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The Phoenix of Digital Content | Vinay Singhal @ WittyFeed
95 Plays4 years ago
Coming from a small village to building one of the fastest-growing viral content websites, WittyFeed, Vinay Singhal has had an intriguing journey. He was the first person in his family to get educated, and hence he was completely clueless about the outside world. This did not dent his determination to arrive at the grand goal that he had set for himself.
What goal?
To become the richest person in the world!
Vinay saw someone use a computer once and to him, it was like magic. He says it was love at first sight! He decided that he wanted to be an engineer.
Oh, by the way, when he discovered the world of the Internet, guess what was the first thing he searched on Google?
Name of the richest person in the world!
This led him to start keeping a notepad where he would jot down ideas about how to make a better operating system than what Bill Gates’ company had made!
He started his entrepreneurial journey with Badlega Bharat. In April 2012 he started a FB page that reached a 1 million follower mark in 6 months. He moved onto stupidstation.com and started raking in a fortune via Google Adsense. Till one day the business was taken down in a moment!
What followed next? Well, tune in to discover how he restarted his journey and eventually created WittyFeed!
Key takeaways from the show:
•How to formulate business strategies
•Mistakes to avoid
•Insights into starting up a business
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Podcast Goals
00:00:02
Speaker
HD Smartcast You are listening to an HD Smartcast original
Subscription Encouragement
00:00:23
Speaker
Hi, I'm Akshay. Hi, this is Aurob. And you are listening to the Founder Thesis Podcast. We meet some of the most celebrated sort of founders in the country. And we want to learn how to build a unicorn.
Vinay Singhal's Bollywood-like Journey
00:00:38
Speaker
Don't forget to subscribe to xtsmartcast.com, Spotify, Apple or any other audio streaming platform.
00:00:50
Speaker
My understanding back then, basically,
00:01:13
Speaker
Everyone loves to hear the story of an underdog, where the protagonist unexpectedly rises to the top. Well, folks, for Vinay Singhal, co-founder of the erstwhile Viti Feed, this is the story of his life. His journey is exciting as a Bollywood movie. It has everything. Trauma, politics,
00:01:43
Speaker
romance, taste of success and failure. Listen to this enthralling conversation between Akshay and Vinay in this episode of Foundathesis.
00:02:03
Speaker
I come from a family. I was the first ever graduate in my entire family and first ever engineer in my entire village.
Vinay's Roots and Ambitions
00:02:14
Speaker
That's the kind of... Was it a farming family? Not really. We are Marwadi's, Agarwal's, Toda, we are a business family, so to say. But the business was basically a general store in the village.
00:02:29
Speaker
In the Indian schools, basically, we have a board. And, you know, then we are going to switch gears a little bit.
00:03:03
Speaker
I was good with education. I was one of the good ones out there.
00:03:15
Speaker
As long as I can remember, and it will sound very cheesy, but I have been very highly ambitious. Time context is relative to ambition. This is the discovery of life. It's not just about life, it's about life. It's also about exposure, right? So, the exposure of this level of life is very important to ambition.
Understanding Money and Family Dynamics
00:03:43
Speaker
So I very clearly remember that as long as I know I always wanted to do something really big in life.
00:04:04
Speaker
He was the one who, you know, he was the one who, you know, he was the one who, you know, he was the one who, you know, he was the one who, you know, he was the one who, you know, he was the one who, you know, he was the one who, you know, he was the one who, you know, he was the one who, you know, he was the one who, you know, he was the one who, you know, he was the one who, you know, he was the one who, you know, he was the one who, you know, he was the one who, you know, he was the one who, you know, he was the one who, you know, he was the one who, you know, he was the one who, you know, he was the one who, you know, he was the one who, you know, he was the one who, you know, he was the one who, you know, he was the one who, you know
00:04:22
Speaker
And another story maybe I would like to tell here is that you understand money by default. And I have a huge joint family.
00:05:08
Speaker
My first ambition in life was to become the richest person in the world.
00:05:12
Speaker
I generally wanted to become a junior. That's how, you know, ambition. And then of course it kept evolving and over time.
00:05:30
Speaker
I was about to become a doctor.
00:05:48
Speaker
Okay, so my story is very interesting. Instead of figuring out what is happening, I kept on figuring out what is happening. But I think it is a turning point in my life. My life has been through exposure, but it has been through exposure. It has been through medical, non-medical, engineering, streams of life.
00:06:13
Speaker
There were a lot of IIT, AMCs. These were not even key words in my vocab back then. There were a lot of IITs in the back then. There were a lot of IITs in the back then. There were a lot of IITs in the back then. There were a lot of IITs in the back then. There were a lot of IITs in the back then. There were a lot of IITs in the back then.
Technology Fascination and Ambitions
00:06:31
Speaker
There were a lot of IITs in the back then. There were a lot of IITs in the back then. There were a lot of IITs in the back then. There were a lot of IITs in the back then.
00:06:47
Speaker
So much else that you discover about life.
00:07:14
Speaker
I fell in love with it in the first instance.
00:07:24
Speaker
It was the first time in my life that I had a computer laptop. It was a computer laptop. It was a Pentium 4 device. You know, use those monitors.
00:07:40
Speaker
So, I think the magic is there. I think the internet is going to be mesmerizing me. And so much so that I made my father buy me one. So I made my father buy me one. So I made my father buy me one. So I made my father buy me one. So I made my father buy me one. So I made my father buy me one.
00:08:08
Speaker
So, we went and went to the event. So, it was an event in the house. So, we went to the event. So, we went to the event.
00:08:27
Speaker
It was a big deal. I literally opened it and you know, who is the richest person in the world?
00:08:43
Speaker
And the answer to that came in by Bill Gates. Basically operating system, he made it better than anybody else in the world and so that's what made him the richest person in the world. Everybody bought his operating system and so on.
