Trulymadly: Matchmaking startup by the founders of Letsbuy & MakeMyTrip

Online matchmaking space has now gained a bit of momentum in the country, with players like Bharatmatrimony.com, Shaadi.com, Jeevansathi.com already in the space yet there is another startup led by internet entrepreneurs – Hitesh Dhingra, Ex-Founder, Letsbuy.com,  Sachin Bhatia, Ex-Founder, MakeMyTrip & Rahul Kumar, Ex-Product Head, MakeMyTrip that has started making buzz in this space.

Targeted towards the singles looking at meaningful, long term relationships that could over time culminate into matrimony, Trulymadly went live this Valentine’s day i.e. 14th February.

While safety is the main concern when it comes to online matchmaking, the website provides Trust Score for each profile based on one’s social channels, ID proof, phone number, employment verification, etc. So, if one connects via LinkedIn or Facebook profile and provides the valid phone number, the score goes up! Thus Fake profiles are easy to spot and its system junks it at the onset.

We caught up with Rahul Kumar, Co-Founder, Trulymadly to know more about the portal, technology behind and his views on online matchmaking space in India.

[Edited Excerpts]

Inc42: Why the name Trulymadly?

Rahul: Honestly, the Savage Garden song Truly Madly Deeply. But then, we could not have thought of anything more appropriate since love is about being true to yourself and to each other, be it about who you really are and what you expect from your partner. We are hoping the matches we make on our site last an eternity.

Inc42: Is it more of a dating site or match making? What’s your main focus?

Rahul: TrulyMadly is a matchmaking service that brings together a proprietary compatibility algorithm for compatibility and a stringent verification process to help singles find their true match.

 Inc42: As the website says it works on Social Algorithm can you explain bit about that? What’s the tech behind the website?

Rahul: We think of TrulyMadly as the pioneer of online matchmaking version 2.0 with increased social relevance and attention to personal choices. Developing the compatibility algorithm and questionnaire to gauge one’s personality and expectation was our biggest challenge. We were building a logical solution out of human emotions.We interviewed thousands of singles and married people to interpret interpersonal dynamics in a relationship and finally get to the root of what makes 2 people compatible and stick to each other through thick and thin. All through our research and development, we were mindful of the fact that we were putting a system to match two living, emoting people to find soulmates in each other. It was challenging, refreshing and insightful.

 Inc42: Don’t you think process involved in making profile is a bit lengthy?

Rahul: The process is a tad long, but then this is about choosing a partner and the more we learn about you and your preferences, we’ll be able to match you better. The initial feedback we have is that despite the length, most users realize the importance of this step and are comfortable going through the process. But this is something we are closely monitoring.

Inc42: As it’s just a day since launch, how has been the response?

Rahul: The response has been good so far. We expect it to get even better. Our Facebook page too has been getting a good response and we hope to drive some conversions from it.

Inc42: What is your revenue model?

Rahul: The founders have currently contributed the funding. TrulyMadly facilitates free user registration, receiving matches and viewing restricted member profile. However, advanced functions like exchanging messages incur a nominal “unlocking” fee of Rs. 100 per profile. Further, users can purchase different credit plans – we currently have 4 plans starting from Rs. 1000(100 credits) to Rs. 7500(1000 credits).

Inc42: Is there space for other startups as well in the matchmaking space? Any suggestions, learnings you would like to share with them?

Rahul: There is immense opportunity in this space. As mentioned before, the category we are catering to is yet untapped.

We are still in our start – up stage.

 Inc42: In a category like this, the customers never need to use the site again after they have found a mate. Thus very less or say no chances of a returning customer. How would you justify customer acquisition cost in this?

Rahul: A customer who is satisfied by our services will surely recommend us to another person. To us, every customer is important and his experience with us matters the most. A happy client is always the best recommendation. Our endeavour will always be to provide each and every customer a satisfied result.

 Inc42: How has the online matchmaking scenario changed in past few years?

Rahul: In India, when the son or daughter is marriage-ready, you launch them at the next big family wedding, spread the word to your neighborhood aunty or sign up on an online matchmaking website.

TrulyMadly is a new concept, where we are enabling independent – minded people to make an informed decision about their love life.

 Inc42: How would you differentiate the market opportunity in this space in comparison to the US?

Rahul: In India, the space we are catering to is yet untapped as compared to the US.

 Inc42: What are the challenges of building a matchmaking portal in India?

Rahul: We think of TrulyMadly as the pioneer of online matchmaking version 2.0 with increased social relevance and attention to personal choices. Developing the social algorithm and questionnaire to gauge one’s personality and expectation was our biggest challenge. We were building a logical solution out of human emotions. We interviewed thousands of singles and married people to interpret interpersonal dynamics in a relationship and finally get to the root of what makes 2 people compatible and stick to each other through thick and thin. All through our research and development, we were mindful of the fact that we were putting a system to match two living, emoting people to find soul mates in each other. It was challenging, refreshing and insightful.

To start off with, the portal has been launched only in NCR, to build a critical mass of profiles and to get feedback, later, it will be expanding to other markets across the country and by the end of the year will be making it pan India. With this the founders are also working on the mobile app and will be in a position to launch the same next month.

“The long term vision is to make this predominantly a mobile business,” said Rahul.