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<ul class="summary-list"><li>In February, Jean Kang left a $300,000 Big Tech job to become a solopreneur.</li><li>Kang leveraged her LinkedIn brand and coaching to cross $100,000 in revenue within five months.</li></ul>This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanhkang/">Jean Kang</a>, a 31-year-old former senior program manager in San Francisco. It's been edited for length and clarity.I fell into <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-presidency-affect-big-tech-2024-11">Big Tech</a> because I wanted to be surrounded by innovation and see Silicon Valley's rise firsthand. Over the past decade, I've had <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/quadrupled-salary-big-tech-job-hopping-negotiating-2024-8">seven roles</a> at startups and dream companies like Meta, Pinterest, Intuit, and LinkedIn.I didn't know what I wanted to do for the first five years of my career, so I pivoted from sales to account management, customer success, and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-google-technical-program-manager-uses-ai-gemini-2024-8">program management</a>.When I had an opportunity to leave with three months' pay, I decided to give up my last salary of over <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/quit-big-tech-dream-job-pay-perks-not-worth-it-2024-5">$300,000 a year</a>. I took it as a sign to bet on myself as a full-time <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/financial-planning-tips-solopreneurs-small-business-owners-2024-3">solopreneur</a>; it was the best decision I ever made.<h2 id="47ab7e7b-215b-4fab-9109-1e467b945f99">I was extremely nervous to leave behind the stability and comfort of Big Tech</h2>In addition to the salary, I left behind a lot of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/big-tech-workers-pushed-limits-of-perks-benefits-pampering-over-2024-10">great perks and tech benefits</a> that I'd had in every role, from free food to gym memberships and massages.Luckily, I had a wonderful husband who supported me unconditionally — emotionally and financially with bills and health insurance — and I had over six figures in savings built up over the past 10 years. I quit in February.I'm now a program manager career coach, founder, and creator. I help program managers land fulfilling roles and share actionable tips on careers, business, and life <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanhkang">on LinkedIn</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://pathtopm.beehiiv.com/subscribe">in my newsletter</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/jeanhkang/">on Instagram</a>.<h2 id="d3f8a3ea-3e20-4086-8ee3-eb3128b7a213">I exceeded six figures in revenue by July</h2>I had a loose benchmark of hitting $100,000 by the end of the year, but now, nine months in, I've more than replaced my tech salary.Three key strategies helped me cross six figures in revenue in less than six months.<ol><li>I launched a six-week cohort to help 10 aspiring and current program managers land their next roles, scaling from 1:1 to group, which brings in a third of my current income.</li><li>I monetized my LinkedIn brand to lock in multiple four-figure brand deals with companies like Notion, Gamma, and Glassdoor.</li><li>I received several thousands of dollars from affiliates — promoted through my LinkedIn posts by brand sponsors — and royalties from my <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/learning/linkedin-learning-popular-online-courses">LinkedIn Learning courses</a>.</li></ol><h2 id="0341b40a-b174-4784-b5b9-311861b3a972">My first month out of the gate was one of my biggest</h2>I prepared for my cohort launch several weeks in advance while still working my 9-to-5, nurturing my leads, and generating a warm pipeline of over 150 people on a waitlist.My first launch was successful because of my personal brand. By posting five days a week for two years on LinkedIn, I grew my LinkedIn following to over 70,000 and my newsletter subscribers to over 10,000.My most viral posts revolved around tackling <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-tell-imposter-syndrome-versus-bad-at-job-2024-9">imposter syndrome</a>, the differences between project, program, and product managers, and workplace experiences.<h2 id="c2871c4f-cb38-4908-9eb0-0afef31ed6bb">The next two months weren't as lucrative, comparatively</h2>My cohort was my highest-ticket offer at $4,000, so after I launched it, my only means of generating income were sponsored posts and 1:1 coaching.Seeing such huge growth in my first month and starting over again was a big adjustment. I felt motivated to pursue different avenues of income by leveraging my skills and experiences, so I wasn't worried.I became an entrepreneur to learn, grow, and see what I could do. Making more than I expected initially was just a bonus.<h2 id="e83aa236-ca17-4e18-be8a-902830164b6c">Over the past two months, my business income has risen again</h2>I landed a few entirely inbound one-on-one clients for career coaching, and I had my biggest month in landing brand sponsorships.Brand deals alone have generated more than 50% of my total income. By the end of this year, I'm forecasting to hit six figures just from brand deals.<h2 id="24ae0117-8bbb-45ab-9689-49092cf9c1f3">The future feels incredibly promising</h2>The money is great, but the best part is living the life I always dreamed of — making a living on my terms.There are days when I work more than I used to in Big Tech — not because I have to but because I want to. The difference is that I get to design my ideal life, which includes not working after hours, spending weekends with my husband, and taking vacations whenever I want without the guilt. I've never been more productive and had such a flexible schedule.While I grew a ton in Big Tech, my internal satisfaction is greater now as a solopreneur. I'll never close the door on returning to Big Tech, but for now, I'm intentional about living in the present and seizing every opportunity.Have you quit a job in Big Tech and want to share your story? Email Lauryn Haas at lhaas@businessinsider.com.

