Gamethon

Tell us a little about your organization and your organization’s journey so far;

The company Gamethon Private Limited is established in Jan 2022. It is a family owned company with we three brothers having equal stake in the company. Before this the company was engaged into stealth mode having 2 apps. One was purely gaming and the another was into fantasy sports. The company apps were live, but not mass promoted as they were into learning phase, improving the apps at every stage.

The company always believed that there was still some innovation possible in the field of fantasy sports. It was that phase of the fantasy sports industry where there were many apps getting launched but all had very little differentiation in terms of features to offer to the fantasy players.

Once this learning phase was over and It was when the company has developer 2 innovativesuch features which arewere not present in any fantasy apps, the company decided to come out of the stealth mode. The company also merged both the apps together and launched a new firm in Jan 2022 as Gamethon Private Limited and introduced the app as Gamethon. 

Tell us a little bit about yourself (background) and your journey as a entrepreneur, please;

I am outright a continuous learner and one who believes that in everything there is a scope of improvement. I have over 22 years of experience in the field of marketing and sales and with time caught up not only with the modern tools of promotion but also the basic required software skills.

I have been a sportsperson all my career, having played hockey, football, running, high jump, cricket. Cricket is the game I love to play and am good at it, being a captain, coach some times and an avid analysist on the field taking decision and guiding the team and most of the times single headedly taking the team through with bowling and batting.

This love in game made me enter into online gaming and fantasy sports. When I started learning about fantasy sports, I know that there are many ways this sports could be modified offering interesting ways to play the fantasy sports while solving problems of the fantasy players. It is this which has led to developing innovative features in Gamethon app.

What do you enjoy most about being an entrepreneur?

The most I love being an entrepreneur are the challenges I am facing. Every day, every moment there are challenges. These challenges have kept me thinking on looking for breakthrough ways in marketing, promotions, product development, partnerships and every part of the the journey every day.

What do you find most challenging about being an entrepreneur?

Evaluating the right value and returns for each money you spend. When you are bootstrapped, the best thing that happens is that it teaches you to be frugal in spending. The growth becomes slow, but you tend start thinking that you want to be profitable first. And this is the most challenging and most loving part of it all.

How is your brand different from the competitors?

We have 2 USPs which none other fantasy apps has it yet and we are glad that we are the first ones to introduce it. I am sure there will be many fantasy apps who would copy the idea.

• Team provider exchange

So what is the advantage of cloning teams from Gamethon if they are already providing teams on their social channels

1. You get complete history of each provider. So you can analyse and choose each team provider

2. All teams are provided, just 15 minutes before the match is live. So no time to make teams using their screenshot. At Gamethon you can clone teams I advance.

3. If the team provider edits his team, the cloned team of fantasy players also gets edited.

•  MVP contest , The most valuable player contest

These 2 features are the USPs which is making Gamethon popular among fantasy players as they tend to solve the problems of fantasy players.

During COVID-19 crisis, what are the measures you have undertaken to continue your business without disruption?

Although business is born just post the COVID-19 crisis, each measure is taken to ensure that the model continues aligns with the challenges of the pandemic.

1. Our business model consists of a lean team which is not resource-heavy and has minimal overheads.

2. The freelancer model ensures each and every work can be handled remotely, where we don’t need to do physical meetings.

What makes an entrepreneur successful?

We think an entrepreneur journey is always an interesting path. A successful entrepreneur needs to be a continuous learner and has to have an ability to think out of the box, think how to make Profit while making any decision and be solution oriented at every stage.

In your opinion, what is the importance of a good team?

A good team is the one which takes ownership in the complete task. Taking ownership is an important part, as the team then start suggesting ways to improve user experience and features. This way the team gets aligned with the company goals.

How do you plan for your business's future?

We want Gamethon to be among the top 5 fantasy sports apps in India. We want to continue solving fantasy player problems along our journey and contribute to the country’s revenues a big way.

What do you look for when building a team?

We think one should keep in mind that the team you select should have the knowledge and skill that is required for the job. We would expect the team to be proactive, and solution oriented.

How do you handle the pressure and manage stress?

We think the best way to handle pressure is to take a break. Watch a movie or songs or so and come back to the table and that generally works.

What do you consider non-negotiable in your business?

 We consider non-negotiable is Ttaking advantage of situations, taking things for granted is non-negotiable.

In your opinion what are the keys to success?

There are a few and you can learn it on your way up. As long as you have growth mind set it is not a problem.

What marketing tactics do you find most effective for reaching new customers?

Today is the digital life and most of the customer are hooked digitally, so using digital marketing to reach out to your audience is the most effective tactics for reaching the new customers.

Who do you look toward for advice?

The best advice I can get is from the competitors moves and the customers and my partners. The advice is just as guide to help you take decisions at the end of the day. It is the entrepreneur who has to take the right decision.

How do you define success as an entrepreneur?

An entrepreneur is successful when all are happy. The customers, the investors, the owners, the partners, the employees and the business is profitable and the market regards you as one of the top brands, that is success for an entrepreneur.

What has been your most significant achievement?

The development of the 2 USPs, Team provider exchange and MVP contest. These are the 2 features which no fantasy app has. Fantasy sports has been around for some time in India and no one has tried to solve that problem and we have finally done it.

What advice would you give to someone starting out as an aspiring entrepreneur?

We always work on a tag line ‘add value to get value’. Don’t focus primarily on money or investments but keep your focus on creating a sustainable venture & value creation. I believe, rest things will automatically set with time. Also, if you are starting up a venture, feel free to reach out to us. You will find us a great partner or mentor to you with innovative means.