22-Year-Old Nepali College Student Sold his Mobile App for $50K+

HIGHLIGHTS

Nepali student Karna Bdr. Kshetri, 22, sold his mobile app for $50,000.
The app’s name is Pickup Lines – Fliert Messages, and it has over 800,000 downloads.
The app was bought by an Israeli company Round AI Ltd.

Karna Bahadur Budha Kshetri, a 22-year-old Nepali student, successfully sold his self-made mobile app, Pickup Lines – Flirt Messages, to the Israeli company Round AI Ltd for over $50,000, around 70 lakh Nepali rupees.

Nepali student Karna Bdr. Kshetri, 22, sold his mobile app for $50,000.

The Pickup Lines – Flirt Messages app, developed and published by Kshetri in November 2022, garnered over 800,000 downloads within a year, according to Kshetri. Currently pursuing Computer Engineering at Universal Engineering College in Lalitpur, he is in the 3rd year 5th semester.

Kshetri, who had a keen interest in technology since childhood, only got access to phones and laptops after completing his Secondary Education Examination (SEE).

Kshetri’s journey into technology began after completing his SEE. Following a 3-year diploma course in computer engineering from CTEVT, he delved into programming and learned Android development through online mediums such as YouTube and blogs.

In 2020, Kshetri had already built and published his first Android application on the Google Play store. He continued developing more educational Nepali apps targeting Nepali students such as school guidebook apps, Nepali Grammar app, Nepali Quiz app, and more.

Before the success of the Pickup Lines app, Kshetri had already published more than 10 apps on the Google Play store, with the majority exceeding 50,000 downloads.

The Story

The Pickup Lines – Flirt Messages app, built using the Java language, quickly gained popularity on the Google Play store, attracting users mainly from Africa and Europe. In October 2023, Round AI Ltd expressed interest in purchasing the app for $25,000.

After thorough verification of the company’s legitimacy, Kshetri successfully negotiated the deal for $50,000 in November. The negotiation process involved detailed conversations and the exchange of documents. Additionally, he secured an extra $3,000 from the buyer to cover taxes and transaction fees.

A total amount of $53,000 was transferred through escrow.com, an online escrow service platform, equivalent to approximately Rs. 70 lakhs in Nepali currency. After deducting transaction fees and a 5% TDS of Rs. 3.5 lakhs imposed by the Nepal Government, Kshetri received over 66 lakhs Nepali rupees.