Mr. Pratap Jain: Creating a Global Marketplace for Creators and Publishers
Mr. Pratap Jain
We live in a world where we are seeing a rise in content sharing. Content is omnipresent and people are hungry for it. Amidst the fast-paced content sharing over the internet, we did not have a one-stop platform to buy and sell content. Cognizant of this gap between the buyers and the sellers, a global marketplace was created by a visionary entrepreneur. We had a chance to interview with, Mr. Pratap Jain, the owner of V Hunt and now the founder of Vidyolo. This company bridges the gap by building a global content marketplace that was created by V Hunt Digital Media Pvt Ltd, a content syndication company that has been in the business for 10 years.
Apart from the success of this company, through this article, let us also unravel the journey of what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur.
The company’s overview
The idea behind the creation of this brand is to provide a B2B Content marketplace for buyers and sellers. A platform has been created for the seamless experience which includes a portfolio of content ranging from full-length movies, web series, tv series, short films to sports, kids, and lifestyle in different languages like English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Korean, Arabic, Filipino, Turkish, Spanish, French, Sinhala to name a few. The passionate team comprises 2 co-founders, Sandeep Banger and Ashmita Dhingra along with business acquisition, content partnership, and a digital marketing team constantly working towards broadening brand reach. The co-founders have added their experience of 20+ years into marketing and branding to position Vidyolo well, in the desired niche market.
Sandeep Banger and Ashmita Dhingra | Co-Founders | Vidyolo
The start of something great
The Brand Vidyolo is 6 months old but the expertise it has in the content domain is more than 17+ years. The astute leader, Pratap Jain, understands the fundamentals of this area and is a part of the industry since 2005. The support of his family has been immense, friends from the industry helped in venturing out his venture. His two focus areas at the start were-
- Delivering good services
- Generating revenue for the company
After achieving great revenues, today they can proudly say that they own a successful content firm.
Demystifying the life of a CEO
The common thought across the minds of people is that the life of a CEO would have been full of hardships and struggles. For Pratap, it was not about proving his functional and operational knowledge to move up the ladder rather he started his organization all by himself and went on to manage the recruitment of talent also. Differentiating from the general view, where management and employees do not have a cordial relationship, he worked closely with his team for a very long time. Which today have turned in a cohort of smart, focused, and data-driven people aligning themselves to the work required.
Pratap also thinks that CEOs who are hired from outside get far more attention, support than the ones who are promoted inside the company who face equal competition. The ones who grow from within the organization adjust a little easier as they are familiar with the strategy. It’s not that they don’t face competition, they do, in the form of operating in shadows of past, decisions that may raise eyebrows, competing with peers who cannot accept their position. There are also chances of CEOs from inside getting into professional politics. While a CEO hired from outside brings a fresh perspective towards the goals.
Nonetheless, Pratap believes a CEO shall identify and solve problems in an innovative way to drive business outcomes. Entrepreneurship is reserved for people who want to become masters of their destiny, the ones who bring a change and break the norm in society while being customer-centric and having good service delivery.
Striking the right balance
Initially at the start of Pratap’s career, like many of us in this age have the burning desire and the passion to walk the extra mile to achieve our dreams, he also kept his career ahead of everything else. For the initial 3-4 years, he ensured that there was always an internet connection with him as he had to deliver work single-handedly due to the small team size. The family understood that work keeps him active and happy and today as he has grown both in a career as well as team, he dedicated time to his family. He believes stability is important and plans his business trips, vacations accordingly, considering a more focused approach in life.
The relation with employees
According to Pratap, the key to a successful business is not only being committed to delivering customers’ needs but taking care of employees also. Creating a friendly environment, involvement of employees in decision making builds a sense of trust. It not only helps in innovative business ideation but makes them feel they are a part of this journey. It helps employees understand challenges, encourages growth while keeping the enthusiasm level high.
Keeping pace with the market
The industry is changing rapidly and it is hard to stay in this environment. Pratap understands that keeping a check on business practices against the latest competition, ensuring we are delivering the best at affordable prices is vital. Continuous research, marketing and planning have become the DNA of their business. While serving content over OTT platforms, Satellite TV channels, DTH service providers, Telecom Operators and IPTV’s majorly, Vidyolo has kept a progressive attitude with open-mindedness to embrace the change.
The road ahead
The road from a low investment almost close to zero to INR 5 crore as an annual turnover in 5 years is an impeccable achievement. Working with 30 partners who are leaders in this industry and scaling it across nations like UAE, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Europe, and Africa has been a progressive step. Vidyolo will be using technology to market and scale its business. Authenticating the licenses and managing quick deals by using Blockchain technology in the content syndication market is their primary goal.
Final message
Pratap thinks that keeping it simple and learning from people around you is the key. He does not believe in fancy words like role models, and when someone looks up to him as one, he is indeed flattered. He rather advises not to look at a single idol, rather learns from all and creates a niche for himself. Networking is important and one should strive to become a better version of themselves every day. One last thought about the ones who desire to become CEOs is that often the most impressive CEOs didn’t start out knowing that will become great. Anybody can become and these are the 4 simple behavioural traits-
- Decisiveness
- Engaging
- Impact
- Relentless Reliability and Adapting Boldly
To those who give up on their dreams and do not follow this path, he sums his entrepreneurial wisdom in these three takeaways-
- Translate your vision and goals and be clear about your intent
- Understand the physical, emotional, and social needs of people
- Establish everyday routines to build relationships, translate into actions, and, eventually the business will flourish
https://www.vidyolo.com/
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