Hardik Ruparel Of EasyReferrals On The 5 Things You Need To Know To Create a Successful App, SaaS or Software Business

Solve a real problem, not just a “cool” idea: EasyReferrals came from my own frustration with cold messaging for job referrals. If the problem is personal and painful enough, chances are others are feeling it too, and that’s where real demand starts.

As part of our series about the “5 Things You Need To Know To Create a Successful App or SaaS”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Hardik Ruparel.

Hardik Ruparel is a cloud technology expert and researcher specializing in cloud computing, data replication, and distributed systems. He is the founder of EasyReferrals, a free cloud platform that helps students seek job referrals faster. He is also a mentor providing cloud engineering guidance to students globally.

Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?

I was born and raised in Mumbai, India, in a humble middle-class family. My parents deeply shaped my values — my mother emphasized the importance of hard work, while my father, a truly empathetic soul, taught me to always help others when I can. One phrase that stayed with me from childhood was, “Always be grateful — the resources we have aren’t available to everyone.” That mindset of gratitude and empathy became my compass, and it naturally led me to seek ways to use technology not just to build things — but to genuinely help people.

In 2021, I moved to the United States to pursue a Master’s in Computer Science. As an international student, I faced my share of rejections and obstacles — but each one taught me resilience and clarity. One challenge that stood out was the lack of accessible mentorship. I realized just how many students — especially international ones — were navigating tough journeys alone. That inspired me to take action.

By 2024, I had gained enough experience to give back. I became a Cloud Mentor on Topmate, guiding students worldwide with resume reviews, interview prep, and cloud career advice. But there was still one recurring problem: students wasting hours cold messaging people on LinkedIn for referrals — often without any response. I had been there too. That’s why in October 2024, I built EasyReferrals, a platform to bridge the gap between referrers and job seekers. Today, I’m developing, maintaining, and marketing it solo — and loving every second of building something that makes the process a lot easier for others.

Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey? Did you ever consider giving up? Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?

Rejections and setbacks are a part of life. In the moment, they feel heavy and disheartening — but in hindsight, they often shape you into who you’re meant to become. That’s a lesson I learned the hard way during my Master’s program. One of the most difficult experiences was getting rejected by Twitter — a company I had dreamt of working at. I had put everything into the process, and when it didn’t work out, I was crushed. For weeks, I carried that disappointment. But somewhere deep down, a quiet voice kept repeating, “Do it sad, do it angry, do it anyway.” That mindset became my anchor — to keep showing up, no matter how I felt.

Fast forward to October 2024, I was juggling multiple roles. I had a demanding full-time job, I was mentoring students every weekend, and I had just started developing EasyReferrals. My days blurred into nights. I worked all seven days a week, often skipping time with friends and saying no to short trips or even a full day off. And yes, there were moments when I asked myself, “Am I missing out on life?” But my drive to make a difference — to build something meaningful — always pulled me forward. I had made a commitment, and I was determined to follow through.

Then, just four weeks before EasyReferrals’ beta launch in December 2024, my world stopped. I received a call from home — my maternal grandfather was critically ill. Days later, I watched him take his final breath over a video call with my mom. It broke me. He had always believed in me, and I wanted nothing more than to show him what I was building. Not being there in his final moments was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to endure. But even through that grief, I knew he wouldn’t want me to quit. So I cried, I grieved — and then I stood back up. Because I had people counting on me. And more than anything, I had a fire in me to make him proud.

Giving up has never been an option. That resilience — that unwavering willpower — is something my parents instilled in me from the beginning. I truly believe that with persistence, self-belief, and a strong ‘why’, we can overcome almost anything. No matter how tough the journey, there’s always a way forward.

So, how are things going today? How did your grit and resilience lead to your eventual success?

Things are going well — touchwood, haha! I genuinely love what I do every day. I’m fortunate to work in a field I’m deeply passionate about — cloud and distributed systems — while also spending weekends helping students navigate their tech careers. Building and growing EasyReferrals alongside that gives me a daily sense of purpose and achievement. Every new feature I ship, every person I mentor, reminds me that technology can be a powerful force for impact.