I gave up my Big Tech salary and perks to bet on myself. Within 5 months, I made $100,000 in revenue.

<ul><li> <keyword id="9951693" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="fantasy-sports-platforms" source="Orion">Fantasy Sports Platforms</keyword> are on the rise in India with revenues tripling since FY20.</li><li>The next phase of <keyword id="1759314" type="General" weightage="70" keywordseo="fantasy-sports" source="Orion">fantasy sports</keyword> will have AI generated avatars competing.</li><li>Meta11, one such AI-generated FSP, aims to earn revenue via hosting <keyword id="1612654" type="General" weightage="30" keywordseo="original-content" source="Orion">original content</keyword> and streaming the games.</li></ul> The ICC World Cup fever is gripping the nation. Right from stock brokers to central bank governors, few are able to make a statement without a cricket pun. But that’s not where the fun stops. It’s also the season for cricket lovers to engage in fantasy gaming. It’s now a serious business with revenues tripling in the ongoing financial year from FY20, according to a Deloitte report. Seasoned cricket players are taking to this as well and former Sri Lankan skipper, Kumar Sangakkara, has co-founded one such company -- Meta11, an AI-generated <keyword id="1759314" type="General" weightage="70" keywordseo="fantasy-sports" source="Orion">fantasy sports</keyword> platform, which aims to earn revenue via hosting <keyword id="1612654" type="General" weightage="30" keywordseo="original-content" source="Orion">original content</keyword> and streaming the games. Business Insider India caught up with Sangakkara and Krishan Deegalla, CEO of Behaviol, the company focusing on bringing fantasy sports on the metaverse via Meta11. Edited excerpts. Question: Sangakkara, you are one of the few cricketers who is also a startup founder. Why does the business of fantasy sport interest you? Sangakkara: It came from a thinking that – how do we really give everyone access to cricket? Not everyone has the ability to pick up a bat and ball and play. But there's so much love for this sport. How do we actually make sure that cricket is for everyone? Web based gaming has a great opportunity for that. That was the starting point for this and then when we brainstormed and came up with the concept of Meta11. It has AI controlled avatars playing the sport, being able to predict outcomes and others. It's amazing to see so many people being able to live out their cricketing dreams on our platform, and that is the real key – cricket is for everyone. Cricket has such a strong emotional connection. Once you're a cricket fan, you're always a cricket fan. Who knows, some of our strategies and tactics and game moments might even influence tactical decision making later on in real life cricket as well. Question If I don't know the first thing about playing cricket other than watching it, am I a target audience? Sanga Anyone can play this because the avatars are artificial intelligence led. So, they learn as a player in the game. If you own your own avatar, you can expose your avatar to training to more match play, the more experience they get they learn on their own. It's a great tool to spread awareness about cricket as well in its globalisation drive. Question There are a lot of fantasy gaming apps in India. How do you differentiate yourself? Sanga Our game is so simple to log in, and you play the game and you get rewards for playing not for paying. Our tech platform, our avatars, our digital creations are cutting edge and industry leading in terms of cricket games out there. So we are very differentiated and we want to keep to that model. Question Do you have any plans to introduce match-wise games like normal fantasy sports? Krishan We want to see how we can connect the digital worlds and the physical, the real cricket. There is an opportunity for us to bring that into play. Where in the game, you can create a super avatar, or super digital player. You can pick five players out of both squads. And if that player does well in real life, you can earn points. We will never do just a fantasy app. It will always be linked to the game. Sanga It has the ability to drop real world cricketers into the game as well. A franchise team can play real world cricket and a fan community can play against each other on our platform. Question So, is there a possibility that one day we could be teammates on this platform? Sanga Absolutely. There is no doubt about that. You could play against me, you could play against other cricketers. Hopefully, you could play against your friends, your family members. Question Could you explain how you intend to increase engagement, and make it more interesting for the not-so-avid fan? Krishan To get the engagement, ownership is a key, allowing people to have that meaningful relationship with digital avatars. We have to train them, and create our own teams. We are also having tournaments, which will be team leagues to the platform exciting. Question The government has introduced 28% GST on fantasy gaming. Is that a cause for worry and will it eat into your earnings? Sanga I think that (28% GST) that's for the pay-to-play model. Ours is free-to-play. No user has to put his/her own money into playing. It's a very different kind of foundation we work on. Krishan If you look at traditional fantasy games, they rely on real games. There is no real content there. With us, we generate our own content. All the content that gets streamed, is owned by us. Now, we have a pathway to monetise this and give rewards back to the users. It's like organising real games. We can also expect sponsorship money, streaming rights and we can distribute it back to the community. Question You talked about streaming. If you could go into the monetisation aspect of it. Krishan We had 30,000 users on the first day. There is a huge appetite for advertising on alternative channels apart from Google, Facebook etc. That is why if you look at IPL TV rights it goes for billions of dollars. So, I think we will be a good alternative for that. The game is exciting. People will be able to relate to it and that means it will be engaging. With that we should be able to monetise it – through sponsorships and streaming. Question What’s the vision for Meta11 down the line? Krishan It is quite an evolution to have AI characters play cricket and allow people to own them. Within this framework, we have opportunities that even we have not thought about. I am sure there will be plenty of opportunities. The vision still remains to allow democratising the sport and give access to the masses. And to keep on making the platform interesting and scalable.

