Harsh Jain, Dream Sports’ co-founder and CEO of Dream11, stated that there won’t be any layoffs even though the company has switched to free-to-play games after the government outlawed online gaming that requires payment.
Harsh Jain’s Assurance: No Layoffs at Dream Sports
According to him, Dream Sports has enough cash on hand to last for years and depends on a high internal demand for talent across all of its channels. In an August 25 interview with Moneycontrol, Jain stated that the company had no intention of making any layoffs.
This place is safe for all the talent. He went on to say that the business wants to use this talent to help us get out of this predicament. Developing new items that you can sell later is the only way to cope with 95% of your money being lost. Talent will always be the first step.
Commenting on the development, Kabir Kochhar Founder & Managing Partner, Audacity Venture Capital stated, “Regulation not prohibition, was the need of the hour. This decision impacts the economy in many ways, the first of which is on the unfortunate employees, founders, investors, and service providers. Nobody is questioning the spirit of this decision. You cannot outlaw something that has entrenched consumption behavior. We know for a fact that the underground illegal economy around betting is many times the size of the regulated and burgeoning legal RMG industry. Expect this unscrupulous underbelly to thrive.”
“VC confidence is yet again shaken. Regulatory risk is something most VCs account for in their decision-making matrix. Investor expectations were around higher taxation and clarity on the distinction between games of skill and games of chance. These are the two issues on which the highest courts of the land are yet to issue a judgment. The taxation itself implied a tacit understanding and a regulation-based approach. However, VCs will survive. It is the nature of the game. Founders unfortunately will be the hardest hit, as usual,” he added further.
Pivot to Free-to-Play Fantasy Sports in India
Dream11 is now concentrating only on free-to-play online social games after suspending all paid competitions on its fantasy sports platform on August 22. India’s new gaming law, which prohibits online money games where participants deposit money in the hopes of winning rewards, served as the impetus for the decision.
How India’s Online Gaming Ban Impacts Dream11
Notably, the investigation stated that these cash-based competitions, which are currently unlawful, accounted for 95% of the company’s current income and all of its earnings. According to Harsh Jain, Dream Sports is still experiencing a high internal demand for talent across all of its current businesses, which include the fintech venture Dream Money, the mobile game development unit Dream Game Studios, the sports experiences platform DreamSetGo, and the sports content and commerce platform FanCode.
Additionally, he stated that the company plans to develop new items in the future due to the increasing demand for them. Jain went on to say that the Mumbai-based business has enough cash on hand to support its employees and operations for a number of years, which he believes is more than enough. Compared to INR 3,841 crore in FY22, Dream Sports reported operating revenue of INR 6,384.49 crore for FY23.
Future of AI in Fantasy Sports and Fan Engagement
The company plans to concentrate all of its future efforts on artificial intelligence (AI)-based sports prospects in India, with a special focus on the creator economy.
According to Jain, the business offers sports performance, analytics, fan interaction, sports content, and products. Artificial intelligence is going to change all of this.
The company may now devote its 500 engineers to resolving these issues. “To address these issues for Indian sports fans, we will begin anew,” he continued.
Quick
Shots
•Dream Sports CEO confirms no layoffs despite 95%
revenue loss.
•Dream11 suspends all paid fantasy
sports contests after India’s online gaming ban.
•Cash-based games, which made up 95%
of revenue, now prohibited.
•Jain emphasizes talent will help
build new products and future growth.
Fantasy sports is what most young sports lovers today are crazy about. With fantasy sports, sports lovers need not just to enjoy a game by being a spectator, but can also create an imaginary team (of real players) of their own choice and earn rewards when this imaginary team performs well.
Thanks to the mobile and internet revolution, the fantasy gaming industry is booming in India too. With a motivated will to explore this sector, Dream11 was founded back in 2008 by two young and talented co-founders Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth.
A pioneer in the fantasy gaming segment, Dream11 is the first Indian gaming company to enter the unicorn club. Let’s have a look at the journey of this Mumbai-based startup that has been recognized as one of the top 10 innovative companies in India.
Know the Dream11 Success Story, Founders, History, Business Model, Funding, Revenue Model, and more here with StartupTalky.
Dream11 is an application that allows its users to create imaginary teams. The catch here is that the users can earn cash based on the actual match performance of the selected players on their teams. Each good move by the players earns cash rewards for the users. Moreover, Dream11 allows its users to play games in categories like cricket, football, kabaddi, and the National Basketball Association.