Today, EasyReferrals is in its Beta phase and nearly ready for General Availability. The platform has already helped thousands of users connect meaningfully for job referrals. It’s completely self-funded and entirely free — built with the goal of eliminating the frustration of cold outreach for job seekers. I recently added an intelligent dashboard that helps referrers manage and respond to requests more effectively.

On the personal front, I’ve mentored over 400 students to date — but numbers don’t define success for me. Just last week, I was tagged in a LinkedIn post from a mentee who landed a role at Amazon, crediting my guidance and EasyReferrals as part of his journey. That message alone made my entire week. Moments like that are what keep me going. These efforts — all unpaid and passion-driven — have led to multiple awards and, most recently, being featured on the NYC Times Square Billboard, which was a surreal and humbling moment.

It has been said that our mistakes are our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?

Oh, absolutely — and honestly, it still cracks me up every time I think about it. Back during my Master’s, I was working on a project for my computer security course and spun up a high-tier compute instance “just for a quick test.” That “quick test” ended up running for five days straight because I completely forgot to shut it down. It wasn’t until I checked my account and saw a massive bill that I realized what had happened — a solid chunk of my savings had just disappeared. I remember staring at the screen thinking, “Well… that’s one very expensive learning experience.”

The biggest takeaway? Always respect the tools you’re working with, especially in the cloud where things can scale quickly, including your mistakes. But more than that, it reminded me to laugh at myself and not be afraid of getting things wrong. In tech, mistakes are part of the process. You mess up once, fix it, and you usually don’t make the same mistake again.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

What truly sets EasyReferrals apart is that it was built from day one with a user-first mindset. Every feature — down to the placement and color of a button — was designed with one goal in mind: how can this make the user’s life easier? The platform was never about monetization; it was about solving a real pain point I personally faced, and that I saw so many others struggle with — reaching out for job referrals without ever hearing back.

My goal has always been to deliver real value. EasyReferrals is entirely free to use, and even as it scales, I plan to keep the pricing so minimal — less than the cost of a meal — just enough to cover basic infrastructure costs. I’m not building for profit first, I’m building for impact.

One moment that really affirmed this mission came when a user messaged me saying, “I had been cold messaging for weeks with no luck. I signed up for EasyReferrals and within a few days, someone offered to refer me. It felt like someone finally saw me.” That kind of feedback is exactly why I do what I do. It’s a reminder that when you focus on genuinely helping people, everything else follows.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

One thing I always recommend to my peers in tech is to understand and embrace the Flow State Quadrant model. If a task is too easy and doesn’t challenge you, you’ll quickly feel bored. But if it’s too difficult and your current skills aren’t aligned, it can easily lead to stress and burnout. The sweet spot — what we call the “flow state” — is where your skills and the challenge are in perfect balance. When you’re in that zone, you can accomplish in one focused hour what might otherwise take days. It’s an incredibly powerful and efficient mental state to aim for.

The second tip is simple but often overlooked: celebrate the small wins. In our field, it’s easy to keep chasing the next release, the next feature, the next promotion — but this isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. You need to fuel yourself along the way, and sometimes that means just pausing to appreciate how far you’ve come. Recognizing those moments of progress keeps you motivated, grounded, and ultimately, helps prevent burnout.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

Absolutely. I genuinely believe that success is never a solo journey. While it might be you putting in the effort, there are always people behind the scenes who make silent sacrifices, offer support, and believe in you — sometimes more than you believe in yourself. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have a strong circle of friends, mentors, professors, and above all, my parents, who’ve always stood by me.