00:09:07
Speaker
I think that is why we are talking about who is the arch rival, who is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one who is the one
00:09:27
Speaker
Back in the day, we had an engineering computer, and we had a business company, which was a business company, and we had a business company, and we had a business company, and we had a business company, and we had a business company, and we had a business company, and we had a business company, and we had a business company, and we had a business company, and we had a business company, and we had a business company.
00:09:57
Speaker
10th, 11th, 12th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th, 11th
00:10:21
Speaker
When I came back to my village, my papa was better and I had a conversation which probably changed my life.
Father's Trust and Life Choices
00:10:27
Speaker
When I came back to my village, I was sorry, I didn't know that I was a doctor. When I came back to my village, I didn't know that I was a doctor. When I came back to my village, I didn't know that I was a doctor. When I came back to my village, I didn't know that I was a doctor. When I came back to my village, I didn't know
00:10:50
Speaker
And I was trying to remember that I was a doctor, doctor, doctor, doctor, doctor, doctor, doctor, doctor, doctor, doctor, doctor, doctor.
00:11:11
Speaker
But, I have to say, I have to say, I have to say, I have to say, I have to say, I have to say, I have to say, I have to say, I have to say, I have to say, I have to say, I have to say, I have to say, I have to say, I have to say, I have to say, I have to say, I have to say, I have to say, I have to say, I have to say, I have to say, I have to say, I have to say, I have to say, I have to say, I have to say, I have to say, I have to say, I have to say, I have to say, I have to say,
00:11:39
Speaker
And I think that was very life-changing for me to be honest. That moment, I realized how much he believed in me, how much he trusted me. And I think that was the day when I took this added responsibility of ensuring that I'll never break his trust. And let me do it my way and I'll figure out.
00:12:00
Speaker
and I literally used to carry a pocket diary. I probably have that pocket diary even today somewhere in a bag. I literally used to write down the operating system.
00:12:31
Speaker
very simple.
00:12:41
Speaker
So, this is the first time that I have been in the office for 12 years.
00:12:59
Speaker
I have been working as an engineer for a long time. I have been working as an engineer for a long time. I have been working as an engineer for a long time. I have been working as an engineer for a long time. I have been working as an engineer for a long time. I have been working as an engineer for a long time. I have been working as an engineer for a long time. I have been working as an engineer for a long time. I have been working as an engineer for a long time. I have been working as an engineer for a long time.
00:13:28
Speaker
My name is Lillia. I am a coach and I am a class coach. I am a math teacher. I have a basic class. I have a basic class. I have a class class. I have a class class. I have a class class. I have a class class. I have a class class. I have a class class. I have a class class. I have a class class. I have a class class. I have a class class. I have a class class. I have a class class. I have a class class.
00:13:52
Speaker
If you look at it, you can see the symbol of the board and the side of the board. You can see the symbol of the board. You can see the C-type of the board. If you look at the C-type of the board, you can see the C-type of the board. If you look at the C-type of the board, you can see the C-type of the board. If you look at the C-type of the board, you can see the C-type of the board. If you look at the C-type of the board, you can see the C-type of the board. If you look at the C-type of the board, you can see the C-type of the board. If you look at the C-type of the board, you can see the C-type of the board. If you look at the C-type of the board, you can see the C-type of the board. If you look at the C-type of the board, you can see the C-type of the board
00:14:22
Speaker
I've been really scared twice in life. That is the only exam in my entire career of like 14 years of education, 14-15 years that I remember I got 69 marks.
00:14:53
Speaker
That's another unique story I would love to share someday.
00:15:02
Speaker
Of course, of course, I started engineering, but relationship engineering may start well. Then I got into SRM University Chennai and the journey of engineering started. That's how I became an engineer. I was good.
00:15:30
Speaker
Like I said, I was one of the good kids. I always wanted to do better than wherever I was. And probably is the single most trait that I really love about myself, to be honest with you.
00:16:05
Speaker
I was very thorough with the grammar, I was all of those things and thanks to again those teachers who gave me enough attention back then.
00:16:19
Speaker
I know that I made my way through it. One of the biggest reason was because I was really good at English.
00:16:39
Speaker
I think that's what every college does or if they don't, they should do with their students. College should be a place of exploration.
00:16:49
Speaker
Doesn't matter what stream you have taken, which engineering college you ended up in, which type of engineering you are doing, or which type of a college, college should just allow you to discover yourself.
00:17:15
Speaker
We should just use those 3, 4, 5 years to basically explore and in the process fail a lot.
00:17:31
Speaker
If you have a life of age, you have to have a serious life. If you have a serious life, you have to have a serious life. If you have a pressure, you have to have the most of us, who are privileged enough. If you have a family, you have to have a social life. If you have a parent, you have to have the best life you can expect. If you have a job, you have to have the best life.
College Exploration and Failures
00:17:57
Speaker
If you have a job, you have to have the best life.
00:18:05
Speaker
You are most free when you are in college. And so you should use the time to fail a lot. That judgment is very limited and it is not going to impact you in any way whatsoever. But if you will fail a lot in college, I think that is one of the best ways to succeed in life. I failed a lot in college.
00:18:26
Speaker
I experimented with my life a lot back then. Like I said, I wanted to start a business.
00:18:43
Speaker
So there is a very strong patriotic side to me. There is a parallel world in which I am a social activist and very strong interest into politics. I genuinely believe that politics is one of the best ways to change the world.
00:19:08
Speaker
We started an NGO called Badle gabharat. And it's a thought that I am about to talk about. So, I am going to say, I am going to say, I am going to say, I am going to say, I am going to say, I am going to say, I am going to say, I am going to say, I am going to say, I am going to say, I am going to say, I am going to say, I am going to say, I am going to say,
00:19:55
Speaker
Some of those kids...
00:20:09
Speaker
We are the youngest country in the world. We are 67% population is below 35 years.