Dream11 – Parent Company – Dream Sports
Dream11 – Parent Company – DreamSports
Dream Sports is a sports technology company whose portfolio includes brands including Dream11, FanCode, DreamX, DreamSetGo, and Dream Pay. Dream Sports is putting the vision of ‘Make Sports Better’ into action by offering a variety of ways for fans to connect deeply with the sports they love, including fantasy sports, material, commerce, experiences, and events.
Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth founded the company in 2008, and it was ranked #10 among India’s Great Mid-Size Workplaces in 2019. It was also named one of Fast Company’s top 10 innovative companies in India in 2019. Dream Sports’ major investors include Kalaari Capital, Think Investments, Multiples Equity, Tencent, and Steadview Capital.
Dream11: Sign Up
Dream11 sign-up is an easy process. However, if you are confused regarding the registration process of the Dream11 app, then here’s a set of 3 quick steps that you can follow to sign up for Dream11 easily:
First, you need to download the Dream11 app on your mobile devices.
Next, you need to register on the app with your mobile number and then the OTP.
Finally, you can select your match and start playing.
India’s gaming market is expected to generate US$10,060 million in revenue by 2025, with a projected CAGR of 10.08% (2025-2029), reaching US$14,770 million by 2029.
This upward trend highlights the growing prominence and importance of the gaming business in India, which is being driven by a number of factors, including the population’s growing interest in gaming, expanding smartphone penetration, and more internet accessibility.
Dream11 – Founders and Team
Dream11 company was founded in 2008 by two young and aspiring entrepreneurs and sports lovers, Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth.
Harsh Jain (Co-Founder and Chief Enforcement Officer), Bhavit Sheth (Co-Founder and COO), Co-Founder of Dream11
Harsh Jain (Co-Founder and CEO, Dream11)
Harsh Jain is the CEO (Chief Enforcement Officer) and Co-Founder of Dream11. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with an MBA from Columbia Business School. Before Dream11, he launched and successfully led the acquisition of Red Digital (a social media agency) by Gozoop. His vision with Dream11 is to entertain sports fans with some real-time modules. Harsh Jain is currently hailed as the President of the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports, along with being the Cultural Enforcement Officer (CEO) and Co-founder of Dream11.
The Dream11 Co-Founder is also recognized as the son of Anand Jain, an experienced businessman of enormous repute who is the Chairman of Jai Corp Limited, Urban Infrastructure Venture Capital Limited, and is often considered the third son of Dhirubhai Ambani. Anand Jain, the father of Harsh Jain, has been closely associated with the Reliance Group and was even featured at No. 11 in the Forbes’ List of India’s 40 Richest in 2007.
Bhavit Sheth is theCOO and Co-Founder of Dream11. He is an Engineer with an MBA from Bentley University (Boston) and a Diploma in E-commerce strategies from Harvard. Bhavit co-founded Dream11 with Harsh in 2008 and also stands as the COO of the company. As COO, Sheth’s prime focus is on providing the best, trusted, and user-focused experience via operational excellence throughout the company’s processes. Sheth was also the Co-founder of Red Digital along with Harsh, which was later on by Gozoop. He was previously a Financial Research Intern at Bilav Information Services LLP, and before that, Bhavit served as a Quality Assurance Intern at Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd.
The company has 501–1,000 employees, as per LinkedIn.
Dream11 – Startup Story
Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth, childhood sports enthusiasts, co-founded Dream11, the most well-known fantasy sports application. The Indian Premier League (IPL) was the catalyst for the new fantasy sports industry to emerge. In a country with billions of cricket fans, Harsh and Bhavit created the company with the belief that sports fantasy leagues would become a profitable service opportunity.
Harsh finished his studies at the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia Business School and returned to India to solve a fantasy game problem. He invited others to join him in finding a faster solution to the problem. Many laughed at him, but Harsh’s college classmate Bhavit Sheth decided to join him for a larger party.
Dream11 has various products and services; some of the prominent ones are:
Fancode
DreamX announced the introduction of Fancode, an ad-free multi-sport aggregator platform that will include content, commerce (sports products), and community involvement in April 2019.
DreamX
The parent company of Dream11, Dream Sports, has entered the finance market with the release of DreamX, a mobile payments app that was launched in April 2023.
