yourstory.com Open in urlscan Pro
130.211.11.154  Public Scan

Form analysis
1 forms found in the DOM

POST

<form method="post" enctype="application/x-www-form-urlencoded" id="connectForm" class="connectForm i-amphtml-form"
  on="submit-success:submit-connect-form.toggleClass(class='formSubmitNotAllowed', force=true),connectIconMute.toggleClass(class='connectIcon', force=false),connectIconMute.toggleClass(class='connectIconMute', force=true),AMP.setState({ subjectLimitReached: false, messageLimitReached: false, subjectCharCount: '0/150', messageCharCount: '0/1000' }),connect-form-success.show,form-elements.hide,error-message.hide,lightboxTopSection.hide,hideSubHeading.hide;submit-error:error-message.show"
  action-xhr="/api/v2/rw/company-connects/create" target="_top" novalidate="">
  <div id="form-elements"> <label class="formLabel"> <span class="formTopic py1 opacity-1">Subject*</span> <input type="text" class="formInput" placeholder="Enter your subject" id="subject" name="subject" maxlength="150" required=""> </label>
    <div style="justify-content: space-between" class="align-text display-flex">
      <div id="subjectLimitReached" class="maxLimitReached" [hidden]="subjectLimitReached==true ? false : true" hidden="">No. of characters should not exceed 150</div>
      <div id="subjectLimitReached" class="maxLimitReached" [hidden]="subjectLimitReached"></div>
      <div id="inputSubjectCount" class="inputCharCount" [text]="subjectCharCount ? subjectCharCount : '0/150'">0/150</div>
    </div> <label class="formLabel"> <span class="formTopic py1 opacity-1">Message*</span> <textarea class="formMessageInput" placeholder="Enter your message here" id="message" maxlength="1000" name="message" required=""></textarea> </label>
    <div style="justify-content: space-between" class="align-text display-flex">
      <div id="messageLimitReached" class="maxLimitReached" [hidden]="messageLimitReached==true ? false : true" hidden="">No. of characters should not exceed 1000</div>
      <div id="messageLimitReached" class="maxLimitReached" [hidden]="messageLimitReached"></div>
      <div id="inputMessageCount" class="inputCharCount" [text]="messageCharCount ? messageCharCount : '0/1000'">0/1000</div>
    </div> <label class="formLabel "> <span class="formTopic py1 mb2 opacity-1">Email ID*</span> <input type="email" class="formInput mb2" placeholder="Enter your Email" id="emailId" name="emailId" required=""> </label> <label class="formLabel">
      <span class="formTopic py1 mb2 opacity-1">LinkedIn URL</span> <input type="url" class="formInput mb2" placeholder="Enter your LinkedIn URL" id="linkedInUrl" name="linkedInUrl"> </label> <input hidden="" id="connect-id" type="text"
      name="connectReason" [value]="connectReasonId"> <input hidden="" type="text" name="companyId" value="65602180-bf4c-11ea-aaaf-2fe399c4a4b3"> <button type="submit" class="formSubmit formSubmitNotAllowed display-flex fs-1" id="submit-connect-form"
      data-vars-section-name="connect" data-vars-company-name="Leher"> Get connected to the Company <div id="connectIconMute" class="formSubmitIcon connectIconMute"> <amp-img src="https://yourstory.com/icons/ys_connect_icon_mute.svg" width="22.39"
          height="22.39" layout="fixed" alt="submit_icon_mute" class="i-amphtml-layout-fixed i-amphtml-layout-size-defined i-amphtml-element i-amphtml-built" style="width:22.39px;height:22.39px;" i-amphtml-layout="fixed"
          i-amphtml-auto-lightbox-visited=""> </amp-img> </div> </button>
    <div hidden="" id="error-message" class="formSubHeading opacity-1" style="color: rgb(99, 109, 117);font-size:0.7rem;font-weight:bold;margin:auto;text-align: center;"> Oops...! Something Went Wrong.. Please Try Again..! </div>
  </div>
  <div hidden="" id="connect-form-success" class="formSuccess">
    <div class="lightboxWrapper">
      <div class="lightboxInnerWrapper">
        <div class="align-text"> <span class="lightboxHeading fs-9 opacity-1"> Connected Successfully ! </span>
          <div class="formSuccessIconDiv"> <amp-img src="https://images.yourstory.com/assets/images/icon_connect_success.svg" class="formSuccessIcon i-amphtml-layout-fixed i-amphtml-layout-size-defined i-amphtml-element i-amphtml-built" width="128"
              height="128" layout="fixed" alt="success_icon" style="width:128px;height:128px;" i-amphtml-layout="fixed" i-amphtml-auto-lightbox-visited=""> </amp-img> </div>
          <div class="formSuccessMessageDiv"> <span class="formSuccessMessage fs-1 opacity-1">Your message has been shared. Kindly give some time for the company to revert. They will reach out to you on your submitted email ID.</span> </div>
          <div on="tap:connectForm.clear,connect-form-success.hide,connect-form.hide" role="button" tabindex="0" class="backToCompanyDiv"> <span class="backToCompanyMessage opacity-1 fs-1">Back to Company</span> <amp-img
              src="https://yourstory.com/icons/ys_connect_icon.svg" class="formSubmitIcon i-amphtml-layout-fixed i-amphtml-layout-size-defined i-amphtml-element i-amphtml-built" width="20" height="20" layout="fixed" alt="backToCompany_icon"
              style="width:20px;height:20px;" i-amphtml-layout="fixed" i-amphtml-auto-lightbox-visited=""> </amp-img> </div>
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
  </div>
</form>