Political Aspirations and NGO Initiatives
00:20:44
Speaker
He does not care about this country and so the idea of that NGO called Badlega Bharat was born.
00:20:52
Speaker
No, I am not a asset, but I am not a asset, I am not a liability, I am not a liability, I am not a liability, I am not a liability, I am not a liability, I am not a liability, I am not a liability, I am not a liability, I am not a liability, I am not a liability, I am not a liability, I am not a liability, I am not a liability, I am not a liability, I am not a liability, I am not a liability, I am not a liability, I am not a liability, I am not a liability, I am not a liability, I am not a liability, I am not a liability, I am not a liability, I am not a liability, I am not a liability, I am not a liability, I am not a liability, I am not a liability, I am not a liability, I am not a liability, I am not a liability, I am not a liability, I am not a liability, I am not a liability, I am not a liability
00:21:26
Speaker
And because of course, the political angle, the Banas movement, and Anarjarya and Kildivaji, they parted ways. So I was more inclined towards, I was, I of course agreed with Mr. Kejriwal and believed that that is the right way to solve for the country. But somehow, entrepreneurship took over. But that was the start of my entrepreneurial journey, to be honest.
00:21:32
Speaker
So, we were a very important part of that. So, we were a very important part of that. So, we were a very important part of that. We were a very important part of that.
00:21:55
Speaker
So I wanted to build a Flipkart for politicians.
00:22:21
Speaker
background profile and you can compare all 3, 4, 5 and you can choose to vote based on that. All of those things.
00:22:55
Speaker
I believe that I will become the Prime Minister of this country one
Entrepreneurial Beginnings
00:23:00
Speaker
day. I have very strong interest in politics and I believe that I will become the Prime Minister one day.
00:23:04
Speaker
And the second one is I'm inspired by Alan Nuskalod. So the second one is I believe that I'll be very important to humans becoming an interplanetary species. And so I will spend my last days of life on Mars and not on Earth.
00:23:22
Speaker
The NGO led to starting the company. The NGO led to starting the company.
00:23:38
Speaker
The politics, the exchange, the private colleges, the private colleges, the private colleges, the private colleges, the private colleges, the private colleges, private colleges, private colleges, private colleges, private colleges, private colleges, private colleges, private colleges, private colleges, private colleges, private colleges, private colleges, private colleges, private colleges, private colleges, private colleges.
00:23:59
Speaker
I think that life is a start-up for me, entrepreneurship for me, angel investments, VCs. I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think that's why I think
00:24:27
Speaker
I really like you. I want you guys to go further. There is something called entrepreneurship. There is something called startup. I think I owe
00:24:44
Speaker
uh being an entrepreneur to him till the date and then i remember coming back to my college room and i had this picture in my head of that moment and all my other partners were sitting and we were talking about and then i it's it's like that was
00:25:32
Speaker
I am basically an accidental CEO I became a CEO like that
00:25:39
Speaker
It was a service company to start with. How did it evolve? How did it evolve? And how did it start?
00:26:07
Speaker
nimi yeyeyi mala bhil is literally the last day of first year. That is when this conversation happened. Amarikam niyi naam ta vatsana technologies, which was the name until the last year. So vatsana, V-A-T-S-A-N-A, vatsana, each letter represents one of the partners. To sabki initial ko jodhikam niyo naam banayata, vatsana technology. We are seven partners and we started
00:26:55
Speaker
Sorry, sorry.
00:27:01
Speaker
But I went back to India, I went back to India, I went back to India, I went back to India, I went back to India, I went back to India, I went back to India, I went back to India, I went back to India, I went back to India, I went back to India, I went back to India, I went back to India, I went back to India, I went back to India, I went back to India, I went back to India, I went back to India, I went back to India, I went back to India, I went back to India, I went back to India,
00:27:44
Speaker
How Indian clients can connect with you? I am from freelance.com. I have been in India for a long time. So Indian clients have a connection with you. They have a reference to you. They have a contact with you. So Indian clients can connect with you. I have been in service business for a long time.
00:27:53
Speaker
And it was a big moment in our lives.
00:28:05
Speaker
I don't know. Too many founders. It's a tough task. It's not like a
00:28:21
Speaker
It's not that easy right, it's not as easy as it sounds for sure. And again, you know, it's a very different thing than it was in 2010, right.
00:28:41
Speaker
You have to do it on your own. You have to do it on your own. You have to do it on your own. You have to do it on your own. You have to do it on your own. You have to do it on your own. You have to do it on your own. You have to do it on your own. You have to do it on your own. You have to do it on your own. You have to do it on your own. You have to do it on your own. You have to do it on your own.
00:29:25
Speaker
And people would go watch movies and
00:29:47
Speaker
This is not something that I signed up for.
00:29:52
Speaker
Yes, we had Javan, Kohn, Garam, Josie, Bahad and immature, inexperienced, Satat, Log, Paribara, Barke, classmates. There's a lot of ego-clearation, so many other things that happen. The dynamics are very complicated, right? And there's nobody mature enough to handle them.
00:30:14
Speaker
Actually, I really did, did, did, did almost, almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost, did almost
00:30:27
Speaker
Actually, and my brother had come in at that moment in time. He was doing a lot of different things. There was a fallout between me and Shashank to build something separately.
00:30:47
Speaker
And this is this is exactly why I say, you know, it may be failures on any of our college record. So normally startups may co-founder issues, but common attack, right? But many of us are okay, many, many college, many of us are thankfully not that good. So, you know, it's, it's an 11 year partnership now between me, Shashank and my brother and you know, going strong.
00:31:30
Speaker
All of those things that you can go wrong with, go wrong with them in the college. If you have
00:31:36
Speaker
Well, the best time to become an entrepreneur is in college, actually. That's what I believe in, a lot of experience. So, you know, we built another product. We built something else, me and my brother Praveen. And then finally, by the time we ended college, we came back together. Basically, in an April, we ended college. Well, by the time you ended college, what time was it?
