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Today there was an article published by Ken (a digital news publication focussed on business journalism).
We kept getting messages from our Indian customers and well-wishers about it.
Reason? This article was about two of our competitors in India – MyGate and NoBrokerhood. About their race to spend VC money on acquiring Associations by giving free software, freebies, Advertisement revenue etc. And about the challenges they now face with the changed Market condition.
Our customers and friends asked:
Why is ADDA not mentioned in that Article.
Our Short answer:
Because we have never been in that race.
In 2009, we started building ADDA as a SaaS Product to make Management Committees successful in building Happy Community Living.
In 2014 when we went to raise VC money, we realised the above Purpose is super boring for VCs. They don’t care a hoot about software for MCs.
VCs loved the HNI, Ultra HNI Owners and Tenants Data, and the possibility to Monetise it.. We were told “Data is Oil”, “Why Dig for Water when You can Dig for Oil”… etc..
We felt like a bunch of Fools, but then that’s what Love does to you 🙂 And in that Love of Management Committee, we didn’t Fall, we “Rise High!”
Did not raise VC money, went International – Dubai, Singapore, Mauritius, became Profitable and kept Innovating.
Associations that want a Reliable No-Nonsense ERP and Accounting Software continue to choose ADDA. It was our Customers who continued to choose ADDA despite the aggressive pursuance by Free Software, Free Boom Barriers, Free CCTV Cameras, Free Facade Painting, Free TV for Security Manager etc.
And we continue to be Foolish and Hungry.
Story over! Please read on if you like to know what exactly was in that Article and beware of some Sales Plug by our Marketing team!§
Around 4 years back, Mygate, primarily a gate management software for RWAs, with intention of gaining popularity in the RWA / Apartment Management software market, started offering their services for Free.
Between 2020 and 2021, Mygate made no revenue as it made its offering free during the pandemic. In 2021-2022, the company was burning about US$1.7 million a month, said Arisetty. It wanted to stop that burn and start charging customers again.
Excerpt from the Article
Then NoBrokerhood took things one step further, along with giving software for Free, they started offering cash to RWAs.
Nobrokerhood took it up a notch: it offered to pay societies to adopt its product. “We spoiled the market, to be honest, in the short term,” said another former Nobrokerhood executive.
Excerpt from the Article
Both companies then realized that they should stop the freebies and focus on subscription revenue.
Arisetty wants to move away from ads altogether. “We believe there is a core value to be tapped from selling our solution,” he said. But for both Nobrokerhood and Mygate, that’s only 30% of their revenue. For their subscription revenues to grow much more, they need to bottle back the freebie genie they let out.”
Excerpt from the Article
The article is about two Free Softwares trying to find their positioning in India. Probably ADDA has no mention in this article because ADDA was never into the business of offering Free Software.
ADDA has always been the serious, no-nonsense, subscription based Community Management and Accounting product, which has been trusted by thousands of Communities across the globe (India, Singapore, UAE, Mauritius, US, and more)
Our revenue has always been solidly based out of subscription. A big shout out to our customers who have always believed in the power of a robust ERP & Accounting system for the community, and never gambled with it.
We had few customers who grabbed the opportunity of freebies by running their gate on softwares like MyGate, NoBrokerhood. But they never disrupted their core accounting, with their well set book of accounts & smooth running Billing and Collections engine. They never disrupted their official channel for Communication, their well set internal Community Processes.
And here is how they have gained –
- Peace of mind towards accurate, on-time billing with zero resident disputes towards billing, Late Payment Penalties
- Overall Greater Funds: Greater visibility into expenses reduces pilferage & on time Collections
- Better compliance: On time Tax filings, faster Audits with all data easily available as online reports
- Continuity – No missing FDs, or Missing Builder Handover related Documents / AMCs, etc.
- Better resident satisfaction with transparent decision making, better reporting during AGMs
- Ability to take up long term Community projects & Neighborhood Initiatives, being freed up from Community Management & Accounting related operations and supervision
- No Painful Migration and Lost Information because of moving their Community’s Accounting and Data from One Free Software to Free Software
- Global best practices which are being continuously built into the product
While we have our own challenges on the path of growth, we must take this opportunity to thank our Customers for being with us, and fighting those numerous battles with their Community residents justifying why they are sticking to a paid subscription.
As Management Committee members, you are trusting data of discerning residents and management of Millions of your Community’s Funds on the product chosen by you.
You should only choose a time tested, global product, with well sorted business model, with your Community’s critical processes and data. Talk to us and let us show you a free demo of the product