Dream11 – Business Model
Dream11 company operates on a freemium model, providing users with both free and premium options. Users can choose to enter free-to-play fantasy sports leagues and win smaller rewards, or they can pay to enter contests with bigger payouts. Dream11’s business approach enables it to serve a diverse user base and generate income through paid contest entries. Dream11 increases user engagement and improves monetization opportunities within the fantasy sports platform by providing a combination of free and premium offerings.
Dream11 – Revenue Model
Dream11 makes revenue from different sources. Some of the prominent ones are:
Sale of Goods
The exchange of tangible things for monetary value through the sale of goods creates income and propels the financial expansion of the organization.
Platform Fee Revenue
Dream11 makes money by keeping 15% of the entry fees that are obtained from contests held on its platform as a platform charge.
Being India’s number one online gaming platform did not come without hurdles. First of them was the legal challenge, particularly because of its similarity to gambling, which is largely illegal in India. This made the company go through court allegations, but the judiciary ruled that fantasy gaming is a game of skills rather than chances or probabilities. The industry, though growing at an ever-increasing speed, is in a self-regulatory phase.
It didn’t have a lot of money at first. Dream11 began its fantasy sports business with only a few thousand dollars, but it quickly expanded and required a series of angel investor investments. The amount of money needed to run the company was extremely high. But, thanks to their negotiating abilities, they were able to find some decent investment opportunities and are almost done.
A few challenges it found were:
Getting through legal obstacles
Locating a business market
Marketing the company
Fixing the office location
Planning and implementing the appropriate technologies
On October 5, 2023, Dream11 acquired Sixer for an unknown amount. This calculated action is to strengthen Dream11’s standing in the fantasy sports industry by utilizing Sixer’s creative methodology and user-engagement tactics. Dream11 hopes to improve its services and bolster its position as the market leader with this acquisition.
Dream11 – Growth
Dream11 growth highlights are:
Dream11 has 15.01 million concurrent users, as per a news report from March 2024
The company had 220 million+ users as of March 2024
It has 2,50,00,000+ registered users as of March 2024
It has streamlined 40,000+ hours of live content as of March 2024
The company has 29 sports brands as partners as of March 2024
Dream11 – Financials
Dream11 has demonstrated significant growth over the past few years, with notable increases in revenue and profitability. Below is a summary of the company’s financial performance from FY20 to FY23:
Financial Metric
FY23
FY22
FY21
Revenue
INR 6,580.8 crore
INR 4,065 crore
INR 2,708.4 crore
Expenses
INR 5,838.7 crore
INR 3,762.4 crore
INR 2,210.3 crore
Profit/Loss (before tax)
INR 742.1 crore
INR 302.6 crore
INR 498.1 crore
Dream11 Financials
Dream11 Revenue
Revenue Stream
FY23
FY22
Revenue from Operations
INR 6,384.5 crore
INR 3,840.8 crore
Other Income
INR 196.3 crore
INR 224.3 crore
Total Revenue
INR 6,580.8 crore
INR 4,065 crore
Revenue from operations surged in FY23 compared to FY22, with a minor dip in other income.
Dream11 Expenses
Expenses
FY23
FY22
Purchases of stock-in-trade
INR 9.9 crore
INR 0.5 crore
Changes in inventories
INR 2.1 crore
INR 0.7 crore
Employee benefit expense
INR 1,154.2 crore
INR 496.5 crore
Finance costs
INR 12.8 crore
INR 4.9 crore
Amortization & Depreciation
INR 89.7 crore
INR 40.3 crore
Other expenses
INR 4,574.3 crore
INR 3,219.5 crore
Quick Summary:
Revenue Growth: Dream11 achieved a strong increase in revenue from FY22 to FY23, demonstrating market expansion.
Profitability: The company saw a significant rise in profitability despite increased expenses.
Expense Management: Dream11’s expenses saw a significant increase in FY23 compared to FY22, driven by higher employee costs, increased operational spending, and rising depreciation expenses.
Dream11 has partnered with various companies; some of the prominent ones are:
Antigua and Barbuda Cricket Association (ABCA)
To stream the local organization’s T10 cricket event, the Antigua and Barbuda Cricket Association (ABCA) has teamed with India-based fantasy sports platform Dream 11 in January 2023.
Legends League Cricket
Dream 11 has partnered with LLC in March 2023. Dream 11, with this partnership, will reach as many cricket lovers as possible. Legends League Cricket will receive a huge boost from Dream 11.