00:32:05
Speaker
By that time, the product was followed by 247, which was basically a software to communicate between teachers and students. But on SMS, apps and smartphones were not very big back in the day. So, on the SMS basis, the teachers could broadcast a poll also to which students could respond.
00:32:30
Speaker
The HOD Public Department, the director of the college could send out a message to everyone in the college and so on and so forth. It was very interesting. If students were a customer, then it was a CRM basis. Between teachers and students, there was a relationship management, communication tool basically. The US company, if you remember, a company called Remind 101.
00:32:59
Speaker
But anyways, we basically teach the students how to use software, how to adapt, how to use the software and all that kind of stuff. So, either you have to have content to experiment with social media, content to experiment with social media. You have to have an experiment type to experiment with social media. And of course, you have to have a website where you can use it.
00:33:22
Speaker
We started a Facebook page. So the concept was
00:33:45
Speaker
and it became a brainstorming session overnight and what we realized was that the problem is that it has fear embedded in it and fear is viral by default.
00:34:03
Speaker
Because it's vital by default, we are genetically wired to share it. We want to alert the others of our kind.
00:34:19
Speaker
This was just to say, you know, negative goes viral, media loves negative. The thought built like that. Can you build, can we build something to appreciate the good in the world? And so we started this Facebook page called amazing things in the world. That was literally the name of it. And so that was also our first ever introduction to the world of content and social media.
00:34:56
Speaker
You would find websites, positive news, or reposts on Facebook.
00:35:05
Speaker
Basically, we were more about pictures, photos, chechi, photos. So, daily basis for bees by stories basically I am postcard today and people will just go crazy.
00:35:27
Speaker
US, UK, Canada, Australia, those were the top countries from which we got those followers. And that is why we also became a US first company. Viti Feed was always built on a base of an international audience.
00:35:45
Speaker
We were getting huge traction from there. We were getting huge traction from there. We were getting huge traction from there. We were getting huge traction from there. We were getting huge traction from there. We were getting huge traction from there. We were getting huge traction from there.
00:36:10
Speaker
Power of stories. So we started to have a very strong belief into the fact that, you know...
00:36:30
Speaker
The power of stories is a strong belief. I think it was the most important lesson that we learned during those days. If content is king, distribution is God. The story is as good as the number of people who consume it. If the impact is bad, then the story will consume itself.
00:37:03
Speaker
You know, that story is not impactful anymore, right? So, the story called distribution is important. And on the basis of that, what we did was we found it, we defeated it on the back of these two beliefs in September 2014.
Scaling Content Distribution
00:37:19
Speaker
What we did was, but if it was the front end where we would do these stories, but on the back end we built something called Viral 9. It was world's first ever content affiliate network, where if you have an audience on social media, in any form, Facebook page, Twitter profile, wherever, join our platform, share our content and
00:37:49
Speaker
Basically, you imagine like a Google AdSense, but for Facebook pages, if you could make money through Facebook pages through a simple plug and play program. So that is what it was key content share group. And we will pay you money for that. So and it became a huge hit. But that was the second time when the idea was really hit. And that was actually the secret source of it if it becoming so big.
00:38:13
Speaker
acquiring so many users and being able to scale distribution to 120 million uniques month on month on our website. So, you didn't sit for placements then, you didn't sit for placements then, you didn't sit for placements then, you didn't sit for placements then, you didn't sit for placements then, you didn't sit for placements then, you didn't sit for placements then, you didn't sit for placements then, you didn't sit for placements then, you didn't sit for placements then, you didn't sit for placements then, you didn't sit for placements then, you didn't sit for placements then, you didn't sit for placements then, you didn't sit for placements then, you didn't sit for placements then, you didn't sit for placements then, you didn't sit for placements then, you didn't sit for placements then, you didn't sit for placements then, you didn't sit for placements then, you didn't sit for placements then, you didn
00:38:34
Speaker
The idea was that we will put up all these stories in detailed format on this website and drive the traffic from this Facebook community, Facebook page to this website, make money through Google Adsense.
00:38:56
Speaker
We did make a lot of money. We had a lot of money. We had a lot of money back in the college. We had a lot of money back in college. We had a lot of money back in college. We had a lot of money back in college. We had a lot of money back in college. We had a lot of money back in college. We had a lot of money back in college. We had a lot of money back in college.
00:39:15
Speaker
On the post-limited server-course, there is no traffic traffic, but there is a lot of AWs coming in. There is a lot of feedback. There is a lot of writers coming in. There is a lot of team members coming in. There is a lot of office in the college. There is a place called... There is a place called... There is a place called... There is a place called... There is a place called... There is a place called... There is a place called... There is a place called...
00:39:46
Speaker
But without sitting in placements, he had multiple offers. Sashank was the techie among us. Sashank is the city of the company. He was always the techie among us.
00:39:59
Speaker
I did sit in placement for once. You know, I did sit in the placements.
00:40:30
Speaker
I'm not sure, but yeah. I think it's a good thing to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to be able to
00:40:59
Speaker
I think that finally we will be able to find a way to build a brand. I think that we will be able to find a way to start up entrepreneurship, media, power of media, power of building a brand, how do you build a brand, what is the right kind of brand. I think that we will be able to find a way to build a brand.
00:41:18
Speaker
All of it was all by doing, we learnt everything by doing it.