Can’t hit a ball? You can still play cricket in the metaverse

<ul><li><keyword id="7808714" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="edutech-platform">Edutech platform</keyword> <keyword id="2008319" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Upgrad">upGrad</keyword> recently announced its deal with Star India to run its latest ad-campaign across TV and the OTT platform Disney+ Hotstar throughout the tournament.</li><li>We talk to <keyword id="237838" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Arjun-Mohan">Arjun Mohan</keyword>, CEO-India, upGrad who spoke to us about the brand’s marketing plans around IPL and how they want to make the most of their association with Star India and Disney+ Hotstar.</li></ul> The <keyword id="6354831" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="indian-premier-league">Indian Premier League</keyword> (IPL) is finally underway. While a lot of the fanfare associated with the league is missing this time, the game is finally on and is at last spreading some cheer among viewers and marketers alike. A lot rests on this IPL considering so much marketing activity had been kept on hold so far. Brands are therefore coming up with innovative ways of launching their communications. A lot of new-age brands have invested a lot in this season of IPL with an aim of building awareness and creating a place for them in their consumer’s lives. While the league has just started, we expect things to get further heated up from an advertising perspective as we go deeper into the league. Recently, online higher education company upGrad announced that it has got into a high-value deal with Star India, to run its latest ad-campaign across TV and the OTT platform Disney+ Hotstar throughout the tournament. Since upGrad isn’t the only online education platform that will be advertising during IPL, we thought of asking the brand how they will ensure there is enough differentiation in their campaign. Arjun Mohan, CEO-India, upGrad spoke to us about the brand’s marketing plans and how they want to make the most of their association with Star India and Disney+ Hotstar. Excerpts: Q) upGrad has inked an advertising deal with Star and Hotstar to advertise during IPL 2020. Tell us what exactly this partnership entails and how you as a brand, stand to benefit from this partnership? IPL is one of the most enjoyed cricket tournament across the globe and enjoys viewership from all members of the family. In a move to accelerate the adoption of technology and online higher education, we will be running our recent ad campaign <a href="https://secure-web.cisco.com/1a32faooq9E71aH7MD-jcHrmDRQYoGbevy5SbvbKA5Z_1xVpE7aArEzvajnr5_Lk1Sj_IZsK1ZOGvLLwGHGBiHlyiSBvyU90pa61-I9JM6D9Pos8U9pzDdHSqNRWcX586QZ1bCglWTvADlpxobpr_IHxrUPwUKUC-jKHGrKU3LNRb2iv8_5U5FvEthuGsd_oI4ziRj0Wznvt457kka0JN99S4LXAgBkcQT-AFo1Ihcw6OEDQwQKDzwGbiQRG0DdEd9mqV8bwgl33nMjp6e8DoeCYYqcMrU2gvov2RN74Jrb8Jgdv5zrETTbNnsy0SZG_A_GkhQBiX0FFWPztzm5kRHFPG_GoQqSpw1nq3FpLGUR0/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DqB9XzgeRRZw" target="_blank">‘Sirf Naam ki Nahin, Kaam ki Degree’</a> across Star India’s TV and the OTT platform Hotstar throughout the IPL 2020 tournament. The campaign focuses on the importance of education and your qualification being the only correct wayto grow in your career. Q) From a synergy perspective, why did you think a sporting league was a good platform for you to partner with? What do you expect out of this partnership? COVID-19 has revolutionised the online and digital space and has pushed people to move online for their daily requirements. Owing to the critical times we operate in, professionals and individuals are constantly looking for programs and courses to upskill themselves and have an edge over others. There are many players in the edtech space who present a plethora of online options for the learners to choose from. upGrad which is India's largest online higher education company provides quality and industry-ready online programs with renowned universities for seasoned professionals and multiple job-linked programs for first-time jobseekers. We also help our learners with steadfast mentorship and career guidance to help them achieve the desired outcome. Therefore, our association with Star India for IPL 2020 will enable us with the right platform to prepare 550 million viewers