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Jun 21, 2016 · 20m · top-founders

South Asian Dating App Hits Surprising Revenue Target, EP 307: KJ Singh

K.J. Singh · 9m spoken Nathan Latka · 8m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

In episode 307 of 'The Top', host Nathan Latka interviews K.J. Singh, founder of Dil Mil, detailing how the South Asian matchmaking app reached a $500,000 ARR with 80% user retention and zero paid acquisition.

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 46.6% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.5 Guest teaching 3.0 Guest disagreement 1.5 Nathan pushing back 2.0
05100:0010:0020:001:34–3:53 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Leaving Wall Street Trading for Tech Startups Nathan presses KJ to drop specific Wall Street names and details on his compensation package. KJ declines to name unhappy traders but shares his salary breakdown openly.3:54–7:02 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Leading Growth at Union Metrics KJ explains his transition from Union Metrics into founding Dil Mil based on cultural pain points in arranged marriage models. Nathan listens collaboratively without friction.7:02–9:46 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Dil Mil's Fundraising and SAFE Notes Structure Nathan inquires into Dil Mil's convertible debt SAFE structure and monetization mechanics. KJ points out that Dil Mil instituted daily like limits well before Tinder adopted that model.9:46–12:30 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 User Traction, Retention Rates, and Organic Growth Nathan breaks down KJ's annual run rate into monthly revenue and customer count math. KJ educates Nathan on why dating apps experience structural churn when successful.12:31–14:52 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Revenue Targets, Structural Churn, and Lifetime Value Nathan tests assumptions on customer lifetime value and churn before praising KJ for generating real revenue in consumer SaaS rather than just vanity user counts.14:53–18:56 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Connecting with K.J. Singh Online Standard wrap-up featuring sponsor reads and the Famous Five quick-fire questions, with relaxed, agreeable interactions.1:34–3:53 · Guest teaching 2/10 Leaving Wall Street Trading for Tech Startups Nathan presses KJ to drop specific Wall Street names and details on his compensation package. KJ declines to name unhappy traders but shares his salary breakdown openly.3:54–7:02 · Guest teaching 3/10 Leading Growth at Union Metrics KJ explains his transition from Union Metrics into founding Dil Mil based on cultural pain points in arranged marriage models. Nathan listens collaboratively without friction.7:02–9:46 · Guest teaching 4/10 Dil Mil's Fundraising and SAFE Notes Structure Nathan inquires into Dil Mil's convertible debt SAFE structure and monetization mechanics. KJ points out that Dil Mil instituted daily like limits well before Tinder adopted that model.9:46–12:30 · Guest teaching 4/10 User Traction, Retention Rates, and Organic Growth Nathan breaks down KJ's annual run rate into monthly revenue and customer count math. KJ educates Nathan on why dating apps experience structural churn when successful.12:31–14:52 · Guest teaching 3/10 Revenue Targets, Structural Churn, and Lifetime Value Nathan tests assumptions on customer lifetime value and churn before praising KJ for generating real revenue in consumer SaaS rather than just vanity user counts.14:53–18:56 · Guest teaching 2/10 Connecting with K.J. Singh Online Standard wrap-up featuring sponsor reads and the Famous Five quick-fire questions, with relaxed, agreeable interactions.1:34–3:53 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Leaving Wall Street Trading for Tech Startups Nathan presses KJ to drop specific Wall Street names and details on his compensation package. KJ declines to name unhappy traders but shares his salary breakdown openly.3:54–7:02 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Leading Growth at Union Metrics KJ explains his transition from Union Metrics into founding Dil Mil based on cultural pain points in arranged marriage models. Nathan listens collaboratively without friction.7:02–9:46 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Dil Mil's Fundraising and SAFE Notes Structure Nathan inquires into Dil Mil's convertible debt SAFE structure and monetization mechanics. KJ points out that Dil Mil instituted daily like limits well before Tinder adopted that model.9:46–12:30 · Guest disagreement 2/10 User Traction, Retention Rates, and Organic Growth Nathan breaks down KJ's annual run rate into monthly revenue and customer count math. KJ educates Nathan on why dating apps experience structural churn when successful.12:31–14:52 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Revenue Targets, Structural Churn, and Lifetime Value Nathan tests assumptions on customer lifetime value and churn before praising KJ for generating real revenue in consumer SaaS rather than just vanity user counts.14:53–18:56 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Connecting with K.J. Singh Online Standard wrap-up featuring sponsor reads and the Famous Five quick-fire questions, with relaxed, agreeable interactions.1:34–3:53 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Leaving Wall Street Trading for Tech Startups Nathan presses KJ to drop specific Wall Street names and details on his compensation package. KJ declines to name unhappy traders but shares his salary breakdown openly.3:54–7:02 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Leading Growth at Union Metrics KJ explains his transition from Union Metrics into founding Dil Mil based on cultural pain points in arranged marriage models. Nathan listens collaboratively without friction.7:02–9:46 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Dil Mil's Fundraising and SAFE Notes Structure Nathan inquires into Dil Mil's convertible debt SAFE structure and monetization mechanics. KJ points out that Dil Mil instituted daily like limits well before Tinder adopted that model.9:46–12:30 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 User Traction, Retention Rates, and Organic Growth Nathan breaks down KJ's annual run rate into monthly revenue and customer count math. KJ educates Nathan on why dating apps experience structural churn when successful.12:31–14:52 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Revenue Targets, Structural Churn, and Lifetime Value Nathan tests assumptions on customer lifetime value and churn before praising KJ for generating real revenue in consumer SaaS rather than just vanity user counts.14:53–18:56 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Connecting with K.J. Singh Online Standard wrap-up featuring sponsor reads and the Famous Five quick-fire questions, with relaxed, agreeable interactions.

