Shameless "Savesage" literally copy-pasted my friends' app feature after spying on their beta group!!!!
I need to vent because the lack of ethics in the Indian startup scene is actually insane.
My friends (an IIT Bombay grads duo) have been building Qubera, a personal finance companion. The whole project started because they were fed up with existing solutions and also the hyped Savesage (which, if you’ve used it, you know is a total waste of money.) It’s got a 3.2 rating on the AppStore, and honestly, even that feels manipulated.
To build a genuine product, they started a closed community on WhatsApp to gather feedback and run beta features. Guess who decided to "slip" into the group? the founder of Savesage!!
At first, the team didn't think much of it. It’s normal to keep an eye on the competition, right? But it wasn't just “watching." The members of this group were the very first people to get access to test and try Qubera’s beta features.
One of the standout features Qubera ideated was a QR-based card recommendation. Basically, you scan a merchant QR, and the app tells you exactly which of your existing cards gives you the best rewards/cashback for that specific transaction. They even posted a reel of this feature in action on their Instagram (@qubera.club).
Fast forward to now: Savesage has shamelessly copied the feature as it is.
It is one thing to be inspired by a competitor, but it is another level of "shameless" to join a private beta group of a pre-launch startup and just rip off their hard work because your own product is failing.
If you have to spy on a WhatsApp group of recent grads to get your next feature idea, maybe your app shouldn't exist in the first place. Support the builders, not the copy-pasters!!!!!