for a future-ready career. Moreover, this is our first major sports association and we will also be providing ‘Free Career Guidance’ to help viewers overcome the COVID-19 impact. Q) You have already launched ad film, ‘Sirf Naam Ki Nahin, Kaam Ki Degree’. For the rest of the tournament, can we expect more films, and how do you further plan to engage with audiences? The newly launched campaign ‘Sirf naam ki nahin, kaam ki degree’ will be running across TV and digital platform throughout the tournament. This ad-campaign is a clarion call to the 100 million Indian workforce to grow with cutting edge specializations in the fields of data and management from renowned universities across India and abroad and work towards polishing the existing skill sets and help them grow in their professional career. This campaign speaks about our promise to provide learners with outcome-based specialisations to achieve maximum ROI on education along with employability support. The clutter breaking ad campaign has already garnered over 5.5 million views and we will further engage with the viewers by providing ‘Free Career Guidance’ during the T20 tournament. We will also be engaging with our learners and IPL audience through our social media channels which has over 105K followers across Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Q) How will you extend this partnership to mediums other than TV and Digital? Our current partnership with Star India is only for the Dream 11 IPL 2020 season to promote our ‘Sirf Naam ki Nahin, Kaam ki Degree’ campaign across TV and Hotstar. Q) What does your larger IPL marketing plan look like? Our key objective for the Dream 11 IPL 2020 is to reach out to Bharat and the ~550Mn viewers who will be enjoying the IPL season from the comfort of their homes. Given the glitz and glamour of the T20 League and excitement for a live cricket tournament after months, we feel it is also the most opportune occasion to reach out to individuals reminding them about the urgency to upskill and prepare themselves for the for<a name="_GoBack"></a>thcoming competitive world. Every IPL viewer will know about upGrad and the importance of upskilling and Lifelong Learning by the end of the tournament. Q) What is your vision for upGrad? What kind of growth have you witnessed during these last few months and how has the lockdown fuelled your growth as a platform? The pandemic proved to be counter-cyclical for edtech. We, at upGrad have witnessed significant uptake in terms of traffic on our platform and revenue (we are considering Q4—Jan, Feb, and March—the pre-COVID-19 quarter andQ1—April, May, and June—the post-COVID-19 quarter for the below data). While all verticals have grown in Q4 vs Q1, the MBA vertical has grown by 63% in terms of revenue and 82% in terms of learner base, making it the biggest winner. The MBA vertical includes the global MBA programs we launched earlier this year in partnership with the renowned Liverpool Business School (LBS) and the Deakin Business School. The Data Science vertical, which has always been on a growth trajectory for us, continues to grow with the Master of Science in Data Science, having grown by more than 60% in terms of both revenue and learner base, making it our bestselling data science program in this quarter. This program, with India’s renowned IIIT-B and the UK-based Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), offers a globally recognised, fully online master’s degree. Closer home, our PG Certification in Digital Marketing and Communication with MICA has grown by 70% in terms of both revenue and learner base. Perhaps the program has grown to be the leader with around 40% of the market share. In terms of interested candidates, sheer organic interest for our programs went up by around 120%. Women seem to have taken up slightly more of an interest in upskilling, having grown by around 32% quarter on quarter, as compared to men who have grown by roughly 28%. Both youth and older individuals have been considering upskilling. Our website saw a 42% increase for the 45–54 age group in the AMJ quarter, which is the highest amongst all other age groups, followed by the 18–24 age group, which grew by 40%.

IPL 2020: Every IPL viewer will know about us and the importance of upskilling and lifelong learning by the end of the tournament: Arjun Mohan, upGrad