WPL Mumbai Indians (MI)
Dream11 disclosed a partnership with the Mumbai Indians (MI), a WPL team, in March 2023. Vikrant Mudaliar, Chief Marketing Officer of Dream Sports, commented on the cooperation, saying that “marquee women-centric leagues like WPL will accelerate the growth of women’s cricket.”
Dream11 – Advertisements and Social Media Campaigns
Dream 11 prominent campaigns are:
Dream11 Campaign
SabKhelenge Campaign
Aamir Khan, R Madhavan, and Sharman Joshi, the illustrious ensemble of the blockbuster Hindi film 3 Idiots, are Dream11’s new ambassadors for their “Sab Khelenge” campaign which was released in April, 2023.
Dream11 – Awards and Recognitions
Dream11 has won several awards. Some of the prominent ones are:
Dream11 won the prestigious Red Herring Global 100 Award conducted by Red Herring on January 25, 2013.
According to a report by Google, Dream11 was named among the top 10 biggest and most popular trends of 2018 in India.
In 2019, BCCI signed up Dream11 as IPL’s official fantasy sports partner until 2022. This was not only validation for Dream11, but for the whole fantasy gaming sector in the country.
In 2018, Dream11 was ranked #9 among India’s Great Mid-Size Workplaces.
In Inc42’s 42Next list, Dream11 was one of 42 innovative startups.
Harsh Jain stated at the Startup Mahakumbh event in New Delhi that the company has no plans to expand globally. He explained that India, with one-sixth of the world’s population, offers a unique advantage, making global expansion unnecessary. Dream11, along with Games24x7 and Mobile Premier League, is one of India’s three gaming unicorns, each valued at over $1 billion.
“We are the country with the largest young population. We have tailwinds of a government that is pushing technology forward more than ever before. We must take advantage of this amazing opportunity,” he said.
FAQs
What is Dream11 app?
The Dream11 app is a fantasy gaming app created by Dream11, which is founded on January 1, 2008, by Bhavit Sheth and Harsh Jain and is currently hailed as one of India’s leading players in fantasy sports industry that boasts of 15 crore+ users.
Who is Dream11 founder?
Dream11 was co-founded by Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth in 2008.
Who is Dream11 owner?
According to sources, the majority of Dream11 stakes are still held by its founders, who are, therefore, the owner of Dream11. Dream Sports is the parent company of Dream11. Dream Sports is a sports technology company whose portfolio includes brands including Dream11, FanCode, DreamX, DreamSetGo, and Dream Pay.
What is the Dream11 location?
The famous fantasy sports company has its headquarters in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
What is Dream11 launch date?
Dream11 start date was in the year 2008.
How much is the Dream11 funding?
Dream11 has raised $1.6 billion in 8 rounds of funding to date.
Who are the Top Competitors of Dream11?
With Dream11 being number one in the industry there are close to 60 other online gaming platforms operating in the same genre. Some of them include FanMojo, Mobile Premier League, Ballebaaz, HalaPlay, Gaming Monk, etc.
How much is the revenue of Dream11?
Dream11 reported revenue of Rs 6,384 crore in FY23.
What is Dream11 business model?
Dream11 operates on a freemium fantasy sports model, where users create virtual teams and participate in paid and free contests. It earns revenue through entry fees, while distributing winnings to users. The platform also generates income from advertising and partnerships with sports leagues.
Is Dream11 a Chinese app?
Dream11 is an Indian fantasy sports platform. Tencent, A Chinese Conglomerate has a 10% stake in Dream11 as of September, 2020.
Is Dream11 legal and safe?
Yes, millions of people are playing paid leagues on Dream11. It is absolutely safe and legal way to earn money. Dream11 is the largest fantasy website in India having more than 1.1 crore players.
What is Dream 11 revenue model?
Dream11’s revenue model is based on contest entry fees, where it keeps a percentage as platform fees. It also earns from advertisements, brand partnerships, and in-app purchases.
Harsh Jain is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Co-founder of India’s biggest Fantasy Sports platform, Dream11. Harsh co-founded Dream11 with Bhavit Sheth in 2008, which has 60 million plus users today. Dream11 became the first Indian gaming company to enter the Unicorn Club in April 2019. Under his leadership, the company became a leading name in fantasy sports in India.
Let’s look at the biography of Harsh Jain, the Founder and CEO of Dream11. We will discuss his early life, personal life, education, investments, and more.