00:41:40
Speaker
We knew there has to be something good enough. We have to build a real product for people to build a sustainable thing on this side. We have to build a Facebook page on this side. We have to build a real product for people to build a sustainable thing on this side. We have to build a Facebook page on this side. We have to build a real product for people to build a sustainable thing on this side. We have to build a real product for people to build a sustainable thing on this side. We have to build a real product for people to build a sustainable thing on this side. We have to build a real product for people to build a sustainable thing on this side. We have to build a real product for people to build a sustainable thing on this side. We have to build a real product for people to build a sustainable thing on this side. We have to build a real product for people to build a sustainable thing on this side. We have to build a real product for people to build a sustainable thing on this side. We have to build a real product for people to build a
00:42:01
Speaker
And the concept of every story was that everybody has a story to tell, but they don't have places to tell those stories. So we wanted to become YouTube for writers. Okay. Like a blogging platform. Like a blogging platform.
00:42:23
Speaker
But that's it. That's it. That's it. That's it.
00:42:44
Speaker
The writers wanted to write in a free format. The only way in which we could make money out of those stories if they were put in a certain format. If they were put in a certain format. If they were put in a certain format. If they were put in a certain format. If they were put in a certain format. If they were put in a certain format. If they were put in a certain format. If they were put in a certain format. If they were put in a certain format.
00:43:15
Speaker
So, every story, next was Whitty Feed, where you said... Ah, which was Whitty Feed, which was Whitty Feed. September 2014. Okay. Well, you decided that content all over, that crowdsource content is not content, but distribution is crowdsource.
00:43:53
Speaker
And that is exactly what happened.
00:43:55
Speaker
So, Vayal 9 over next 3 years had 65,000 Facebook pages which became part of it and you know they were distributing content, they were all sharing our content every day in and day out. So, there were 6 million people who were on our website. So, there were 6 million American people. 60 million American is basically every 3rd American voter on our website every month. So, this is the scale of our website.
00:44:22
Speaker
start million in America, start million in India, and start million in the UK, Canada, Australia, and so forth. So, what was your point? Did you pivot again? Of course, in India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India, India.
00:44:46
Speaker
Nobody is interested in this. In some other form, in September, we grew a lot, like I said, from 0 to 120 million, becoming the second largest final content company in the world. We grew a lot, like I said, from 0 to 120 million, becoming the second largest final content company in the world. We grew a lot, like I said, from 0 to 120 million, becoming the second largest final content
Viti Feed's Global Growth and Challenges
00:45:13
Speaker
company in the world. We grew a lot, like I said, from 0 to 120 million, becoming the second largest final content company in the world. We grew a lot, like I said, from 0 to 120 million, becoming the second largest final content company in the world. We grew a lot, like I said, from 0 to 120 million, becoming the second largest final content company in the world. We grew a lot, like I said, from 0 to 120 million, becoming the second largest final content company in the world. We grew a lot, like I said, from 0 to 120 million, becoming the second largest final content company in the world. We grew
00:45:31
Speaker
So, 2018, what was your revenue?
00:45:47
Speaker
2.5-3 karros. 2.5-3 karros. 2.5-3 karros. 3-3 karros. 3-3 karros. 3-3 karros. 3-3 karros. 3-3 karros. 3-3 karros. 3-3 karros. 3-3 karros. 3-3 karros. 3-3 karros. 3-3 karros. 3-3 karros. 3-3 karros. 3-3 karros. 3-3 karros. 3-3 karros. 3-3 karros. 3-3 karros. 3-3 karros. 3-3 karros. 3-3 karros. 3-3 karros.
00:46:07
Speaker
If you look at it, there is an ego problem. In the last few years, there has been a lot of classism. If you look at the international media, if you look at the international media, if you look at the media, if you look at the social media, if you look at the social media, if you look at the social media, if you look at the social media, if you look at the social media,
00:46:45
Speaker
We raised around half a million dollars. Let me give the smallest cheque but be the brand ambassador of the company out there. We raised around half a million dollars. Let me give the smallest cheque but be the brand ambassador of the company out there.
00:46:49
Speaker
without even going through what we actually do.
00:47:02
Speaker
but you have become the qualification to invest in our company that you have to become the brand ambassador. You have to go out and tell the world that these guys are real. So in 2017-18 was the best year we had. The entire company got wiped out in a single moment.
00:47:29
Speaker
Daidsulobu team, New York, Singapore, Delhi, Bombay, Bangalore offices and Indore headquarters. November itself, we did almost $1 billion, $700,000, $800,000 of revenue in November alone. So, that was the runway. So, why did you need New York office? Sales built in Delhi, Bombay, Bangalore, New York. What are your sales offices? Google Adsense directly advertises this channel.
00:47:57
Speaker
We had evolved that much. Why would we rely on Google AdSense? That's the cheapest form of selling our ad inventory. So we wanted to sell directly. In India, we would do sponsored stories. We would do content marketing. So we had a very, very successful run in India.
00:48:36
Speaker
And if you look at us from an American mindset, basically a non-American company influenced American voters using Facebook's platform through content. Right. And if you look at what do you see a non-American company definitely influencing every third American voter every month using Facebook's platform through content.
00:48:46
Speaker
November 2018 was the first U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Secretary of State
00:48:59
Speaker
And we were huge. We were paying for our Facebook pages on a daily basis. So, we were paying for our traffic. We were paying for our average daily. We were paying for some company based out of Indore, which nobody has heard of.
00:49:16
Speaker
And in the US, there is no traffic, there is no PR. Basically, they sent us a legal notice saying that, we are going to affiliate this. We are going to have a Facebook policy, and we are going to do this. We are going to affiliate this. Facebook is going to have a relationship, and we are going to have a conference, and we are going to have a conversation, and we are going to pass it.
00:49:40
Speaker
How do I control that? I can't actually. I will not have you into that. There was impossible for us to know, right? They wiped us out completely.
