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Mar 17, 2017 · 20m · top-founders

EP 601: TapChief Passes 75,000 Minutes Of Experts Teaching Students, $150k Raised, Team of 10 with 23 yo CEO Shashank Murali

Shashank Murali · 9m spoken Nathan Latka · 7m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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In this episode of The Top, host Nathan Latka interviews Shashank Murali, the 23-year-old CEO of TapChief, exploring how the expert consultation platform scaled to 75,000 minutes with a 10-person team and $150,000 in funding. The discussion analyzes TapChief's marketplace unit economics, B2B enterprise partnerships, and ambitious growth targets for 2017.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Nathan holds 46% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.5 Guest teaching 2.0 Guest disagreement 1.8 Nathan pushing back 4.3
05100:0010:0020:000:27–5:01 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Weekly Contest Winner and Listener Announcement Latka introduces Murali and establishes the marketplace dynamics of TapChief, comparing it to Clarity.fm while clarifying the supply and demand sides.5:02–7:18 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Consultation Ticket Sizes and Commission Splits Latka expresses surprise at the low five-dollar average ticket size, pushing Murali to explain the domestic Indian market context and nascent consumer behavior.7:19–11:16 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Expert Supply and Platform Usage Volume Latka dissects the operational volume, converting Murali's interaction hours into monthly minutes and evaluating monetization percentages among listed experts.11:17–13:51 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Growth Levers and Engagement Features for 2017 Latka highlights the sharp contrast between the current run rate of 6,000 minutes per month and Murali's target of 1.5 million minutes for the year, demanding an explanation for the growth engine.13:52–16:29 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 B2B Expansion, Session Pricing, and Revenue Goals Latka presses hard on burn rate and revenue reality given the 10-person team, refusing vague answers until Murali provides pricing per B2B session and revenue bounds.16:29–18:11 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions A collaborative and rapid Famous Five section covering Murali's reading habits, age, and advice to his younger self.0:27–5:01 · Guest teaching 2/10 Weekly Contest Winner and Listener Announcement Latka introduces Murali and establishes the marketplace dynamics of TapChief, comparing it to Clarity.fm while clarifying the supply and demand sides.5:02–7:18 · Guest teaching 3/10 Consultation Ticket Sizes and Commission Splits Latka expresses surprise at the low five-dollar average ticket size, pushing Murali to explain the domestic Indian market context and nascent consumer behavior.7:19–11:16 · Guest teaching 2/10 Expert Supply and Platform Usage Volume Latka dissects the operational volume, converting Murali's interaction hours into monthly minutes and evaluating monetization percentages among listed experts.11:17–13:51 · Guest teaching 2/10 Growth Levers and Engagement Features for 2017 Latka highlights the sharp contrast between the current run rate of 6,000 minutes per month and Murali's target of 1.5 million minutes for the year, demanding an explanation for the growth engine.13:52–16:29 · Guest teaching 2/10 B2B Expansion, Session Pricing, and Revenue Goals Latka presses hard on burn rate and revenue reality given the 10-person team, refusing vague answers until Murali provides pricing per B2B session and revenue bounds.16:29–18:11 · Guest teaching 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions A collaborative and rapid Famous Five section covering Murali's reading habits, age, and advice to his younger self.0:27–5:01 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Weekly Contest Winner and Listener Announcement Latka introduces Murali and establishes the marketplace dynamics of TapChief, comparing it to Clarity.fm while clarifying the supply and demand sides.5:02–7:18 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Consultation Ticket Sizes and Commission Splits Latka expresses surprise at the low five-dollar average ticket size, pushing Murali to explain the domestic Indian market context and nascent consumer behavior.7:19–11:16 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Expert Supply and Platform Usage Volume Latka dissects the operational volume, converting Murali's interaction hours into monthly minutes and evaluating monetization percentages among listed experts.11:17–13:51 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Growth Levers and Engagement Features for 2017 Latka highlights the sharp contrast between the current run rate of 6,000 minutes per month and Murali's target of 1.5 million minutes for the year, demanding an explanation for the growth engine.13:52–16:29 · Guest disagreement 3/10 B2B Expansion, Session Pricing, and Revenue Goals Latka presses hard on burn rate and revenue reality given the 10-person team, refusing vague answers until Murali provides pricing per B2B session and revenue bounds.16:29–18:11 · Guest disagreement 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions A collaborative and rapid Famous Five section covering Murali's reading habits, age, and advice to his younger self.0:27–5:01 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Weekly Contest Winner and Listener Announcement Latka introduces Murali and establishes the marketplace dynamics of TapChief, comparing it to Clarity.fm while clarifying the supply and demand sides.5:02–7:18 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Consultation Ticket Sizes and Commission Splits Latka expresses surprise at the low five-dollar average ticket size, pushing Murali to explain the domestic Indian market context and nascent consumer behavior.7:19–11:16 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Expert Supply and Platform Usage Volume Latka dissects the operational volume, converting Murali's interaction hours into monthly minutes and evaluating monetization percentages among listed experts.11:17–13:51 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Growth Levers and Engagement Features for 2017 Latka highlights the sharp contrast between the current run rate of 6,000 minutes per month and Murali's target of 1.5 million minutes for the year, demanding an explanation for the growth engine.13:52–16:29 · Nathan pushing back 7/10 B2B Expansion, Session Pricing, and Revenue Goals Latka presses hard on burn rate and revenue reality given the 10-person team, refusing vague answers until Murali provides pricing per B2B session and revenue bounds.16:29–18:11 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions A collaborative and rapid Famous Five section covering Murali's reading habits, age, and advice to his younger self.