One person I’m especially grateful for is my mom. When I moved to the U.S. for my Master’s, it was tough for her emotionally — but she never let it show. She stayed up late on video calls, helped me through moments of self-doubt, and reminded me of my “why” when I felt lost. I remember one night, I was completely overwhelmed, and she simply said, “I know it’s hard, but if anyone can do this, it’s you.” That one sentence stayed with me. It’s those quiet, unwavering moments of support that have helped shape who I am — and I carry that with me in everything I do.

Ok, thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of this interview. Approximately how many users or subscribers does your app or software currently have? Can you share with our readers three of the main steps you’ve taken to build such a large community?

EasyReferrals currently has over 4,000 users — all acquired organically, with zero paid marketing. Every user joined because they saw value in what the platform offers. On average, I see about 100 new referral requests generated each week, and that number is expected to rise significantly during the peak hiring seasons in mid-Spring and mid-Fall and as the new cohort of students join universities. The goal is to reach over 50,000 users by Fall 2025.

Here are three key steps that helped build this community:

• Personal trust through mentorship: Before launching EasyReferrals, I personally mentored over 400 students in cloud and career development. Many of them became the earliest users of the platform. That direct connection built a strong foundation of trust and helped kickstart organic growth.
• Word of mouth over advertising: Instead of relying on marketing budgets, I focused on creating real impact. Students and professionals who benefited from the platform began recommending it to others in their circles. That ripple effect is what helped EasyReferrals grow steadily and authentically.
• User-first product design: Every feature, every workflow, even small design choices, were made with the end user in mind. That attention to user experience created loyalty. When people feel that a product is built for them, they’re more likely to stick with it and share it.

What is your monetization model? How do you monetize your community of users? Have you considered other monetization options? Why did you not use those?

Right now, EasyReferrals is completely free to use. The core mission behind the platform has always been to make job referrals more accessible, especially for students and early-career professionals who often don’t have strong industry networks. I didn’t want cost to be a barrier for those who genuinely need help the most.

That said, I’ve definitely thought about monetization for long-term sustainability. My goal is to eventually introduce a very minimal subscription plan, just enough to cover the cost of servers, infrastructure, and maintenance. Think of it as “less than the cost of a meal”, purely to keep the platform running and independent. I’ve avoided ad-based or referral commission models on purpose, because I don’t want to compromise the user experience or turn it into a transactional space.

For me, impact comes first. Monetization will follow, but only in a way that stays true to the platform’s core values: accessibility, trust, and user-first design.

Based on your experience and success, what are the five most important things one should know in order to create a very successful app or a SaaS?

1. Solve a real problem, not just a “cool” idea: EasyReferrals came from my own frustration with cold messaging for job referrals. If the problem is personal and painful enough, chances are others are feeling it too, and that’s where real demand starts.

2. Validate early, even if it’s not perfect: I shared an early version with a few mentees and got valuable feedback right away. That helped me iterate quickly and focus only on features that mattered.

3. Prioritize user experience: Even small details, button placement, color, or copy, can influence how users feel. I designed EasyReferrals with a “user-first” mindset, and that’s what kept people coming back.

4. Keep it simple: You don’t need every feature from day one. A clear, focused product with one solid workflow is more powerful than a bloated one with too many moving parts.

5. Build trust before scaling: Before I even launched the platform, I mentored 400+ students. That community became the foundation of EasyReferrals’ growth, people support what (and who) they trust.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

There are so many incredibly talented students and early-career professionals out there who just need the right guidance, the right nudge, or a little clarity to unlock their potential. I would love to build a global mentorship ecosystem where experienced professionals give back just an hour a month to help someone navigate their career. Whether it is reviewing a resume, explaining a concept, or simply being a sounding board, every bit counts.

Sometimes, a single conversation can change someone’s entire trajectory. I have seen it happen. I truly believe that if we all shared a little of what we have learned, we could create a ripple effect that lifts up thousands, maybe even millions, of lives.

You never know who is just one conversation away from their breakthrough! 😊

How can our readers further follow your work online?

You can find me on LinkedIn. Feel free to connect and drop me a message!

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!