Text Content

LOGIN
✕
 * YourStory
 * SMBStory
 * HerStory
 * SocialStory
 * Enterprise Story
 * Companies
 * YSTV
 * Learn
 * Events
 * MyStory

 * Facebook
 * Twitter
 * instagram
 * YouTube

Close the sidebar
 * Startup


WHY SOCIAL NETWORKING APP LEHER AIMS TO BE THE CLUBHOUSE FOR TIER I AND II INDIA

By Prasannata Patwa
{{monthName}} {{day}}, {{year}}
September 4, 2021

Bengaluru-based social networking app Leher offers live audio and video club
rooms to discuss areas of interest with your network, community, or friends. The
startup aims to create meaningful discussions to increase user engagement and
grow its base to a million users by the end of this year.
11 CLAPS
216074
https://yourstory.com

false

true

11
0





 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 

The last five years have seen the emergence of a slew of social media apps with
one thing in common: the focus on India’s non-English-speaking population. 

The list includes ShareChat (now a unicorn), DailyHunt, Lokal, Roposo, Helo, and
numerous others. Many steadily grew their user base, while others silently bit
the dust. 



But Bangalore-based live audio discussion app Leher neither registered massive
growth nor did it fall by the wayside. Years later, the social media app has
made a mark as a made in India alternative to Clubhouse. 

> “When we launched our app in 2018, the regional language social media apps
> space was in early stages. We, as an audio platform, were way ahead of the
> curve,” Vikas Malpani, CEO and Co-founder of Leher, told YourStory. 

Get connected to Leher

The app was founded under Leher.AI Pvt Ltd by Vikas, a serial entrepreneur and
angel investors in Unacademy, among others, and Atul Jaju, a senior engineer at
Goldman Sachs. 



Leher grew its marketing spends to 10 percent from almost nil earlier. Credit:
YourStory Design

Currently, Leher is getting major traction from Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata,
Bengaluru, and Hyderabad, among others, and Tier II cities including Agra,
Ghaziabad, Ajmer, Bhopal and Chandigarh. 

Leher aims to expand beyond Tier II cities as well, but according to Vikas, the
population in those cities is still behind the curve. 

> “The behaviour in Tier III and Tier IV towns will mimic the behaviour of Tier
> I and Tier II communities. As of now, their predominant behaviour is
> consumption and not community engagement. Our focus is to get people with
> common interests to build a community and have discussion on our platform,”
> Vikas says.  


Get connected to Leher

Leher is a live discussion social network that lets you drop into club rooms and
discuss areas/topics of interest with your network, community, or friends. It
invites people with similar interests to come together to “discuss ideas, learn,
network, and build relationships”, and offers audio and video formats for live
discussion similar to Silicon Valley-based Clubhouse. However, unlike Clubhouse,
the app can be used by anyone; users only need an invite for private clubs.

The Clubhouse boom – the invite-only platform reached a valuation of $4 billion
within 15 months of launch – heated up the live audio chat room space. Biggies
such as Twitter and Facebook took notice and rolled out Spaces and Facebook Live
Audio Rooms, as did Discord and Reddit. Internet giant and Swedish audio
streaming app Spotify is also eyeing a piece of the live audio pie with its new
offering, Spotify Greenroom. 




CREATING A WAVE

Leher may have started small, but it’s aiming big on the back of its target
audience, regional language internet users – a group that’s only set to grow. 

India has seen a surge of online users since 2016 due to internet connectivity
being available at dirt cheap prices. The pandemic only accelerated this
behaviour as many people went online to shop, play games, watch movies, and
socialise online. 

