I thought this part of the journey would take a week. It took three. And a co-founder flying down from Bangalore to the Himalayas just to see it through.
But hey—tomorrow morning, Clixi goes live globally..
Okay, not globally global, but enough that anyone who can download it will finally get to see what we’ve been cooking. Some will love it. Some will hate it. Some will love it and hate it, which, honestly, is my favourite kind of product reaction.
But here’s the truth: it doesn’t feel like a side project anymore. Clixi has officially entered the “I’m really doing this” zone in my brain.
I Like the Hard Ones
I don’t know what it is about me, but I seem to be drawn to the stuff people think is impossible—or at the very least, inconvenient. That’s how ITSHEMP started. We launched CBD in India before it was cool (or legal in most minds), and we built what’s probably the world’s largest online selection of hemp and cannabis products.
But that story is for another day.
Today’s story is Clixi—and the 3-week crash course we just went through in human psychology, tech updates, driver onboarding, referral dynamics, emotional exhaustion, and good old optimism vs. reality battles.
How We Built, Broke, and Rebuilt
The last few weeks were wild. Every day brought in feedback—tiny suggestions from test users, annoying bugs that only appeared at 2 am, and random-but-genius feature ideas from people who’d never written a line of code but somehow knew exactly what we were missing.
We’d fix one thing, and three new things would pop up. That’s the game, I guess.
Still, in that chaos, something magical happened. Our driver base—the “Pilot Partners”—started growing. Slowly, sure. But organically. And then, they started recommending the app to each other.
That moment right there—that was the shift. When people believe in what you’ve built enough to sell it for free, you know you’re on to something.
So we rolled out a referral bonus. Drivers can now refer others and earn a little extra. It’s our way of saying thanks and hacking growth without burning cash.
Bootstrapped thinking, baby. I don’t spend a rupee I don’t make. And that’s still the rule.
From Side Hustle to Startup Vibes
When I say Clixi doesn’t feel like a side project anymore, I mean it.
I even whipped up a pitch deck in 3 hours and presented it to a potential investor. Funny enough, our entire conversation stayed on Slide 1. The rest was me clicking through slides just to prove I’d done the homework. It was less “investor meeting” and more “passion monologue.”
Also, shoutout to my team—we’re still in a 2BHK office in the middle of the Himalayas, but everyone’s starting to carry this like it’s the thing. Not just another gig. Not just another startup. Something real.
Scaling, Scrambling, and Sneaky Marketing Plans
Now that the consumer app is launching, we’re adding some muscle—driver onboarding specialists, customer support, and part-time sales execs. The team’s expanding, and so is my to-do list.
Next up: marketing.
I’m thinking viral, shareable, maybe-stupid-maybe-genius videos. Influencers? Sure. And maybe, just maybe, some paid ads?
Though I’ll be honest, paid ads mess with my “test-cheap-first” startup ethics. But it’s tempting to just throw a few bucks at reach and see what sticks. I’ll bring it up with the team. Who knows, we might just test both worlds.
The Excitement + Fear Cocktail
Here’s a thing no one tells you: it gets harder the second time.
You’re wiser, yes. But you’re also way more aware of everything that can go wrong. The first time, you were naive and excited. This time, you’re experienced and a little scared—but in a good way.
Because now, you also know what it feels like when something actually works.
I keep thinking: what if no one books a ride? What if we missed something? What if…
But then, I remember: this place needs Clixi. And so does every other town that’s ever been left behind in the great mobility revolution.
Hell, if things go well, launching Clixi in other countries might just become my excuse to travel the world. Silver linings everywhere.
A Quick Note to You
If you’ve read this far, thanks for indulging my mini-essay. I write these mostly to process the journey, but also so that one day, someone else building something hard and beautiful might stumble upon this and feel a little less alone.
Clixi.in is live (and you can download the apps from there). Try it out. Break it. Share it. Or just watch quietly while we try to make last-mile mobility a little better, one ride at a time.
Tomorrow, I hope we get our first real, organic ride. And I hope it feels as good as the butterflies in my stomach right now.
See you in the next post—or in the backseat of a Clixi cab.