speaking balance: gold is Nathan, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Nathan 70.6% · guest 29.4%0:00 · Nathan 70.6% · guest 29.4%3:00 · Nathan 36.2% · guest 63.8%3:00 · Nathan 36.2% · guest 63.8%6:00 · Nathan 19.8% · guest 80.2%6:00 · Nathan 19.8% · guest 80.2%9:00 · Nathan 46.4% · guest 53.6%9:00 · Nathan 46.4% · guest 53.6%12:00 · Nathan 21.5% · guest 78.5%12:00 · Nathan 21.5% · guest 78.5%15:00 · Nathan 52.3% · guest 47.7%15:00 · Nathan 52.3% · guest 47.7%18:00 · Nathan 88.8% · guest 11.2%18:00 · Nathan 88.8% · guest 11.2%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 15:47 Refusal to disclose exact revenue

Murali directly refuses to share specific revenue figures, prompting Latka to force an over/under boundary on the numbers.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 15:05 Demanding concrete B2B pricing

Latka cuts through Murali's qualitative explanation of B2B partnerships to demand the specific dollar figure per session.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 5:56 Educating on Indian consumer willingness to pay

Murali contextualizes the five-dollar average ticket size by explaining the early stage of monetizing online advice in the Indian market.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 12:45 Exposing the growth math discrepancy

Latka quickly runs the math on current volume versus the 1.5 million minute target to demonstrate the steepness of the required trajectory.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Weekly Contest Winner and Listener Announcement 4212 Latka introduces Murali and establishes the marketplace dynamics of TapChief, comparing it to Clarity.fm while clarifying the supply and demand sides.
Consultation Ticket Sizes and Commission Splits 4325 Latka expresses surprise at the low five-dollar average ticket size, pushing Murali to explain the domestic Indian market context and nascent consumer behavior.
Expert Supply and Platform Usage Volume 5224 Latka dissects the operational volume, converting Murali's interaction hours into monthly minutes and evaluating monetization percentages among listed experts.
Growth Levers and Engagement Features for 2017 6226 Latka highlights the sharp contrast between the current run rate of 6,000 minutes per month and Murali's target of 1.5 million minutes for the year, demanding an explanation for the growth engine.
B2B Expansion, Session Pricing, and Revenue Goals 6237 Latka presses hard on burn rate and revenue reality given the 10-person team, refusing vague answers until Murali provides pricing per B2B session and revenue bounds.
The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions 2112 A collaborative and rapid Famous Five section covering Murali's reading habits, age, and advice to his younger self.

Statements from this episode (12)

Disclosure
TapChief takes a commission on paid expert consultations
“Every single time these experts charge for their time, we take a small commission out of it. So that's the primary business model of TapChief today.”
Shashank Murali Mar 17, 2017 ▶ 2:24
Assertion Not checkable as stated
TapChief's average consultation ticket size is roughly $5
“So today we see about two 50 INR, which is about, ah, roughly five dollars, ah, in five USD. So that's what we see as an average ticket size.”
Shashank Murali Mar 17, 2017 ▶ 5:34
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
TapChief takes a 20% platform cut on consultations
“So it's about 80, 20, 80 to the expert and 20 to that.”
Shashank Murali Mar 17, 2017 ▶ 7:06
Disclosure
TapChief lists over 5,000 experts on its platform
“So today we list about 5000 plus experts from a wide array of industries and roles.”
Shashank Murali Mar 17, 2017 ▶ 7:20
Disclosure
TapChief has facilitated roughly 75,000 consultation minutes
“So we have roughly seen about 75,000 minutes of interactions happening on our platform.”
Shashank Murali Mar 17, 2017 ▶ 7:57
Disclosure
Between 20% and 30% of TapChief experts have made money
“About 20 to 30% have already made money.”
Shashank Murali Mar 17, 2017 ▶ 8:19
Assertion Not checkable as stated
40% of TapChief experts provide consultations pro bono
“40% of our experts do this pro bono, right? They, that is, they don't charge any money at all.”
Shashank Murali Mar 17, 2017 ▶ 9:31
Assertion Not checkable as stated
TapChief has a team size of 10 people
“We're a team of 10 people.”
Shashank Murali Mar 17, 2017 ▶ 10:24
Prediction Not checkable as stated
TapChief aims for 1.5 million interaction minutes by year-end 2017
“So we are aiming at about one to 1.5 million of minutes of interactions over by the end of 2017.”
Shashank Murali Mar 17, 2017 ▶ 12:38
Disclosure
TapChief charges partners up to $25 per session
“So there, you know, the costs go up as high as 15 to 25 dollars per session.”
Shashank Murali Mar 17, 2017 ▶ 15:10
Prediction Didn’t hold up
TapChief predicts crossing $250,000 in 2017 revenue
“I think we'll definitely cross two 50, Kim.”
Shashank Murali Mar 17, 2017 ▶ 16:19
Disclosure
Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma is an investor in TapChief
“I have my own investor who I definitely follow a lot, which is who has India's largest fintech company.”
Shashank Murali Mar 17, 2017 ▶ 16:55
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