00:50:09
Speaker
If you look at the page, the domain name, the block, you know, the founders who profiled, they did not even leave that. They did not even leave that. They did not even leave that. They did not even leave that. They did not even leave that. They did not even leave that. They did not even leave that. They did not even leave that. They did not even leave that. They did not even leave that. They did not even leave that. They did not even leave that. They did not even leave that. They did not even leave that. They did not even leave that. They did not even leave that. They did not even leave that. They did not even leave that. They did not even leave that. They did not even leave that. They did not even leave that. They did not even leave that. They did not even leave that. They did not even leave that. They did not even leave that. They did not even leave that. They did not even leave that. They did not even leave that. They did not even leave
00:50:38
Speaker
It's a lot of money, right? The entire thing happened. That is the incident which led us to what we do now.
00:50:56
Speaker
So, by that time, what did you do? Yes, I did, but I didn't do anything. So, what did you do? I did, but I didn't do anything. So, what did you do? I did, but I didn't do anything.
00:51:13
Speaker
Yes, Mary Shadi is an inter-caste marriage. She is my wife and wife. She is my wife. She is my wife. She is my wife. She is my wife. She is my wife. She is my wife. She is my wife. She is my wife. She is my wife. She is my wife. She is my wife. She is my wife.
00:51:44
Speaker
But we didn't know, we had nothing back then. That's it. We were in the first year of college. We were in the second year. We were in the second year of college.
00:52:11
Speaker
One thing led to another over next, after one and a half years, one and a half, one and a half, two years of talking to each other, chats, I think finally the love story started, commitment.
00:52:26
Speaker
A very poor story. I was in a relationship for 4 years before marriage and it was all long distance, 100%. When you decided to marry, what was your reaction to your family's reaction? Did they agree? I didn't agree. I didn't agree with the interesting story.
00:52:55
Speaker
That's where it is, right?
00:53:13
Speaker
She was at home, she was at home, she was at home, she was at home, she was at home, she was at home, she was at home, she was at home, she was at home, she was at home, she was at home, she was at home, she was at home, she was at home, she was at home, she was at home, she was at home, she was at home,
00:53:39
Speaker
I would just chat that was the only form of only mode of communication for two years. That is the only way we would talk to each other. I get to know that she is okay and all.
00:53:55
Speaker
So, all those things also happen and all. But I think she was really strong. She fought through it. Finally, we decided to marry.
Personal Struggles and Rebuilding
00:54:40
Speaker
Otherwise, it would be very against these things. You need to buy that much time. Police, lawyers. This is a very film-y type of story. Finally, we went to Tijari court.
00:54:41
Speaker
When I was a kid, I had a job, I had a job, I had a job, I had a job, I had a job, I had a job, I had a job, I had a job, I had a job, I had a job, I had a job, I had a job, I had a job, I had a job, I had a job, I had a job, I had a job, I had a job, I had a job, I had a job, I had a job, I had a job,
00:55:06
Speaker
I was doing all right by that time. But you know this is what it is.
00:55:36
Speaker
And then you go back and they kill you. Usually you are murdered like that. That's the pattern of an on killing story normally.
00:56:12
Speaker
But I went back with Anu and loved my family and everybody.
00:56:21
Speaker
Thankfully, we were married nicely. Now things are normal, great. It's a nice story that we all laugh at now. We go back to the relationship. But yeah, it was a very tough one. Interesting.
00:56:48
Speaker
I don't have time to do that. I don't have time to do it. I don't have time to do it. I don't have time to do it. I don't have time to do it. I don't have time to do it. I don't have time to do it. I don't have time to do it. I don't have time to do it. I don't have time to do it. I don't have time to do it.
00:57:21
Speaker
It was scary as hell but I can't tell you how much.
00:57:25
Speaker
There are never going to be enough words to explain how scared I was that day. That's not scary. That's very devastating. It's very hard. It was tough to go through that time and all, but it was not scary at all, to be honest.
00:57:58
Speaker
I didn't know who I was after that. Papa was the variable in the picture basically. He trusts me so much and where would I land him?
00:58:10
Speaker
because it was about the life. I was not scared about my life. I was scared about the fact that they will do something to Anu, they will do something to my parents, my brothers, my sister, you know, all those guys. So that's the definition of scary for me. And then I had seen that. So Facebook has booked him and he's telling him.
00:58:38
Speaker
If you don't know the results of the results, you will be able to find the results of the results. If you don't know the results, you will be able to find the results of the results. If you don't know the results, you will be able to find the results. If you don't know the results, you will be able to find the results. If you don't know the results, you will be able to find the results. If you don't know the results, you will be able to find the results. If you don't know the results, you will be able to find the results. If you don't know the results, you will be able to find the results. If you don't know the results, you will be able to find the results. If you don't know the results, you will be able to find the results. If you don't know the results, you will be able to find the results. If you don't know the results, you will be able to find the results. If you don't know the results, you will be
00:59:13
Speaker
What does it mean? What does it mean?
00:59:22
Speaker
I think we were clinically depressed all three of them. Did you do massive layout?
00:59:47
Speaker
It was really the toughest time of my career for sure. Facebook is a fight letter but it is going to be a long drawn battle and that also against someone who has unlimited resources and money and power, you can't win back against such people.
01:00:12
Speaker
You know, on those things, you know, it's time to shut down.
01:00:42
Speaker
This is the end of our story. This is the end of our story. We did a town hall of the team. Our team basically announced the town hall. We didn't believe that this is the end of the story as a proposal for our team.
01:01:13
Speaker
We didn't know anyone, there was no network, nothing like that, right? And we still built this company, right?
01:01:25
Speaker
of a, you know, uh, Facebook, Facebook can take away the feed, but it cannot, uh, it cannot take all that we have today, the experience, the knowledge, all of, and, and, you know, all of this. So, uh, we will, we definitely have the potential to build it back. We don't have many to pay you guys.
01:02:08
Speaker
We will have to rebuild it and then we go back start from scratch and all. So, why don't you guys become investors in the company? The proposal was we know that you don't have money to pay us or give us, but
01:02:12
Speaker
And investors will know that by the way, we were trying to raise a series A. We were trying to raise a series A. We were trying to raise a series A. We were trying to raise a series A.