Harsh Jain Biography
Name
Harsh Jain
Born
1986
Birthplace
Mumbai, Maharashtra
Nationality
Indian
Education
University of Pennsylvania; Columbia Business School
Harsh was born in Mumbai, Maharashtra,India. He has an immense passion for gaming, sports, and technology. He is an ardent Fantasy Cricket and Soccer player.
Harsh Jain married Rachana Shah, a dentist, in 2013. They have a son named Krish. In 2021, Harsh and Rachana became very famous after they bought a luxury apartment worth Rs. 72 crore. The apartment is spread across two floors, the 29th and 30th, in one of the most expensive areas in India. It is located near Mukesh Ambani’s Antilia, which is worth Rs. 15,000 crore. This news was widely covered in the media.
Harsh Jain – Education
Harsh has completed his primary education at Greenlaws High School. He studied IB from Sevenoaks High School for three years (2001-2003). He went to the University of Pennsylvania for five years (2003-2007) in Philadelphia to study Bachelor of Science in Engineering, Electric Engineering, Mathematics, and Economics.
He was a sports freak and took part in the Upenn Cricket Club and Intramural Football (Soccer) while studying at the university. In 2012, he pursued a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Columbia Business School in New York.
He has worked as a Summer intern for Microsoft. As a part of this role, he worked on the feasibility and commercial benefits for Microsoft to enter the Push-To-Talk (PTT) marketplace. He cordially worked there for three months i.e., from June 2006 to August 2006.
He worked as the Manager of Marketing at Jai Corp Limited for one year i.e., from June 2007 to June 2008. He was employed at the Navi Mumbai Special Economic Zone division as a liaison for investors.
He co-founded a Social Media agency focusing on building strategy for digital marketing, Red Digital in 2010. However, the company was acquired in 2013.
He then served as the President of the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports since 2017. He is currently positioned as the CEO and Co-founder at Dream11, which was founded in June 2008.
Harsh Jain – Co-founder of Red Digital
Harsh was the co-founder of Red Digital, which was acquired within three years of the company’s establishment. Red Digital is a specialized Social Media firm that focuses on social media management, digital marketing, app development, and online reputation management.
Red Digital was launched in July2010. Within two years, thecompany signed up marquee brands in India and Internationally, such as Dell, PepsiCo, Mumbai Indians, BMW, Parker Pens, Adidas, PVR, Godrej, Berger Paints, Reliance Foundation, Educomp, Citibank, ICC, and the Discovery Channel.
The company thus expanded nationally with offices in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, and Kolkata. Red Digital was later acquired by Gozoop in 2013.
Dream11 is India’s biggest Fantasy Sports platform with 220 million users playing Fantasy Cricket, Football, Kabaddi, Hockey, Basketball, Volleyball, Handball & Baseball. The company has cordially partnered with national and international sports leagues & bodies with reputed Indian and International cricketers as well.
The convenient mobile app of Dream11 allows its users to virtually make their own team of real-life players from the forthcoming matches, score points based on their on-field live performance, and compete with other virtual players. Thus, sports enthusiasts and fans actively engage and display their knowledge of sports.
Harsh, with his friend Bhavit Sheth, launched the freemium Fantasy game in India for cricket fans. Dream11 ranked 9th in India’s Great Mid-Size Workplace-2018. It has been also declared as one of the top 10 startup innovative companies in India by Fast Company in 2019.
Indian Cricketer, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the brand ambassador of Dream11 and launched the “Dimag Se Dhoni” media campaign during the 2018 Indian Premier League. Kartik Aaryan and Samantha Prabhu joined the company as brand endorsers in 2022.
The company first decided and brought in commentator Harsha Bhogle in 2017 as its brand ambassador. In the 2019 IPL, the company signed seven cricketers and partnered with the IPL franchiseas part of its marketing.
Dream11 has become very popular in India. It had 100 million users in 2020, 140 million in 2021, and over 200 million users by 2024. This is amazing growth from just 2 million users in 2016. In April 2019, Dream11 became the first Indian gaming startup to join the Unicorn Club. It has reached many big milestones, including sponsoring the 2020 Indian Premier League. Right now, it is also the main sponsor of the Indian cricket team.
Dream11 won the sponsorship of the 2020 IPL for INR 2.22 billion after which Vivo withdrew in the year 2020. The BCCI officially declared Dream11 as the official partner of the IPL in March 2019. Along with that, Dream11 also conducted theOfficial Fantasy Game of the IPL.
