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Launch HN: InstaKin (YC S21) - Help immigrants to manage tasks in home countries

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Re: Launch HN: InstaKin (YC S21) - Help immigrants to manage tasks in home countries

#31

Post by alex_smart »

anovikov wrote: post #25
shehryarrr wrote: post #22

First love seeing more Pakistani founders! And second - this is super interesting (I'm a first generation kid - parents also came from Pakistan) my parents basically route this all through trusted family right now, have property back home they manage, and this could have made everything WAY simpler. Congrats on the launch and excited to see where this goes!

My question - why do they keep property back there? Are rental yields in Pakistan very high?

I don't know specifically about Pakistan, but at least in India the returns on real estate are very good, especially in second-tier cities.

So many people, only so much land. Rising incomes and steady urbanization. Yada yada yada.

Also, part of it is just culture. I know that people in my parents' generation are not very comfortable investing in the stock market. Real estate is seen as a safe investment with a steady, if low, rental yield.

Re: Launch HN: InstaKin (YC S21) - Help immigrants to manage tasks in home countries

#32

Post by alephnan »

vietnomnomnom wrote: post #3

My partner and I were recently discussing this very problem. She has extended family in rural Vietnam and she is remitting a substantial amount of money to pay for their healthcare: it would be more cost effective to use health insurance but arranging it from overseas is very difficult due to bureaucracy, literacy etc. We discussed possible solutions -- hiring someone local who is literate, versed in health insurance…

> health insurance but arranging it from overseas is very difficult due to bureaucracy, literacy etc.

I’ve actually never heard of anyone I know in Vietnam having health insurance. Kind of a weird idea to me.

Why can't you just keep a doctor / clinic on retainer?

I know that will sound like a crazy idea to Americans, but doctor visits aren't expensive in Asia.

Re: Launch HN: InstaKin (YC S21) - Help immigrants to manage tasks in home countries

#33

Post by shehryarrr »

anovikov wrote: post #25
shehryarrr wrote: post #22

First love seeing more Pakistani founders! And second - this is super interesting (I'm a first generation kid - parents also came from Pakistan) my parents basically route this all through trusted family right now, have property back home they manage, and this could have made everything WAY simpler. Congrats on the launch and excited to see where this goes!

My question - why do they keep property back there? Are rental yields in Pakistan very high?

It's not a rental but the returns on just the plots of land have been good. Their original idea was to retire back home and build a family compound. That's changed since but they still have some of the properties. More and more of the country is getting modern developments and so the return on these has been pretty good.

Re: Launch HN: InstaKin (YC S21) - Help immigrants to manage tasks in home countries

#34

Post by kcarter80 »

arkitaip wrote: post #21

Super exciting. If you can solve the many trust issues, this could become an unicorn that could service millions of immigrants in virtually every country on the planet. One of the very few Y! startups that I actually believe can do some good as opposed to create a less shitty fart app. Nitpick: the UI needs a makeover. Feels bland and dated. Also, is this only available for Pakistani citizens right now? Because my co…

First, "Y!" is Yahoo, not Y Combinator.

Second, YC goes to great lengths to fund unusual, socially conscious, and wide eyed startups. Do you have an informed view that contradicts this widely stated goal of theirs or were you just commenting extemporaneously?

Re: Launch HN: InstaKin (YC S21) - Help immigrants to manage tasks in home countries

#36

Post by asadlionpk »

asah wrote: post #24

congrats - key insight. While this is clearly global, I strongly recommend resisting that temptation, and instead *hyper* focusing on one small region to service, and accepting requests from one country only (one set of laws, one currency, etc). From a requestor-marketing standpoint, you may also find big wins focusing on very narrow communities where you can market aggressively/deeply and build/defend your reputatio…

I would second this actually. Go deep in one region first.

Re: Launch HN: InstaKin (YC S21) - Help immigrants to manage tasks in home countries

#37

Post by nicoburns »

asah wrote: post #24

congrats - key insight. While this is clearly global, I strongly recommend resisting that temptation, and instead *hyper* focusing on one small region to service, and accepting requests from one country only (one set of laws, one currency, etc). From a requestor-marketing standpoint, you may also find big wins focusing on very narrow communities where you can market aggressively/deeply and build/defend your reputatio…

Agreed. TransferWise is another good example of this approach.

Re: Launch HN: InstaKin (YC S21) - Help immigrants to manage tasks in home countries

#38

Post by vietnomnomnom »

alephnan wrote: post #32
vietnomnomnom wrote: post #3

My partner and I were recently discussing this very problem. She has extended family in rural Vietnam and she is remitting a substantial amount of money to pay for their healthcare: it would be more cost effective to use health insurance but arranging it from overseas is very difficult due to bureaucracy, literacy etc. We discussed possible solutions -- hiring someone local who is literate, versed in health insurance…

> health insurance but arranging it from overseas is very difficult due to bureaucracy, literacy etc. I’ve actually never heard of anyone I know in Vietnam having health insurance. Kind of a weird idea to me. Why can't you just keep a doctor / clinic on retainer? I know that will sound like a crazy idea to Americans, but doctor visits aren't expensive in Asia.

I do not have a lot of clarity on the situation so I can't provide much of an answer unfortunately. They're in a rural part of the country, and spending thousands of dollars per year on healthcare. My research showed that private health insurance is very easy to access (at ~$100/year/person) which would be an order of magnitude cheaper than their current healthcare expenditure. There's a strong possibility that I am missing material information, or that the expense has been overstated -- I only have first hand knowledge of the amounts of money sent.

As you're knowledgeable on the subject, could you give me an estimate for the costs you'd expect healthcare to cost for a family in rural Vietnam? I assumed based on the health insurance cost that the out of pocket cost for a heavy user would only be hundreds of dollars per year.

Re: Launch HN: InstaKin (YC S21) - Help immigrants to manage tasks in home countries

#39

Post by asadlionpk »

kcarter80 wrote: post #34
arkitaip wrote: post #21

Super exciting. If you can solve the many trust issues, this could become an unicorn that could service millions of immigrants in virtually every country on the planet. One of the very few Y! startups that I actually believe can do some good as opposed to create a less shitty fart app. Nitpick: the UI needs a makeover. Feels bland and dated. Also, is this only available for Pakistani citizens right now? Because my co…

First, "Y!" is Yahoo, not Y Combinator. Second, YC goes to great lengths to fund unusual, socially conscious, and wide eyed startups. Do you have an informed view that contradicts this widely stated goal of theirs or were you just commenting extemporaneously?

yahoo is irrelevant in 2021.
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