In an insightful interview with Gaurav Khanna, one of the co-founders of Oter app, we delve into the origins, mission, and impact of this groundbreaking Microbook platform designed to facilitate personal and professional growth.
Q: What is your start-up about?
Gaurav Khanna: Every book wants to teach you something and OTER makes it easy for people in their busy lifestyle to accommodate 10-15 minutes every day to learn from books. We offer bookish insights and lessons in micro format, we call it MicroBook. We aim to offer an alternate space for people to spend some quality time and learn something every day.
Q: How many people work in your team, and what challenges do you face while starting the start-up also, what challenges do you face now?
Gaurav Khanna: We are about 11 people (part-time and full-time mixed). The biggest challenge for a startup is finding the right team, and for us, it was no exception. It took us time but we managed to find very smart people in India and Bangladesh. We are getting a lot of love from our users, and it keeps us moving. Our current biggest challenge is user acquisition and reaching the right people.
Q: What inspired you to start your own startup?
Gaurav Khanna: I worked with Kavin Bharti Mittal in Hike messenger, and my Hike tenure was very inspiring. It was a great culture and unmatched start-up vibe. That time I decided I want to do my own startup and build something of value. Coming from a poor background, capital was always a problem but software opened a new door. You can build anything anywhere and reach to your users thousands of miles away. It seemed magic when my first app made $1000, and satisfaction of your users using your product cannot be shared with words. One girl texted me once GoodApp (one of my old apps saved her life). As they say, when you enjoy work, it does not seem like work.
Q: What are the achievements of your company, and the funding you received?
Gaurav Khanna: OTER is bootstrapped, Aswien and me started OTER and Aswien invested in my vision. So far we have been able to gain 100k+ downloads, and we are constantly maintaining 4.5+ rating on both Apple and Google stores. We are continuously improving and we believe to be a one stop learning platform for next generation. One Microbook at a time.
Q: How did the idea of Microbooks originate, and what gap in the market are you aiming to fill with this innovative content format?
Gaurav Khanna: Content format has been evolving with time and it will never stop. Microbook term is coined by OTER. It was an accident. I was explaining someone OTER and ended up saying we offer book lessons in micro formats. Thus Microbook. Cave Painting -> pictograms -> papyrus -> paper -> books -> e-books -> summary apps -> MicroBook The new generation is on social media and the learning should match the new behavior. With micro books, we aim to offer a refreshing learning experience for the busy generation. We are offering not only Microbooks but goals and challenges, so we do the heavy lifting. Did I mention we offer audio as well.
Q: Could you elaborate on how Oter curates the insights and lessons from non-fiction books to ensure they are practical and actionable for users?
Gaurav Khanna: This is a question we get a lot. OTER micro book content is motivational in nature. It offers practical advice and insights which users can apply in their life. We are not a book reading alternative, we are a parallel universe. You can learn or revise book lessons on OTER. Each Microbook is made of lessons and each lesson is made of insights.
Q: In what ways do you see Oter contributing to lifelong learning and personal development, especially in a fast-paced world where time is limited?
Gaurav Khanna: I do not need to comment on how many books are in market, with OTER you can build a healthy habit of learning lessons from books every day by spending 10-15 minutes a day. Our content format and user experience is made for quick learning. Every day OTER will teach you something new. People who are busy can use OTER audio while commuting, driving. Micro Learning for Micro Breaks.