In 2018, Dream11 declared its partnership with the ICC, Pro Kabaddi League, International Hockey Federation, WBBL, and BBL. In 2017, it also partnered with three leagues namely, the Hero Caribbean Premier League, the Hero Indian Super League, and the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Dream11 is the flagship brand of Dream Sports, which also has brands like FanCode, a multi-sport aggregator platform, Dream X, a sports accelerator, and DreamSetGo, a sports experiences platform. These brands were founded in 2008 by Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth.
Young Entrepreneur Award by the All India Management Association (AIMA) – April 2022.
Fortune India 40 under 40 – June 2021.
Indian Express Newsmaker of the Year – December 2019.
The Economic Times 40 under Forty – 2019.
Red Herring Global 100 Award – January 2013.
Conclusion
Harsh Jain, a fan of Manchester United Football Club, Mumbai Indians, and the Indian Cricket Team brought together his love for sports, gaming, and technology. Harsh founded online fantasy sports in India, Dream11, and is completely focused on making sports better for sports fans all over the world. He is planning to make Dream11 go public in the near future after building a large user base for the sports technology company.
FAQs
Who is Dream11 owner?
Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth are the co-founders, and CEO & COO respectively of Dream11 parent Dream Sports.
What is Harsh Jain education?
Harsh Jain studied IB from Sevenoaks High School for three years (2001-2003). He went to the University of Pennsylvania for five years (2003-2007) in Philadelphia to study Bachelor of Science in Engineering, Electric Engineering, Mathematics, and Economics.
What is Harsh Jain date of birth?
Harsh Jain was born in 1986. He is 34 years old.
What is Dream11 net worth?
Dream11 is valued at INR 65,000 crore as of 2024.
What is Dream11 owner, Harsh Jain net worth?
Harsh Jain’s net worth is $8 million approximately.
Does Dream11 give real money?
Dream11 gives you real money by playing fantasy games online. The site offers free and paid contests. You need to pay a certain fee to join a contest that lets you win real cash.
What is the minimum amount to withdraw from Dream11?
You can withdraw a minimum of INR 100 and a maximum of INR 2,00,000 in one go. IMPS withdrawals can take up to 3 workings days to get credited.
The two journeys that are challenging and risky to take up but can lead to amazing results include being an entrepreneur and an Olympian. These two seem like diverse fields but are actually quite similar.
When a startup emerges, all we see is its entrepreneur’s successful face. Similarly, when we see Olympians winning medals for their nations, all we see is them in their perfect prime.
But there is a lot that goes behind these journeys. Both the roads are packed with competition, polishing skills, long practice and working sessions, strict routine, economic obstacles, etc.
Torchbearers Inc. is a talk series presented by Amazon Web Services (AWS) in association with NeoNiche which has emerged in the light of honoring these two torchbearers of the new era. YourStory is the media partner and TiE Mumbai and StartupTalky are the ecosystem partners.
It is an initiative that is bringing the ultimate combination of torchbearers of the society – India’s leading entrepreneurs and Olympic contenders.
For the first time ever, these two will share a stage together. The talk series will have multiple episodes that will take you on a rollercoaster ride of their journeys.
Every episode will inspire you with the skills, ability, and finesse of the Olympians and Entrepreneurs. You will also get to witness the journeys behind their defeats, achievements, pursuance, goals, and more.
Host for The Talk Series
Shayamal Vallabhjee will be hosting all the episodes of the talk series. He is a Performance Mindset Coach Psychologist, Host, Author, Podcaster, Sports Scientist, and a TEDx Speaker. His great experience with athletes and corporate executives over the years is sure to make the conversations thought-provoking, inspiring, and engaging.
The Entrepreneurs and Olympians Most Likely to Appear for The Conversation
The Entrepreneurs:
Harsh Jain – CEO and Co-founder of Dream11 and Dream Sports
Kunal Shah – Founder of CRED
Anchit Nayar – CEO of Beauty E-commerce at Nykaa
The Olympians:
Abhinav Bindra – Indian Olympic Gold Medallist in Shooting
Deepa Malik – Paralympics Silver Medallist in Shot put
Mahesh Bhupati – Indian Former Doubles World no.1 Tennis player
Manika Batra – Olympic Contender for Table Tennis
The First Episode – The Winning Way
The first episode of the talk series is set to release on the 11th of May 2022. The duration of it shall be of an hour between 4.00 PM – 5.00 PM (IST).
The conversation for the very first episode will involve the host, Shayamal Vallabhjee, and the Panelists, Harsh Jain, and Abhinav Bindra.