<ul><li>On Business Insider’s Global Trends Festival, Fashion Designer <keyword id="8264" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sabyasachi">Sabyasachi</keyword> spoke about the future of fashion, how brands can help Indians feel proud of their culture, and what luxury means in India. </li><li>He also shared why consumers continue to buy expensive clothes from a luxury brand in a price-sensitive market like India. </li></ul>Over the years, Sabyasachi has built a brand that is truly Indian at heart and global at scale. Women who do dream of getting married often aspire to be a ‘Sabyasachi bride,’ a term coined by this legendary designer’s fans. Sabya, as he is popularly known, bootstrapped his business with a small capital of Rs 12,000, which was borrowed from his sister and today, his company has an annual turnover of $11 million. His journey is a testament to the fact that successful businesses are built on the pillars of perseverance and perspective. He was quick to realise that money isn't the only important thing when it comes to building a successful brand. Sabya shared, “Gone are the days when you could create a luxury brand just by the virtue of money. If that would have been the case, I would not have been a successful businessman at all because I started my own business with a capital of Rs 12,000. What I realised very early on was that to build a successful luxurious brand, you need to have a little bit of a cultural stand and a unique voice. At the end of the day, people need to look up to you.” Sabya climbed his way to the top on his own. He fought with his father, who wanted to see him become an engineer, to join National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT). His father also denied to fund his studies, so he sold his books to buy an application form for NIFT and got in. It was his determination and passion for fashion and craftsmanship that pushed him to do better and pull all-nighters. It was also this outsider perspective that helped Sabya envision a brand that offered both luxury and dignity. He said, “At one point in Kolkata, I saw a lot of luxury, exuberance and lavishness, and I also saw poverty and restraint. But what they both had in common was dignity. One of the reasons why I have been able to build a luxury brand is because I am detached. I look at luxury from an outsider perspective. For me, luxury is everything to do with refinement, restraint, dignity and value. So, to build a brand that is successful, it is important to have perspective.” Sabya turned the tide in his favour and built a niche, luxurious brand in a hyper-price-sensitive market. But what does luxury really mean to Sabya? “Luxury cannot be created from the point of subjugation. It needs to be created from a point of cultural relevance. In fashion, the ability to express yourself and to stand for who you are, is the definition of luxury,” answered Sabya. Bringing pride back for Indian culture Indian fashion practices, which have traditionally been influenced by cultural habits, have witnessed a gradual transition and have begun to align themselves to global trends. With this, Indians have adapted both, the colonial language and the fashion sense. Traditional wear is often remembered for festivals and celebratory occasions. So, with brand Sabyasachi, Sabya’s aim was also to instil national pride in our culture and its roots. Explaining why luxury is a reflection of one’s cultural identity, he said, “When I started my business in India, I realised that a lot of Indians were not proud of their cultural heritage. We had been colonised for a very long time and there was a colonial hangover that was expressed in Indian clothes. So, luxury is about self expression, comfort and about coming home to who you really are. In fashion, luxury is about your cultural identity, which is best expressed in India through exquisite craftsmanship.” Sabya, who is also surprisingly slightly colour-blind, is known for his perfection. He is seen as a businessman whose focus is on customers. Everytime he works on a collection, he trusts his intuition. Before the final draft reaches the edit table, he sits with an editing scissor and asks himself, “Why is it that the customer will buy this product?” The final draft is sent to the edit table once he feels confident about his design and has trust in its uniqueness. “I have always been guided by the two principles that the Indian customers are looking for: a sense of longevity and investment in products which can be very transient. With COVID, this sense has amplified because people want to buy things that are luxurious but they want the option to use it everyday,” said Sabya. Sabya also keeps the environment in mind while working on his products and wants to put a pause on fast-fashion trends. “At Sabyasachi, we do the exact opposite of fast fashion. We do the same kind of clothes over and over again because I want people to buy things that are timeless and give them a certain sense of identity. Similarly, when I do ready-to-wear, I would actually do classic products that people can use again and again. You see the harms of fast fashion because everything goes into landfills. Today you have to be conscious about how your business is creating carbon footprints and I would never do any kind of business that could harm the planet. I’d like to create a product that people have a relationship with. I would not want to create a product that they would discard seasonally, that’s not in my DNA.” However, Sabyasachi is an expensive brand that not everyone can afford. Sabya was once asked by Bollywood Actor Boman Irani in a television show if his ‘brand has customers or just fans’. But Sabya believes that its quality and value supersedes its expense. He said, “Why is it that the customer comes back to you again and again? It is because expense and value are two different parameters. As a customer, when I buy something I don’t look at the price, I look at the value the product offers. I want my customers to feel the same way. I want to offer them the best thing, irrespective of the price and I don’t want them to feel cheated that they have paid more than the value being offered.” If Indian consumers do want value products, why aren’t there many brands in the luxury landscape? Explaining the reason behind this gap, Sabya said, “The reason why India doesn’t have too many luxury brands is because everybody gets too corporatised. When you are working as a corporate, you are just doing a job. When you own a business, it is your little child and you want it to grow and do better everyday. For those who want to build a luxury brand, everyday is a battle -- not with anyone else but yourself -- you lead through inspired leadership and you just want to strive to make things better. What is perfect for everyone else might be imperfect for you and you have to be open-minded and need that humility to make something wonderful, better." Brands of the future Post COVID, Sabya thinks that the world needs to celebrate exuberance a lot more because our time in this world is finite. So, as customers become more cautious about where they put their money, brands need to offer an authentic experience and beautiful story-telling. And while they are at it, brands that help community as well, will become the brands of the future.

