect with its users. This has made them move out of city life, to the Solang Valley in Himachal in September. “It also saved a lot of our time that would have been spent in meeting investors and other entrepreneurs. For YourQuote, we decided that the only people we need to be in touch with is our users and the only thing we need for that is an internet connection — so why not move away from the metropolitan distraction? Himalayas being next door to Delhi beckoned us before we knew it,” Snehanshu adds. Though for an initial seed funding, it is in talks only with IIT-Delhi alumini. And, look forward to being a part of an accelerator in the US. “We believe it’s a global product and an accelerator seasoned with how social networks work will be of tremendous value. We believe post-product-market fit, digital advertising is the way to go,” Singh adds. Singh adds that the work requires stable Internet connection, and they’ve managed to get that. “We have also been able to attract great talent, apparently many people are disenchanted with the hectic life in the metros at a fraction of cost. It saved a lot of our cost, as it being off season, we found a stranded guest house at an inexpensive price,” he adds.