Conclusion
It is now time for the audience to witness this amazing thought-provoking conversation and dive deep into the mindset and journeys of these torchbearers of the new generation. Watch the first episode on 11th May 2022, Wednesday by registering yourself on Torchbearer Inc.’s website.
The next episodes are scheduled to take place on 9TH June, 9th August, and 12th October 2022, respectively.
RevFin is a financial technology (Fintech) startup which is aimed at building the world’smost advanced digital lending platform. The platform will be used to underwrite and manage consumer loans to finance clean technologies through our own NBFC.
Through the unique approach to underwriting, rich value proposition, and a differentiated distribution model, RevFin plans to build a lending book of INR 500 Crore ($45 Million) in the next 5 years,with ROE of 20%+.
Their vision is to create a lending platform that is agnostic of language, literacy, geography, and culture. Once the platform has been proven successful, they will use it to rapidly scale the lending book in India while leveraging the platform in other geographies.
Currently they have financed E- Rickshaws in West Bengal (Kolkata), Bihar (Muzaffarpur), UP ( Jhansi, Saharanpur, Bareilly, Lucknow, Sultanpur, Ghaziabad, Noida), Uttarakhand (Dehradun), Punjab (Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar), Rajasthan (Dausa), Haryana (Hisar) and Delhi.
It now plans to expand to Maharashtra, Gujarat and some more towns in UP. It has partnered with six manufacturers of electric vehicles, who have dealership presence in over 10 cities/towns in India. The collections rate is over 100% and has pipeline for loan demand of over INR. 10 crores a month.
Consumer lending market in India is over $300 billion. Currently, over 3 lakh electric three wheelers are sold in India and over 1 lakh electric two wheelers. Taking average financing of INR. 1 lakh for electric 3-wheelers and INR. 50,000 for electric 2-wheelers, the market in which RevFin is operating stands at INR 5,000 crores. This market has very poor availability of financing and in our opinion; the market can grow 10-15X in the next 10 years.
RevFin – Founders
Revfin is founded by Mr. Sameer Aggarwal. Sameer is an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur and has worked in consumer lending for 13 years, most of which were spent working in London with HSBC.
Sameer has worked in both prime and subprime lending space. During time in HSBC, he has worked in UK, France, Turkey, Egypt, UAE, Hong Kong, Australia, Philippines, USA, Canada, Mexico and Brazil. He has wide ranging experience in organization strategy setting, fund raising, managing large cross functional/site teams and converting a traditional lending business to a platform based digital business.
RevFin – The Idea and starting up
Being a part of the fintech industry in the UK, Sameer had the opportunity to experiment with many unique ideas. While researching the Indian market, he found three clear trends –
Consumer fintech companies were focusing on lead generation, but not on lending;
Lending fintechs were focusing on SMEs, not on consumers; and
There was very little use of technology, analytics and alternative data/techniques.
All of the above gave rise to the idea of Revfin. At the same time, their core lending focus was on retail consumers.
As they started their operations, they got an early opportunity to test lending in electric three-wheeler market. This market did not have organised finance available at a national level. So, they tied up with some manufacturers to test the scale and ease of the market. They realised that there is huge untapped potential in the market and the players in the market are working with them to develop the complete ecosystem for manufacturing, sales and financing of such vehicles.
Friends and family were not very pleased initially for Sameer as he gave up his job in London. However, once the decision was made, all of them have come out to help him build the company. Many people, including the investors and other startup founders, encouraged him and provided him with a lot of insights and advices.
RevFin – Name, Tagline, and Logo
When I came up with the idea, I was clear that our company will completely revolutionise the way lending in done. Therefore, the first name that sprang to my mind was Revolution in Finance. Later, we chopped it to RevFin.
Revfin Logo
When they started designing it, they wanted to use the rupee symbol and modify it to make it unique. Finally, after trying several versions, the logo had been created in such a way that it represents the rupee (for loans) but also ‘R’ in both Hindi and English. Since it’s an ‘R’, it also represents Revfin.
They realised how difficult it is for people to get a loan. Also loans are not very accessible for most people as they get declined by banks and other institutions. To be true to their objective of financial inclusion, their loans must be Convenient (to apply and process) and Accessible (high approval). Hence RevFin – Convenient, Accessible Loans!
RevFin – Product
Revfin provides 2 types of loan.:
The first is a regular personal loan. This loan can be taken for a variety of purposes and is paid back in equal monthly installments.
