Challenge: Zaya built text-only chat in-house but quickly received user feedback about the need for more interactivity and multimedia capabilities. Engineering the requested features in-house would have taken at least six months, so the app's CEO and Co-Founder needed to evaluate third-party integrations.
Strategy: Zaya chose Stream after reviewing its impressive SDK documentation, pricing, and support. The integration took a month and a half and immediately drew positive attention and feedback from users.
Result: Zaya can continue to confidently scale its user base with the reliable infrastructure of Stream Chat.
About Zaya
Zaya is a startup revolutionizing the dating landscape for singles worldwide. Zaya's distinctive approach prioritizes authenticity and genuine connections. The company aims to provide a refreshing alternative to the tiresome experience of endless swiping, insipid small talk, stagnant conversations, lackluster matches, and the prevailing hookup culture that saturates modern dating apps.
The app encourages users to express themselves freely, sharing their thoughts and emotions via chat without fearing being dismissed with a mere "left swipe." Zaya is quickly scaling its user base and aims to create a haven for the millions of disillusioned singles worldwide seeking respite from the monotony of existing dating apps and traditional methods of meeting new people.
Amar Amarsanaa, CEO and Co-Founder of Zaya, attended the 2023 Global Dating Insights conference in London, where Stream sponsored and hosted a fireside chat on reimaging the UX of dating apps. Customer Success Manager Elaine McGlaughlin had the opportunity to chat with at GDI Ayar and learn more about Zaya's integration journey with Stream's Chat API.
How Zaya Approached the Build vs. Buy Dilemma
Before integrating Stream, Zaya built chat in-house. Amarsanaa says, "When we first built Zaya, we realized that chat and group chat would be the core features. Since we are experienced engineers, we thought we could build this functionality ourselves. So we did, but we quickly realized there were no ways to interact within the chat after launching. Users wanted reactions, threaded replies, URL enrichment, and the ability to send multimedia, GIPHYs, etc."
He continues, "We built a very effective text-only chat, but because it lacked customization, we received feedback from users that they would instead use off-platform messengers that had the features they wanted."
Amarsanaa recalls the gravity of the situation and says, "We had to quickly pivot and deliver a rich chat experience for fear of losing customers. We had two options. The first was to understand what it would take to build those features in-house, and the second was to evaluate SaaS platforms we could integrate. We realized engineering features that come standard with Stream would have taken four to six months, not including testing. In that time, we'd surely lose customers."
Evaluating Stream vs. Alternative Chat Providers
When asked about the alternative chat solutions Zaya evaluated, Amarsanaa says, "We found two chat providers, one being Stream. We compared their pricing, SDK support, and documentation. It was clear that Stream was the winner. For engineers, clear and complete documentation is a critical factor. If docs are poorly written and updated, it can extend the integration timeline."
A distinguishing factor in Zaya's choice to integrate Stream Chat was Amarsanaa's interaction with the sales team. He says, "We met with Stream's Account Executive, Sachin Sharma, one of the best people I have ever worked with. He listened, fully understood our use case, and worked with us to find the right-sized plan for our needs. We found pricing to be flexible, too."
After signing the contract, the integration process moved at a fast pace. "We replaced our in-house build and integrated Stream Chat in a month and a half. We immediately received positive feedback from our users; they loved it. Stream saved what could've been a disastrous situation. We made a great decision integrating Stream and are so grateful your team was there to help us go through this big event."
Stream Makes Scalability Possible for Zaya
When asked about Zaya's scalability goals, Amarsanaa says, "Knowing that Stream supports Enterprises, we are confident that your solution will help us to scale." He continues on and says, "Our team of engineers has all worked at global tech companies and understands the infrastructure required for long-term growth. Stream's global edge network, reliable infrastructure, and SLA uptimes guarantee efficient scalability. As the business expands into larger markets, we are confident that Stream Chat will scale alongside our user base."
The Zaya team is glad to have a stable chat partner so they can focus on other areas of the business and continue acquiring and retaining customers.
If you'd like to experience the benefits of integrating Stream, contact our sales team to learn more.
