Letter #04

In this week’s update:

• 🥽 How we built a full-blown content pipeline using just Keynote and AI

• 🎬 Why we're rewriting iconic love scenes to speak our brand's emotional truth

• 🛵 How Bangalore traffic turned into our best pitch rehearsal stage

• 🛣️ A midnight Rapido ride, a rider named Kiran, and a story that stopped me mid-scroll

• 🚀 The Fifth Verse product launch timeline and what’s coming next

How We’re Creating Content (Without Fancy Tools or Agencies)

Let’s get the obvious out of the way: we’re not a big team. We don’t have video editors, production budgets, or an agency running our brand.

What we do have: a Keynote file, an AI model, a system of structured JSON prompts, and two people willing to figure it out one frame at a time.

Every reel you’ve seen from The Fifth Verse so far has been designed, narrated, animated, and timed entirely in-house. We stitched together tools we already knew. No Final Cut. No Adobe Suite. Just a little motion, a lot of emotion, and a clear vision of what love should feel like on screen.

This week, we doubled down with a new format: 30 iconic romantic scenes in 30 days — reimagined with The Fifth Verse lens. Not for reach. For resonance.

Because the world doesn't need more dating content. It needs more honesty about how messy, magical, and meaningful love really is.

The Best Way to Pitch a Startup in Bangalore? Take a Rapido Ride

I’ve started doing most of my commuting through Rapido bike rides. Partly because it’s faster in Bangalore traffic, but mostly because of the conversations.

Every conversation has staterd with me just being in awe of how beautiful Bangalore is and as gthe conversations progressed, for some reason every ride turned into an elevator pitch — not the investor kind, the human kind. What are you building? Why are you in Bangalore? What’s The Fifth Verse? And more often than not, that one answer becomes the start of something honest.

But one ride this week hit different.

Kiran: The Boy Who Rode for Something Bigger

It was around 12:30 am when I booked a Rapido from my sister’s place. Bangalore was at its best — quiet, crisp, just the right kind of cold.

The rider arrived, nodded, and we began our ride through the sleeping streets. At one point,

I looked up at the trees and said, “Bro, Bangalore is so beautiful."

He chuckled. “Where are you from?”

“Mumbai.”

“How long are you here?”

“I live here now. Starting my own company.”

“What kind of company?”

And there it was again. The pitch. The story. The dream of The Fifth Verse.

But then, the story flipped. This wasn’t just another late-night ride. This rider, Kiran had stories of his own.

He told me he works night shifts to support his family. His mother can’t work anymore, so his father asked him to step up. On weekends, he rides Rapido nonstop to make extra income. On weekdays, he studies in the morning and rides again at night.

I asked him, “What do you want to do?” He said, “I just want to travel.” Not study. Not chase a job. Just travel.

I thought it was a passing comment, until he told me this:

“I cycled through all 31 districts of Karnataka in 96 days — solo — to raise awareness about rising rape cases in Karnataka. Documented the whole thing on Instagram and got 30,000 followers. But now, I barely post. There’s no time. And no money.”

The surprise did not end here. He has travelled to Goa, Jammu, and even Prayagraj for Kumbh and many more places by just hitchhiking! He carried a tent in his bag and spent money only on food. He went on to tell me how he learnt hindi by speaking with the truck drivers who would give him a ride, share their stories and on good days also give him a cooked meal. He is no short of stories from his experiences and from the stories from those truck drivers.

He said it all with a smile. No bitterness. No drama. Just truth.

When I told him that when my company gets big, and he becomes and influencer, I will get him to prompt by company. He looked at me and said,,

“For you, bro, I’ll do it free. I’ll do it free for a friend.”

That moment stayed with me. And I hope it stays with you too. Because sometimes, in the middle of building a brand, you meet someone who reminds you why the human part matters most.

We’ll be sharing his Instagram with this post. You should follow him. Not because he’s viral — but because he’s real. And this world could use more of that.

Kiran's IG: https://www.instagram.com/nomad_kiran_/

What’s Next: The June Launch Is Around the Corner

By the end of this month, The Fifth Verse goes live. Here’s what’s coming:

• App launch

• Account creation opens

• Compatibility questionnaire powered by Eva goes public

• Our first set of curated date invites go out

We’re finalizing flows, testing the last interactions, and prepping the platform. It’s getting real. We’re building the foundation for something bigger than just an app — a culture shift in how we love, choose, and connect.

Closing Note

This week wasn’t about growth hacks. It was about conversations — the kind that aren’t designed, just discovered. Whether it’s in a JSON file or on the back of a bike, The Fifth Verse is learning to listen. To users. To strangers. To ourselves.

And in those moments we don’t just build a brand. We build belief.

See you in the next letter. And thank you, Kiran and Rapido. You gave me more than a ride. You gave me a reminder to be real.