The second, RevLoan, is an unsecured credit limit that you can use at any time per your need. In this, you can draw down any amount in denominations of INR 1,000 up to your credit limit.
Revfin product
The platform is very focused on use of technology, analytics and alternative techniques like Psychometrics, Biometrics and Gamification. The platform is accessible through web, iOS and Android App.
RevFin – Business and Revenue Model
The RevFin business model is very simple. A customer applies for a loan. The company charges a small fee and interest to every customer who is approved a loan.
Three strong points which makes RevFin unique are:
The digital lending platform uses alternative data and techniques to make lending decisions. This helps increase approval rates and provide loans to even those who do not get loans from traditional institutions.
Distribution of loans in a very under penetrated market
Unique features like Gamification that are designed to help customers be financially prudent and RevLoan which helps them in emergency situations.
When we first started, we wanted to enter several verticals in parallel. But we decided to focus on one big opportunity to start with and then expand in to other verticals/segments.
It uses third party data like credit bureaus, KYC checks for loan approval.
RevFin – Customer Acquisition
While we are still quite small, our distribution tie- ups with manufacturers is helping us expand quite quickly at a low cost and low risk.
RevFin – Funding
Revfin has raised a seed fund round in October 2018 from a group of angel investors. The investment was led by Harash Jain (CEO, Litejoy International and UK-based businessperson), Anil K Goyal (Founder, Anil K Goyal and Associates), Anil Lanba (Senior Technology Executive, EVP Pyramid Consulting) and Krishan B Singh (Investor based in New York).
The main thing is to show your commitment to your idea through your knowledge, deep belief and also by putting your money in to the mix.
RevFin raised around $4 mn on October 20, 2021, in a mix of debt and equity round summed up as its Pre-Series A funding round led by Dheeraj Jain, Redcliffe Life Solutions, Let’s Venture Angel Fund, Anuraag, and Ruchirans Jaipuria, Rishi Kajaria and more. With the infusion of the latest funds, the startup is now eyeing to help the low-income consumers of India to embrace EV solutions. Furthermore, RevFin is also planning to expand its operations.
RevFin – Challenges
The biggest challenge with our business is to get a modestly educated person in a Tier III town to apply for a loan on an App. The first time they went to a customer they thought they had got it all wrong and that this concept would never work. Soon, they changed their UX simple enough that anyone can understand the process. Also they now ask their distribution partners to help customers understand the process.
In Tier 3 towns, people find it hard to believe that they can apply for a loan on an app and then actually get the money in their account!
I had travelled to remote parts of the country to approve loans. This also gave confidence to both the customers and the distribution partners that we were a serious and a real player.
RevFin – Advisors and Mentors
In setting up RevFin, Sameer is supported by many strategic advisors/investors, including Fintech executives, accountants and entrepreneurs based in USA, UK, Dubai and India.
Anil K Goyal – runs a full stack CA/financial advisory practice with Accounting, Tax, Audit, Wealth, FEMA, Company Secretary and Legal verticals.
Alok Verma – CA based in London, with expertise in private equity, M&As, SMEs
Harsh Jain – Serial entrepreneur with business in UK, Dubai and India in travel, aviation, electric cigarettes.
Krishan P Singh – New York based fintech/Investment banking expert
Anil Lanba – expert in IT services and recruitment, currently EVP at Pyramid Consulting
RevFin – Acquisitions and Merger
Revfin acquired an NBFC, Aristo Securities Private Limited in October 2018.
RevFin – Awards & Achievements
Revfin is a recognised as a startup by DIPP, Government of India.
RevFin – Future Plans
We have tied up with several electric vehicle manufacturers. However, we are still not financing in all the geographies they have dealerships in. Therefore, the next step is to go in to newer geographies of our existing partners. We are also looking at financing electric two wheelers and variants of electric three wheelers.
RevFin – FAQs
What is RevFin?
RevFin is a financial technology startup which is aimed at building the world’s most advanced digital lending platform. Revfin provides 2 types of loan at the moment.
Who is the founder of RevFin?
Sameer Aggarwal is the founder of RevFin.
What are the RevFin loans?
Revfin provides 2 types of loan:
The first is a regular personal loan. This loan can be taken for a variety of purposes and is paid back in equal monthly installments.
The second, RevLoan, is an unsecured credit limit that you can use at any time per your need. In this, you can draw down any amount in denominations of INR 1,000 up to your credit limit.
