How Astrotalk tapped into a lonely, anxious India

The six-year-old company seems to have taken a therapy approach to astrology and, on the back of that, is showing off some unbelievably impressive numbers.

“I have run out of tomatoes,” says an exhausted, bespectacled woman on a live chat with her tarot card reader. “Aah well, I’ll cook without them.”

It has been a few minutes since the two have been engaged in a conversation that wouldn’t strike you as out of place, like between friends. Except they aren’t. The woman roams around her apartment, shows where she has put up a small temple and finally, sets her smartphone down in the kitchen. 

To start off, she wants to talk about a colleague she holds a grudge against. She doesn’t seem to think much …

Author

Harveen Ahluwalia

Harveen is a co-founder at The Morning Context, and leads our Internet coverage. She has previously worked as a media, consumer and tech reporter at The Ken and Mint. At The Morning Context, she writes on startups, venture capital, consumer and media businesses across India and the Middle East—from e-commerce to healthtech to streaming.

Editor, Internet

harveen@mailtmc.com

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