Startup
GenWise’s online club is helping elders escape loneliness
Picture this: A 60-year-old retired school teacher hesitantly downloads an app on her smartphone. Her children insist it will help her stay connected, but she’s sceptical. Fast forward three months and she is now attending online tambola sessions, chatting daily with her new “digital best friend”, and even teaching others how to use the app. Welcome to the world of GenWise, where digital literacy meets elder empowerment.
In the heart of Delhi, a startup is quietly revolutionising the way India’s seniors interact with technology. GenWise, founded in 2023 by Rajat Jain and his co-founders Nehul Malhotra and Geetanshu Singla, has turned the notion of “apps are for the young” on its head. With a staggering 1.6 million users in less than 18 months it is proving that age is just a number in the digital world.
From loneliness to laughter: The GenWise mission
“Our vision is to take an elder from loneliness to laughter,” says Rajat Jain, Founder of GenWise. This isn’t just a catchy slogan; it’s the driving force behind the innovative online club for Indian elders aged 50-70. In a country where joint families are dwindling and elderly isolation is on the rise, GenWise is more than an app—it works as a lifeline.
However, in a market where acquiring users is challenging, retaining them is an art form. GenWise has mastered this art, achieving remarkable retention rates of up to 80% in the first month for some paid services. How? By understanding that for its unique audience, retention isn’t just about numbers—it’s about creating lasting value and meaningful connections.
The GenWise app offers three key services: Saathi (one-on-one companionship), Friends (a platform to make new friends), and Events (group activities). Each service is designed with retention at its core. As Jain explains, “Users keep coming back to talk to Saathi and share life updates, get advice, and build greater bonds with friends through games, greetings, and chats. Our events around learning, relaxation, and entertainment keep users engaged throughout the week.”
Monetisation from day one
Unlike many startups that chase user numbers at the cost of revenue, GenWise took a bold approach. “We wanted to test whether elders are comfortable paying online to consume our product,” Jain says. The result? A resounding success, with over 95% of payments made by elders themselves.
This micro-transaction model not only ensures sustainable growth but also reinforces user engagement. As Jain advises, “Be clear on your monetisation model on day one, even if you don’t apply it immediately. You can’t be building a large user base or going after vanity metrics for a long period in your company.”
WebEngage Boost: Turning data into delight
To supercharge retention efforts, GenWise turned to the WebEngage Startup Program. This partnership has been instrumental in helping the company map user journeys, improve UI/UX, and automate communication to drive both retention and monetisation.
“Platforms like WebEngage have helped us identify user paths and patterns easily, enabling us to automate user journeys and communication to drive retention and monetisation,” Jain acknowledges. “The WebEngage Startup Program has been supportive with a free six-month trial, reducing the burden on a young startup such as ours during our formative stages.”
The impact of WebEngage on GenWise’s operations has been substantial. In the first year, the focus was on solving digital acquisition and engagement challenges. WebEngage’s event tracking and engagement journey tools were instrumental in achieving this goal. As GenWise entered its second year of operation, the focus shifted to monetising services and identifying power user cohorts. Here, WebEngage’s advanced segmentation and targeted messaging capabilities came into play. “WebEngage helps us reach out to the right users at the right time to boost our monetisation efforts,” Jain explains.
This data-driven approach has allowed GenWise to tailor its offerings and communication strategies, ensuring that each user receives personalised attention – a crucial factor when dealing with an older demographic that values individual care and attention.
From Delhi to the world
With plans to solve loneliness for 250 million Indian elders and expand internationally, GenWise is just getting started. But amidst this ambitious scaling, its focus remains unwavering. “Creating a value chain from acquisition to engagement to retention is pivotal,” Jain says. “Reaching out to the user at the right time for further engagement and cross-selling has helped us build stronger metrics.”
As GenWise continues to grow, it is not just retaining users— it is reshaping what it means to age in the digital era. From sceptical first-time downloaders to enthusiastic power users, the elders on GenWise are proving that it’s never too late to find community, purpose, and yes, even a little laughter, through the power of technology.
This story is the eighth in a series called Retentioneering, where new-age startups share with us their experience of working with the WebEngage Startup Program and how it helped them with various retention efforts.
Startup
Thesys secures $4M funding led by Together Fund
AI startup Thesys bags $4 million funding in a round led by Together Fund. The round also saw participation from 8VC, the company said in a statement.
The startup will use the funding to bridge the gap of user experience with AI agents. As a visual collaboration tool, the company will also provide a platform that will enable businesses to ideate, visualise, and ship intelligent experiences at scale.
“The way we engage with technology is changing faster than ever. Static interfaces simply don’t meet the demands of today’s AI-capabilities…At Thesys, we’re building tools that make it possible for businesses to adapt and thrive in this new era,” said Parikshit Deshmukh, Co-founder, Thesys.
