Shifting Riva’s focus from Ringo to Flock

Reconsidering direction against economics and risk

When

Directi

Head of Offline Marketing and business lead, Riva

2015 to 2025

Overview

At Riva, Ringo’s low-cost internet-calling model faced wafer-thin margins and required very large scale. The model also carried the risk of pushback from telecom providers.

Flock was a collaboration and communication product used internally, with a possible SaaS opportunity. The strategic question was whether Riva should continue with Ringo’s model or redirect its attention.

Detail

Abhishek reconsidered Ringo’s direction in light of the scale required, its thin margins and the anticipated response from telecom providers. The business model’s structural risks made continuing without a broader rethink difficult to justify.

Abhishek deliberated the strategic direction with the CEO. Flock’s use as an internal collaboration product and its possible SaaS opportunity formed part of the alternative under consideration.

After the direction shifted toward Flock, Abhishek involved the heads of engineering and product in shaping the roadmap. The work brought those leaders into the process of turning the strategic choice into a plan for the product and developer platform.

Outcomes

Riva shifted its focus away from Ringo and toward Flock.
A roadmap was developed for scaling Flock and the developer platform.