01:02:24
Speaker
So, we will pay 25% of your salaries for next 7 months to survive somehow. If I know 25% is nothing but maybe you know for 7 months and if you can stay back, we will give you the rest 75% of your salary. We will double that and we will give you as an equity in the company.
01:02:44
Speaker
As an actual investor, not e-shops, nothing but actual equity in the company, we will become the investor.
01:03:04
Speaker
And out of 90 people, we will have something to look forward to, we will go to office and I am depressed.
01:03:19
Speaker
Out of 90 people, 52 of them decided to stay back. So frankly, you will not be able to live in between. You will not be able to live in between. It was
01:03:41
Speaker
It was a bit difficult for those who stayed. But there was a lot of work to be done. There was a lot of work to be done. There was a lot of work to be done. There was a lot of work to be done. There was a lot of work to be done. There was a lot of work to be done. There was a lot of work to be done.
01:04:07
Speaker
We addressed that day, 26th of February 2019 as the day of miracle in our story. And we said, you have done miracle, why? And the Bhawan investor, if you don't have a company, then you can't kill those kind of stories, right?
01:04:24
Speaker
And from there, we then we started the journey of rebuilding this company and, you know, uh, uh, what did you build it up as?
01:04:50
Speaker
So, frankly, we have a plan. We have a plan. We have a plan. We have a plan. We have a plan. We have a plan. We have a plan. We have a plan. We have a plan. We have a plan. We have a plan. We have a plan. We have a plan. We have a plan. We have a plan. We have a plan. We have a plan. We have a plan. We have a plan. We have a plan. We have a plan. We have a plan.
01:05:24
Speaker
So, this led us to the journey to start the journey of asking, what did we always wanted to do but we couldn't do because there was very few.
01:06:00
Speaker
We are the best people, best kind of entrepreneurs to solve for Bharat.
01:06:07
Speaker
I don't know if it's possible or not. Even if it's possible, I don't know. I don't know if it's possible or not. I don't know if it's possible or not. I don't know if it's possible or not.
01:06:29
Speaker
We are good. We are the right people to build for them, but we are not building for them somehow. Now we could actually solve this right.
01:06:48
Speaker
We started to look for problems in Bharati.
Creating Bharat's Premium Content Platform
01:06:53
Speaker
We were always driven by the impact of what we could do. The impact rate was the highest, but the problem set was the highest. The highest was the largest delta market. The highest was the fastest growing market.
01:07:19
Speaker
There are underprivileged people who have been in this country for a long time. And in their lives, there is a genuine difference between them and them, by creating something amazing for them. So, this is the angle that we have to decide. So, there are no problems, there are no content, there are no stories.
01:07:43
Speaker
top content companies, they were companies like TikTok, Snapchat, Hello Bigo, like ESMA basically, right? So, is Sari companies Chinese UGC? And in the name of UGC, a lot of filthy sexual content. UGC means user-generated content.
01:07:59
Speaker
We have to fill the content with actual growth. All the TikToks, the world, all the Chinese apps. We have to fill the content with actual growth. All the TikToks, all the Chinese apps. We have to fill the content with actual growth. All the TikToks, all the Chinese apps. We have to fill the content with actual growth. All the TikToks, all the Chinese apps. We have to fill the content with actual growth. All the TikToks, all the Chinese apps. We have to fill the content with actual growth. All the TikToks, all the Chinese apps. We have to fill the content with actual growth. All the TikToks, all the Chinese apps. We have to fill the content with actual growth. All the TikToks. All the TikToks. All the TikToks. All the TikToks. All the TikToks. All the TikToks. All the TikToks. All the TikToks. All the TikToks. All the TikToks. All the TikTok
01:08:22
Speaker
Right? Which is where the answer came in? They would really like to have good content, but it's not good. It's not the premium and sensible content. It's not the premium and sensible content. It's not the premium and sensible content. It's not the premium and sensible content. It's not the premium and sensible content. It's not the premium and sensible content. It's not the premium and sensible content.
01:08:41
Speaker
which is where the vision of the company came into picture that we will build a premium and sensible content company for Bharat.
01:08:58
Speaker
I will tell you the content of the Bharti, the content of the Bharti will tell you the content of the Bharti, the content of the Bharti will tell you the content of the Bharti, the content of the Bharti will tell you the content of the Bharti will tell you the content of the Bharti will tell you the content of the Bharti will tell you the content of the Bharti will tell you the content of the Bharti will tell you the content of the Bharti will tell you the content of the Bharti will tell you the content of the Bharti will tell you the content of the Bharti will tell you the content of the Bharti will tell you the content of the Bharti will tell you the content of the Bharti will tell you the content of the Bharti will tell you the content of the Bharti will tell you the content of the Bharti will tell you the content of the Bharti will tell you the content of the Bhart
01:09:31
Speaker
which is when then we started to look out and realised language is a tool of generalisation language is a tool of generalisation language is a tool of generalisation language is a tool of generalisation language is a tool of generalisation language is a tool of generalisation
01:09:48
Speaker
They cannot speak their own dialects, right?
01:10:03
Speaker
So, it has to be a dialect based platform and not a language based platform. So, we decided we will do a premium and sensible content company for Bharat in local dialect.
01:10:24
Speaker
We are looking to build something like a Netflix for Bharat, but in dialect. What is PGC? Professionally generated content. So for example, this is PGC. This podcast would be a PGC.
01:10:43
Speaker
We wanted to build something like a Netflix for Bharat. We wanted to build something like a Netflix for Bharat. We wanted to build something like a Netflix for Bharat. We wanted to build something like a Netflix for Bharat. We wanted to build something like a Netflix for Bharat. We wanted to build something like a Netflix for Bharat.