In 2020, 89.5 percent people used social networking apps while 91.6 percent used
chatting apps, according to Statista. 



Leher is banking on this rise to fuel its growth. Unlike other similar apps,
which began raising funds and burned through investor money to acquire users, it
has been growing gradually as the firm wants to operate their capital
efficiently. 

Credit: YourStory Design

ALSO READ
These former Facebook engineers’ social startup aims to become the Netflix of
audio platforms

“We have never had a team of more than 10 people as we have always tried to
optimise our costs. We are now hiring and there are 14 people in our team,”
Vikas says. He did not reveal daily or monthly active users, but claims that out
of the 2.7 lakh users, 40 percent comprises their active user base. The firm
aims to reach a million users by the end of this year. 



Available on Android and iOS, the app currently has more than 100,000 downloads,
according to data available on the Google PlayStore. Downloads may not be the
most reliable metric as people often store an app and don’t use it, but the
numbers do indicate an app’s popularity. 

Leher made Rs 11 lakh in total revenue in FY20, growing from Rs 4 lakh in FY19,
according to financial documents sourced through Registrar of Companies. But the
expenditure also increased to Rs 77.7 lakh in FY20, from Rs 21 lakh in the
previous year. 

With at least 500 public audio and video chat rooms, Leher hosts discussion on
various topics, including startups, investing, and journalism. These rooms have
hosted guests including Paytm’s Vijay Shekhar Sharma and Lok Sabha member Salman
Khurshid, Vikas says. 

To tap the growing demand for audio, the startup has grown its marketing spends
to 10 percent, of total spends, from nearly zero before the pandemic. The
founders say the marketing budget will grow even further - 30-40 percent - in
the next couple of months. 

Vikas says he wants to drive discussions on his app through organic ways rather
than hiring influencers.

> “People who come for money also leave as soon as the money's gone. We would
> rather have knowledgeable people having engaging discussions,” he adds. 

For Vikas, the push for people to join the app would be finding discussions on
topics they are interested in. The firm plans to do brand-building exercises to
create awareness. 

“There are so many areas where discussions have not even started. Our aim is to
push people to have these discussions organically, which will then create
virality around our app. Hopefully, more people will join and increase user
engagement,” Vikas says. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

YourStory’s flagship startup-tech and leadership conference will return
virtually for its 13th edition on October 25-30, 2021. Sign up for updates on
TechSparks or to express your interest in partnerships and speaker
opportunities here.

For more on TechSparks 2021, click here.

Applications are now open for Tech30 2021, a list of 30 most promising tech
startups from India. Apply or nominate an early-stage startup to become a Tech30
2021 startup here.

Get connected to Leher

Edited by Teja Lele Desai
Leher
Leher App is a Social Platform for Video Discussions and Networking.


CORE TEAM

1. ATUL JAJU

2. VIKAS MALPANI

INDUSTRIES



CONTENT

SOFTWARE


Founded: 2018

View Profile

We tell your stories. Stories that inspire change
Sign up to follow stories that matter

Login with Google
Login with Facebook

By signing up for yourstory you agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
of the platform


 * Startup
 * Leher
 * Clubhouse
 * Spotify Greenroom
 * Twitter Spaces






TRENDING NOW

TRENDING STORIES


{{TITLE}}



DAILY CAPSULE

{{TITLE}}


Read the full story

LATEST

UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD


{{TITLE}}



Sign up to YourStory
Login with Google
Login with Facebook
By signing up for YourStory, you agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy
Policy of the platform
Please let us know why you would like to connect with the company


Business Proposal
Interested to Invest
Strategic Partnership
Would like to work with them
Congratulate them
Anything Else
Get Connected
Please share a crisp & clear message on why you are looking to connect.

To : Founder at Leher
65602180-bf4c-11ea-aaaf-2fe399c4a4b3
Subject*
No. of characters should not exceed 150

0/150
Message*
No. of characters should not exceed 1000

0/1000
Email ID* LinkedIn URL Get connected to the Company

Oops...! Something Went Wrong.. Please Try Again..!
Connected Successfully !

Your message has been shared. Kindly give some time for the company to revert.
They will reach out to you on your submitted email ID.
Back to Company


TRENDING NOW

TRENDING STORIES


{{TITLE}}



DAILY CAPSULE

{{TITLE}}


Read the full story

LATEST

UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD


{{TITLE}}



 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 


DIDN'T FIND WHAT YOU WERE LOOKING FOR?

Search for what you want, categories, tags, keywords, authors, events, anything
under YourStory
Search
© 2021 YourStory Media Pvt. Ltd.