This evolution is about unlocking the full potential of AI-driven interactions and delivering unparalleled user experiences, he added.
“The future of AI relies as much on intuitive, adaptive interfaces as it does on backend capabilities. Thesys’ vision for Generative UI aligns perfectly with Together Fund’s commitment to enabling founders who are redefining the user experience,” said Manav Garg, Co-founder and managing partner of Together Fund.
“By empowering teams to create real-time, personalized interactions, Thesys is setting a new standard for AI-driven interfaces. We’re excited to support their journey in transforming the role of design and development tools for the next generation of AI applications,” he added.
The company, founded by Rabi Shanker Guha and Parikshit Deshmukh this year, emerged from the understanding of the need to provide support in the shift towards AI-driven interfaces, it said.
“Thesys envisions a future where all interfaces dynamically adjust to each user’s behavior, preferences, and needs—driven by what the company calls “Generative UI”. Unlike traditional static interfaces that rely on predefined paths, Generative UI uses AI to create unique, adaptive user interfaces on-the-fly, allowing businesses to provide truly personalized digital experiences,” the company added.
The company plans to launch a UI SDK that is set to enable developers to seamlessly integrate Generative UI into their applications. Additionally, post its closed beta launch, the company plans a general availability (GA) with its product within the next quarter positioning itself as the go-to product toolkit for businesses looking to stay ahead in the AI revolution.
“Thesys is pioneering a transformative shift in UI design workflows by integrating AI-driven adaptability… Their Generative UI approach aligns with our commitment to investing in technologies that drive innovation in user experiences,” said Bhaskar Ghosh, partner at 8VC.
Startup
BrowserStack launches AI-driven Low Code Automation tool
Software testing platform
has rolled out Low Code Automation, a solution to simplify test automation for quality assurance teams, developers, and non-technical users.The newly launched solution will address challenges faced by software teams, including manual testing delays and complex automation frameworks, BrowserStack said in a statement.
While traditional test automation requires coding expertise by often limiting non-technical testers to contribute, this tool allows user—irrespective of their technical background—to create and manage AI-driven automated tests without writing code. Users can also use BrowserStack’s cloud infrastructure for reliable test execution.
“(The AI-powered Low-Code Automation (LCA) simplifies the process of building and maintaining test automation suites compared to traditional tools like Selenium. It reduces the steep learning curve and complexity often associated with automation projects, leading to a quicker return on investment (ROI),” Chintan Doshi, Director of Product Management at BrowserStack, told YourStory.
To support development teams worldwide, Low Code Automation speeds up testing cycles, boosts product quality, and enhances user experience by reducing technical barriers.
“Citizen testers—such as business analysts, product managers, and customer support teams—can easily add validations and create automated tests with the test recorder, without requiring coding skills. This reduces their dependency on developers and QAs and empowers them to actively contribute to testing efforts,” Doshi explained.
Founded in 2011 by Ritesh Arora and Nakul Aggarwal, BrowserStack provides a cloud-based platform for developers to test websites and mobile apps across devices, operating systems, and browsers on demand.
With headquarters in San Francisco and Mumbai, the company has expanded its product line to include over 15 products, of which 10 were launched in the past 18 months.
In August, the Accel-backed firm acquired Berlin-based Bird Eats Bug, an advanced bug-reporting tool. The acquisition aims to address the existing gaps in bug reporting and streamline fragmented testing workflows.
Startup
Flipkart’s delivery arm Instakart reports widening losses, lower revenue in FY24
Flipkart’s delivery service arm Instakart’s FY24 losses increased multifold to Rs 1718.4 crore, from Rs 324.6 crore in the previous year, hurt by higher expenses and marginally lower revenues.
The company, which is in the logistics, warehouse, courier and allied services business, clocked an operating revenue of Rs 12,115.3 crore in FY24, 5% lower than Rs 12,787.4 crore it posted a year ago, according to filings made with Toefler.
During the period, the company’s total expenses increased 6% to Rs 14,149.4 crore, mainly driven by employee benefit and other expenses.
Logistics services accounted for the majority (about 78%) of Instakart’s total operating revenues, with Rs 9,429.8 crore, marginally lower than what it collected in the previous year.
Warehousing services, which accounted for about 10% of total operating revenues, witnessed a 28.4% drop in revenue, while collection services, which accounted for 12%, remained stable.
Just a week ago, Flipkart Internet reported a 21% rise in FY24 revenue at Rs 17,907.3 crore helped by rising income from its advertising services.
Flipkart India Ltd, which is Flipkart’s business-to-business (B2B) arm, reported a 26.4% rise in revenue from operations at Rs 70,541.9 crore in FY24.
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