Here's Sabyasachi's journey of starting a brand with Rs 12,000 to becoming every Indian bride's dream

<ul><li><keyword id="6214644" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dream11">Dream11</keyword> founders tell Business Insider that they expect a huge spike in users this year </li><li>Two big sporting events-- the IPL and the cricket world cup-- in 2019 may drive boost user interest in the country’s biggest fantasy gaming site. </li><li>The business prospects got a big fillip after the country’s cricket regulator, BCCI, declared Dream11 as the official partner for the upcoming cricket league. </li><li>Reports suggest Steadview Capital may invest another $100 million in the company this year to make it India’s first gaming unicorn. </li></ul>Bhavit Sheth and Harsh Jain used to spend a lot of their time playing fantasy games for the English Premier League. And when the Indian Premier League began in 2008, the two 22-year olds realised that it was time to turn their obsession into a business – and the fantasy gaming site Dream11 was born. Today, 11 years later, the Board of Control for Cricket in India has declared Dream11 as the official partner for fantasy games during the upcoming season of the IPL, and arguably the country’s biggest sports icon right now, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, is their brand ambassador. Now, the founders are gunning for the coveted tag of a unicorn – a company that is worth at least a billion dollars. With the IPL and the cricket World Cup lined-up over the next three months, 2018 may be a big year for Dream11. “We expect to have 90 million users by the end of the World Cup and 100 million by the end of 2019.” Sheth told Business Insider. The Indian fantasy gaming industry is projected to be a ₹118.8 billion market by 2023. While cricket holds the majority of the market share, other games too are picking up. At Dream11, 85% of their users play fantasy cricket while other sports like Kabaddi, basketball and hockey are picking up. The startup last raised $100 million in a Series D round at a valuation of a reported $750 million. Its investors include Tencent, Kalaari Capital and private equity firm Multiples Alternate Asset Management. In <a href="https://www.vccircle.com/steadview-capital-may-make-dream11-india-s-first-gaming-unicorn/">March 2019</a>, there have been reports about Steadview Capital looking at infusing $100 million into the startup taking its valuation to over $1.3 billion and making it India’s first gaming unicorn. Dream11 has 52 million users who compete with each other on the site. The users assemble players from different teams to create a virtual line-up of their own, alongside an actual match. Based on the performance of their chosen players on the field, the virtual gamers are ranked on the virtual leaderboards. “We started off as a free-to-play site, trying to get revenue through ads. Three years into the business, we saw that with a niche product like ours which doesn’t have millions of page views, ads were just hampering the user experience on our app,” said Sheth. So, they changed the format. They allowed users to select their players not for the entire season at one go but only for daily matches. But they still hadn’t solved the question - how do they make money? That’s when they came up with the idea to ask users to pay and then they would pool in the money and award the winner. “But we weren’t sure if it was legally allowed in India. After consulting with many lawyers and one-and-a-half years of research, we knew that since this was a game of skill, there were no legal issues,” said Sheth. The Punjab and Haryana high court declared the Dream11 format of fantasy sports as legal and one that requires considerable skill and judgment. This judgement was further ratified by the Supreme Court When in 2014, Dream11 raised its first round of funding they still had just 300,000 users. But thanks to the popularity of IPL, today they stand at 52 million users. In fact, after signing former Indian cricket team captain MS Dhoni as their brand ambassador, just during the 2018 IPL their user base went from 20 million to 40 million. Their initial 10 million users were dominated by Tier 1 cities but now 50% of their traffic comes from Tier 2,3 and 4 cities. “As 22-year-olds we started this business, engineers who didn't know anything about business. We didn't even in our wildest imagination think that we will have over 52 million users in such short time, with only a team of over 200 managing them and be at this scale,” said Sheth. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/gaming-startup-dream11-strikes-gold-as-the-official-partner-of-ipl/articleshow/68426121.cms">Gaming startup Dream11 strikes gold as the official partner of IPL</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/mobile-premier-league-signs-virat-kohli-as-brand-ambassador/articleshow/68266803.cms">It’s Virat Kohli Vs MS Dhoni in the Indian e-gaming space</a>

