Hyperlink Infosystem: Conquering the world through mobile apps

Can you guess what is common between "DogsterApp," an on-demand dog-riding app; "My Parking Pal," a yacht-parking app; "Winner Circle," an app for Astral Pipes,"Art of Living," an app for Sri Sri Ravi Shankar followers and "Zombie Abomination", a virtual reality game that makes you shoot rampaging zombies?

While the vast diversity of these mobile apps might be daunting, the commonality is not. The common link with all these Apps is the creator, Hyperlink InfoSystems. This Ahmedabad-based company has almost single-handedly put India on the global map for mobile app development. The company has so far created over 3000+ mobile apps for clients and companies across the globe. Established in 2011, Hyperlink has come a long way in terms of creating a unique brand in the space of mobile apps. The company has been a disruptor; it ventured into mobile apps space when no one would have thought about it. And the best embodiment of the company's disruptive aspect is the founder & CEO: Harnil Oza.

Back in 2011, Harnil decided to drop out from the Master of Computer Applications (MCA) program in Gujarat Technological University. Inspired by the success stories of the garage-founded companies in Silicon Valley, Oza decided to bite the entrepreneurial bullet. What he lacked in knowledge and experience in setting up a business, Oza made it up in technical expertise and dedication. Hiring some of his 'geeky' friends, he launched the company based out of his home.

The initial days were indeed tough; mobile apps were not yet a priority for companies. At best, a fancy website would be more apt for the CEOs. Oza and his team had a hard time convincing the CXOs about the need to invest in apps. This was all the more arduous considering that most of the clients Hyperlink InfoSystems was pitching were based in the US, and there was almost no mobile app ecosystem in India. But the initial disappointments did not daunt Oza and his team, and they persisted with the unique offering. To mitigate the risk, the company also ventured in other allied technical services like IT services, including website designing and digital marketing. But even then, it never left sight of its USP; namely mobile app creation.

The turning point came in 2012, with the launch of iPhone5 and the introduction of Android Jelly Bean, which was the tenth version of the Android mobile operating system developed by Google. Both these developments had a massive impact on the mobile apps space, resulting in a surge of demand for app development. With its pitch in place, Hyperlink was all set to conquer the app space. Within a year, not only did Hyperlink grow in size but also moved into a bigger office space in Ahmedabad.

Over the next few years, Hyperlink grew at an impressive rate. It was winning clients across US, UK, Japan, Europe and even India. In five years, the company developed over 2,000 apps for a variety of businesses, from healthcare to restaurants and from commuting to dating. So much so, that in 2016, Clutch.co (a US-based research firm that lists and rates IT services) ranked Hyperlink as one of India's top app developers, and acknowledged it for being "able to create dynamic and cost-effective solutions for its clients." In 2017, the company opened its first office in New York. 

According to Oza, one of the definitive reasons behind the success of Hyperlink is its unique pricing module. While most app developers charge a small fortune for creating an app, Hyperlink does it for a much-reduced sum, that is supplanted with a retainer fee for "app maintenance".

It was a significant risk that Oza had taken in 2011, dropping out of college to pursue his entrepreneurial ambitions. But with his sheer will and dedication, he has carved a space for himself and Hyperlink in the global mobile app development space. Today, Hyperlink Infosystem's valuation is estimated to be over $30 million. But then, the young CEO is not resting on his laurels; he already has his vision fixed on the next big thing. Hyperlink is all set to enter the home automation space, working on wireless systems that connect smart devices to switchboards. Also, the company is investing heavily in artifical Intelligence, augmented reality and virtual reality, creating path-breaking modules around the technologies.

Oza summarizes the success journey of Hyperlink as, "In the parlance of mobile phone technology, this was only equivalent to the launch of iPhone5, we still have a lot many aces up our sleeve."

Disclaimer: The views, suggestions and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No Forbes India journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article.