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

0:00 · Nathan 72.1% · guest 27.9%0:00 · Nathan 72.1% · guest 27.9%3:00 · Nathan 24.6% · guest 75.4%3:00 · Nathan 24.6% · guest 75.4%6:00 · Nathan 13.7% · guest 86.3%6:00 · Nathan 13.7% · guest 86.3%9:00 · Nathan 24.4% · guest 75.6%9:00 · Nathan 24.4% · guest 75.6%12:00 · Nathan 52.4% · guest 47.6%12:00 · Nathan 52.4% · guest 47.6%15:00 · Nathan 75.3% · guest 24.7%15:00 · Nathan 75.3% · guest 24.7%18:00 · Nathan 71.4% · guest 28.6%18:00 · Nathan 71.4% · guest 28.6%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 2:04 Refusal to name names

KJ explicitly shuts down Nathan's prompt to name specific unhappy high-profile Wall Street traders.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 2:40 Clarifying Wall Street archetypes

Nathan halts KJ's narrative to enforce clarity on whether he is referring to hedge fund titans like Carl Icahn and Bill Ackman.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 10:37 Explaining dating app structural churn

KJ reframes SaaS negative churn metrics by explaining that a dating app inherently loses its best users as a feature of succeeding.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 10:08 Rapid MRR and subscriber math

Nathan instantly converts KJ's annual run rate and ARPU figures into monthly revenue ($44k) and active subscriber counts (~4,400).
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Leaving Wall Street Trading for Tech Startups 4223 Nathan presses KJ to drop specific Wall Street names and details on his compensation package. KJ declines to name unhappy traders but shares his salary breakdown openly.
Leading Growth at Union Metrics 3311 KJ explains his transition from Union Metrics into founding Dil Mil based on cultural pain points in arranged marriage models. Nathan listens collaboratively without friction.
Dil Mil's Fundraising and SAFE Notes Structure 5422 Nathan inquires into Dil Mil's convertible debt SAFE structure and monetization mechanics. KJ points out that Dil Mil instituted daily like limits well before Tinder adopted that model.
User Traction, Retention Rates, and Organic Growth 6423 Nathan breaks down KJ's annual run rate into monthly revenue and customer count math. KJ educates Nathan on why dating apps experience structural churn when successful.
Revenue Targets, Structural Churn, and Lifetime Value 6312 Nathan tests assumptions on customer lifetime value and churn before praising KJ for generating real revenue in consumer SaaS rather than just vanity user counts.
Connecting with K.J. Singh Online 3211 Standard wrap-up featuring sponsor reads and the Famous Five quick-fire questions, with relaxed, agreeable interactions.

Statements from this episode (11)

Assertion Supported
Singh: Over 90% of South Asians marry within their community
“One of the things that's really relevant to South Asian industry, South Asian market is that 90%, over 90% of South Asians marry and date within their community.”
K.J. Singh Jun 21, 2016 ▶ 6:07
Assertion Supported
Singh: Dil Mil has raised $3.8M across two funding rounds
“And May, 2015 we raised 1.1 million. Last month we just closed another 2.7 million. So in total we raised 3.8.”
K.J. Singh Jun 21, 2016 ▶ 7:15
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Singh: Dil Mil raised its first two rounds using SAFE notes
“So they were using this instrument called a safe. So they were convertible instruments. So they were not price rounds.”
K.J. Singh Jun 21, 2016 ▶ 7:34
Assertion Supported
Singh: Dil Mil limited daily likes well before Tinder did
“We were doing this well before Tinder was actually doing this in terms of limiting their likes because Tinder had, for the longest time had unlimited”
K.J. Singh Jun 21, 2016 ▶ 8:43
Disclosure
Singh: Dil Mil's average subscription is at least $10 per month
“So, you know, various different pricing points, but our average right now is at least 10 dollars a month.”
K.J. Singh Jun 21, 2016 ▶ 9:40
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Singh: Dil Mil is at a $500,000 annual revenue run rate
“So we, we're at a half a million run rate right now annually.”
K.J. Singh Jun 21, 2016 ▶ 10:08
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Singh: Dil Mil maintains roughly 80% monthly user retention
“Yeah, we're at about 80%.”
K.J. Singh Jun 21, 2016 ▶ 11:28
Disclosure
Singh: Dil Mil shut off all paid marketing to grow organically
“We actually have shut off all paid marketing for now and are growing organically right now.”
K.J. Singh Jun 21, 2016 ▶ 11:47
Disclosure
Singh aimed for Dil Mil to reach $1M ARR by late 2016
“We're trying to get closer to a million.”
K.J. Singh Jun 21, 2016 ▶ 12:43
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Singh says Dil Mil users retain for four months on average
“It's about four months. Industry average is about three months.”
K.J. Singh Jun 21, 2016 ▶ 13:24
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Singh: Dil Mil's customer lifetime value is around $40
“And you know, about looking at around 40 dollars.”
K.J. Singh Jun 21, 2016 ▶ 13:28
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