2019 may be the biggest year for this 11-year old Indian gaming startup

Chip and Joanna Gaines' dream to fix up Waco is pushing it out of locals' reach

<ul><li>Valuable Indian information technology stocks have tumbled heavily in the last one month, falling up to 18%.</li><li>While spending on digital transformation will continue from large enterprises, the overall growth rate in tech spending could decelerate as companies feel the pressure of inflation on their toplines.</li><li>The Nifty IT index has fallen two times more than the benchmark index Sensex and Nifty 50 in the last one month.</li></ul>Indian information technology stars’ dream run in the post-pandemic era could be slowing down, with the Nifty IT index falling twice as much as the benchmark Sensex and Nifty 50 in the last one month. Nifty IT index slipped over 13% while the benchmark indices have fallen over 6% during the one month period. One of the reasons for the sharp fall is because of the massive selloff in the US markets, which is where most of our tech majors’ revenues come from. Currently, the <keyword id="46964" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="it-sector" source="Orion">IT sector</keyword> is facing a challenging macro environment including <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/indias-central-bank-confirms-another-rate-hike-is-coming-in-june/articleshow/91739640.cms">rising borrowing costs</a>, making it difficult for companies to spend more on digital transformation. Digital transformation spendings could see a slowdown The biggest driver behind IT companies’ record growth in the post-pandemic era has been enterprises enrolling in digital transformation programmes, revamping their IT infrastructure and adopting new technologies. Those days of record growth could be behind us, suggest analysts. “We think enterprises’ willingness to spend on digital transformation will continue, but growth rates on spends are likely to decelerate constrained by revenue and earnings volatility,” said analysts at Nomura. Recently, top US retailers Walmart and Target <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/retail/news/heres-what-walmart-and-target-are-saying-about-soaring-food-gas-and-labor-costs-and-what-it-could-mean-for-prices/articleshow/91668863.cms">reported </a>poor earnings, hinting at topline troubles in the economy. In fact, FAANG stocks (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Google) have lost more than $2 trillion in valuation since the beginning of the year. More pain ahead Brokerage firm Nomura Research sees a potential slowdown in terms of revenue growth for IT companies in FY24. It expects tough days ahead for tech spending amid challenging macroeconomics conditions, hawkish US Fed stance to tame inflation and profit warnings by corporates across the globe. JP Morgan downgraded its ratings on TCS, HCL Tech, Wipro, L&amp;T Tech to ‘underweight’ from ‘neutral’ on potential macro slowdown. “Indian IT growth was accelerating till 3Q22 and has begun to slow down from 4Q22, which is likely to worsen into FY23 from tougher comps, supply issues and eventually a worsening macro. With peak sector growth behind, growth deceleration should continue to weigh on sector multiples,” said a report by JP Morgan. It downgraded the IT sector stance to Underweight and target multiples by 10-20%. “Fast changing macroeconomic conditions, hawkish Fed stance to tame inflation through continued interest rates hikes and profit warnings by corporates across the globe seem to suggest tough days are ahead for tech spending, in our view,” said analysts at Nomura. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;" class="redcator-table-advance"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">IT companies </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Change in the last one month </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">TCS </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-10.99% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Infosys </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-11.11% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">HCL Technologies </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-11.27% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Wipro </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-15.99% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Tech Mahindra </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-17.53% </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody></table>Source: BSE as on May 25 A study by Nomura reveals that 750 out of 2,000 global companies suggest a material slowdown in the overall financial performance in the upcoming quarters. The brokerage has downgraded some Indian IT company stocks along with target price. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;" class="redcator-table-advance"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">IT companies </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Nomura rating </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Target price </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Current market price </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">TCS </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">From Neutral to Reduce </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹2,950 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹3,165 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Infosys </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">BUY </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹1,720 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹1,418 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">HCL Technologies </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">From Buy to Neutral </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹1,100 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹974 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Wipro </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">From Buy to Neutral </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹490 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹446 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Tech Mahindra </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Buy </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹1,350 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹1,064 </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody></table> SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/indusind-bank-has-most-valuable-credit-cardholders-in-india-compared-to-hdfc-sbi-citi/articleshow/91784122.cms">The most valuable credit cardholders are not from HDFC, SBI, Citi or other major credit card companies</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.in/retail/news/biscuits-ghee-and-hair-oil-to-get-cheaper-after-government-duty-cut-but-after-three-months/articleshow/91784809.cms">Biscuits, ghee and hair oil to get cheaper after government duty cut — but after three months</a>

TCS, Infosys, Wipro and other IT companies' dream run could be over, say analysts