01:11:05
Speaker
What is your finalize? Do you have a video feed for text? Yes, a video feed for text mostly. What is your finalize for video? Again, that's the future. Okay, bigger market. The video is the medium, the text is the medium.
01:11:39
Speaker
I think there is a lot of discussion about the context of the movie. There is a TV show, and there is a TV show, and there is a TV show, and there is a TV show, and there is a TV show, and there is a TV show, and there is a TV show, and there is a TV show, and there is a TV show, and there is a TV show, and there is a TV show, and there is a TV show, and there is a TV show, and there is a TV show, and there is a TV show, and there is a TV show, and there is a TV show, and there is a TV show, and there is a TV show, and there is a TV show, and there is a TV show, and there is a TV show, and there is a TV show, and there is a TV show, and there is a TV show, and there is a TV show, and there is a TV show, and there is a TV show, and there is a TV show, and there is a TV show,
01:11:43
Speaker
Take it, take it.
01:12:12
Speaker
So, what we realized was that, in fact, the movies, web series, GSM, now primary are performing arts cut platform, art and entertainment. In fact, when the platform was identified,
01:12:35
Speaker
So, that is what became the idea and we named it stage and launched it in November. So, stage is basically a dialect based short form video content or TV platform basically in art forms like art forms like comedy, poetry, storytelling and so on and so forth and dialects like
01:13:01
Speaker
That's what we decided to build from there. To me it sounds very challenging.
01:13:19
Speaker
Basically, this is a company built literally from scratch.
01:13:38
Speaker
challenging, but then doable. And challenging is the opportunity. So we are going to launch a new launch. We are going to launch a new launch last year. We are going to launch a new launch. We are going to launch a new launch.
01:14:07
Speaker
I would recommend that you download the app and see the kind of content we are doing.
01:14:18
Speaker
We have around 400,000 downloads and doing pretty well.
01:14:35
Speaker
But the people wanted it. Iqdom clean content, Iqdom family friendly content, have very high quality, very premium, but very sensible also at the same time, but very local, hyper local Iqdom. Content is in a dialect level, the content is very high. That's what we are we are doing now at stage. And is it monetization like is it advertisement or is it subscription?
01:14:57
Speaker
So, subscription is what we want to do. But it's an interesting type of business model over time. It's not just going to be subscription because there's an artist platform that can help artists. So, there's a lot of artists that perform here. So, even if you want to take a look at it, there's a lot of performance performance there. Yes, of course.
01:15:34
Speaker
We will be replicating that entire behavior on our product. To imagine full shipping content or app tip.
01:15:45
Speaker
But we have the revenue stream, we have a lot of tips, right? So we have to replicate it. I think it's interesting, interesting business model. Subscription, advertising, it's very obvious. Advertising is very important. Imagine an HUL being able to advertise to Haryanvi user in Haryanvi on a platform where they're coming to consume Haryanvi content, right? So it's very interesting. But we have the revenue stream, right?
01:16:16
Speaker
We raised the ground in between. We survived in between. By the way, we won the battle with Facebook. We got our properties back. We restored the brand also.
01:16:32
Speaker
We are very sure that we don't want to build an old business again. We definitely want to build for Bharat and premium and sensible content for Bharat. That's the vision we want to build for. So, if you want to revive the business, then you have to have a vision. If you want to provide specific information content, then you have to solve it. If you want to create information, then you have to create some dumb content.
01:17:14
Speaker
And just imagine a last week with John Oliver.
01:17:19
Speaker
Every week, it's an episode of information but done through satayak, comedian satayak. We said, let's build a comedy central for Bharat. We have built a universe of fictional characters who are also subject matter experts. Imagine a topic like financial literacy. It's boring even for you and me.
01:17:48
Speaker
In a very fun, interesting way, as a fake newspaper episode, as a show health and fitness payer, which are running right now and we continue to evolve that. And literally the day before yesterday, we did a rebranding exercise on vtfeed.
01:18:07
Speaker
where we realized that Wittefeed is not a name for Bharat. We are an American audience. We wanted to align with the larger vision of stage. Now Wittefeed has become nukkad by stage. So Wittefeed is known as nukkad by stage. So Aamne, US audience could totally chort you. We are not chasing that advertising dollars anymore.
01:18:33
Speaker
We are not changing US markets for sure. In India, we are changing advertising dollars at Viti Feed. Viti Feed is the content of what is called Nookar now. Nookar is also the content of our social media. App pending. We are also the content of Facebook, YouTube, 100 million. We are also the content of our social media.
01:18:55
Speaker
the idea is to partner with brands and create thought-leadership content for them. So, the idea is to partner with brands and create thought-leadership content for them. The idea is to partner with brands and create thought-leadership content for them. The idea is to partner with brands and create thought-leadership content for them. The idea is to partner with brands and create thought-leadership content for them. The idea is to partner with brands and create thought-leadership content for them. The idea is to partner with brands and create thought-leadership content for them. The idea is to partner with brands and create thought-leadership content for them. The idea is to partner with brands and create thought-leadership content for them. The idea is to partner with brands and create thought-leadership content for them. The idea is to partner with brands and create thought-leadership content for them.
01:19:22
Speaker
And that is where Viti Feed comes in, we create value driven content over a time. So that is where they come and work with us. You recently closed the round of funding also, so how did you go about doing that and was that very difficult to convince investors?
01:19:40
Speaker
We had to convince some people to believe in the vision and the stage
01:20:08
Speaker
We just closed a round of funding and angels see angels in networks but I would have spoken to at least 800 to 1000 investors 1000 angels in last 1 years over this period of you know and it was a tough journey but yeah I think loved it too.
01:20:36
Speaker
So that was Vinay talking about his amazing journey of becoming an entrepreneur.
01:21:25
Speaker
This was an HD Smartcast original.