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Ella Livingston had been running a chocolate business while working as an online math teacher. </li><li>In March, TikTok star Keith Lee gave Livingston's business a glowing review on his account.</li></ul>Ella Livingston started her chocolate business, Cocoa Asante, in 2018, with the aim of honoring her family's decades-long legacy in cocoa farming.The business is primarily family-run, utilizing cocoa farms owned by her relatives in Ghana to produce chocolates that are made and packaged by Livingston, 30, and her team in the US. It had been selling relatively well among members of Livingston's small community in Chattanooga, Tennessee, she told Insider. However, she said that she still had to work two jobs in order to make ends meet, relying on her second job, teaching math online to middle and high school students part-time. But on March 18, everything changed. Keith Lee, a hugely popular food reviewer on TikTok with 11.5 million followers, posted a <a href="https://www.insider.com/business-sold-out-45-minutes-keith-lee-review-tiktok-2023-3">glowing</a> <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@keith_lee125/video/7211740311167438123" target="_blank" rel="noopener">review</a> of Livingston's business, saying the chocolates he bought from her were "one of the most satisfying purchases I've made in a long time." "We knew that our lives were about to change," Livingston said of discovering the video. "We just didn't know how and to what capacity, but we knew that nothing would be the same after that." <h2>Thanks to the huge increase in sales, Livingston was able to quit her second job</h2>Lee's food-review TikTok videos have led him to skyrocket to fame, and since the beginning of the year he has gained more than 5 million followers on the platform, <a href="https://socialblade.com/tiktok/user/keith_lee125/monthly" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">according to analytics tracker SocialBlade.</a> One of his most viral moments was in February, when <a href="https://www.insider.com/mrbeast-keith-lee-local-restaurant-review-taco-bell-chefs-2023-2" rel="">he filmed a video collaboration with the world's biggest YouTuber, MrBeast.</a> The pair reviewed a struggling family business together, and MrBeast gave the staff a briefcase that he said contained $10,000 in cash during the shoot. Livingston told Insider she had been trying to get Lee's attention on TikTok for weeks prior to his post, hoping he could help her business go viral, <a href="https://www.insider.com/keith-lee-tiktok-review-frankensons-pizzeria-las-vegas-business-success-2023-1">as he has done with other businesses in the past</a>, by exposing them to a whole new market on social media and giving them a new lease of life. She had emailed him and posted a TikTok video encouraging him to review her products, which she said led a bunch of her existing followers on TikTok to tag Lee in her comments section to get his attention.She told Insider she doesn't know what finally caught Lee's eye, but when she was shaken awake by her elated husband at 2 a.m., just after he saw the video go live, she was ecstatic. "It felt surreal. Honestly, I felt like I was in a daze for the whole weekend after that," said Livingston. "I just remember screaming and jumping up and down with excitement." According to Livingston, who posted her own TikTok about the impact of the video, the business's website completely sold out of all products within 45 minutes of Lee's post, and her sales revenue skyrocketed from just under $1,000 to $24,719 in a single day. After a few days, Livingston sent the school where she was working her resignation via Slack, and has found that she now has more time to manage orders throughout the day. At the same time, the real-life consequences of selling out in under an hour were overwhelming, Livingston said, adding that she and her team had to work overtime to catch up with demand. "I think sometimes when you look at things like this from the outside in, it's 100% unicorns and candy canes and it's perfect, but from the inside out, growing too fast can sometimes be just as detrimental as not growing fast enough, and I don't think enough people recognize that. Even with all the years that we've been in existence as a business, we weren't prepared for it to hit us like that," she said. Livingston told Insider she had to make accommodations for the sudden spike in online orders by paying extra for faster shipping arrangements and accepting help from members of the local community, hosting "packaging parties" where people helped to prepare the orders under supervision. "It isn't easy managing fast growth, but I'm very grateful that we are managing it and that our customers are patient," she said. <h2>The impact of the review produced more than just a viral moment for Livingston's business</h2>According to Livingston, the impact of going viral didn't just last for a day or a weekend, but it has brought in a steady stream of new customers over the subsequent weeks. She thinks this is due to the way Lee has built up a strong community of followers who support every business he recommends. <div type="image" title="A picture of Livingston's chocolate products." height="5760" width="3840" msid="99439291" hostid="261" sizebytes="638306"></div>"For me personally, what I appreciate about Keith Lee, which I think reflects what others like too, is how genuine he is. I've never met a more humble person who has this massive platform that has the power to do all this good," she told Insider. Livingston said she thinks that Lee's particular style of content spotlights "those who need it the most," as he often focuses his attention on businesses in underserved areas or those struggling to make ends meet. She also mentioned that the way Lee tags creators directly in his posts about them allows audiences to get to know the business owners more directly and follow them, which helps to add longevity to viral success. She told Insider that when she was <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@cocoaasante/video/7216037789329050923" target="_blank" rel="noopener">approached by CNN for an interview</a>, the outlet wanted to speak to both her and Lee, but the TikTok star told her in a message, which was seen by Insider, that he wanted her to have the spotlight and capitalize on the opportunity by herself."I was like, 'Who does that?' That's like the kindest, most genuine person ever, And I think that's why the Keith Lee effect is so powerful, because of who he is," she said. <a href="https://www.insider.com/culture">For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider's Digital Culture team here.</a>

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2019 may be the biggest year for this 11-year old Indian gaming startup

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A Tennessee teacher was able to quit her job to pursue her dream after a TikTok star posted a glowing review of her family's chocolate business

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