Millionaire Mondays by Backstage with Millionaires Backstage with Millionaires

Today's episode of Millionaire Mondays is extra special - because it's also the first episode being featured in #StartupSpotlights, a Google Play initiative, where inspiring startup founders share their
untold growth stories.

In today's episode, we're in conversation with Yannick Colaço, co-founder of FanCode, a one-stop destination for sports fans in India. FanCode has more than 100M lifetime users, making it one of the largest sports streaming platforms in the country.

00:00 - Introduction
04:08 - Career Beginnings and NBA Experience
11:23 - The Inspiration behind FanCode
17:15 - Starting FanCode
25:22 - Team and Culture at FanCode
38:11 - Navigating the Pandemic
42:28 - Growth and Expansion Post-Pandemic
45:52 - Monetization and Revenue Strategies
48:45 - Merchandise and New Ventures
56:28 - Future Plans and Innovations
58:33 - Outro

Yannick Colaço and Prasana Krishnan started FanCode in 2019. The company has positioned itself as a comprehensive destination for sports fans, offering a variety of services including live streaming, non-live content, sports statistics, and merchandise.

Yannick Colaço previously worked with NBA India as managing director, while Prasana Krishnan was a former executive at sports pay-television broadcasters Sony Pictures Networks and Neo Sports.

FanCode raised $50 Million in May 2021.

One of FanCode’s significant strengths lies in its comprehensive sports coverage. The platform offers live streaming of matches, which includes not just major leagues and tournaments but also smaller, regional, and
even grassroots events. This has democratised access to sports content, enabling fans to follow their favourite sports and teams regardless of their geographic location.

FanCode also provides detailed sports statistics and real-time data, enhancing the viewing experience for sports enthusiasts who crave in-depth insights.

Expanding beyond digital content, FanCode also offers sports merchandise, allowing fans to purchase official team gear. During the ICC World Cup 2023, FanCode was the official partner for Indian team jerseys.

Social Links

Google India’s IG:

https://www.instagram.com/googleindia/?hl=en

Google India’s X:

https://x.com/GoogleIndia
https://x.com/googledevsin?lang=en

Google India’s YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@GoogleDevelopersIndia
https://www.youtube.com/GoogleIndia

Google India’s LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/googleplaybiz/posts/?feedView=all

FanCode’s LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/fancode/mycompany/?viewAsMember=true

FanCode’s Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/fancode/?hl=en

FanCode’s X:

https://x.com/FanCode

Yannick's LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/yannick-colaco-237aab11/

Yannick's X:

https://x.com/yansports

[This podcast is sponsored by Google Play.]

#FanCode #StartupSpotlights #GooglePlay

It all began in late 2008, amidst Abhinav Das' GATE exam. In a pivotal moment of realization, he abandoned the exam midway, recognizing that pursuing a master's degree wasn't his true calling. Instead, he crafted a business plan on the spot, birthing the concept of 'Evomo - Evolving Mobility'.

The objective behind Evomo was straightforward: to replace the ubiquitous jugaad vehicles prevalent in rural India with Rural Utility Vehicles (RUVs). These RUVs were envisioned to be cost-effective, modular, and specially designed for rough terrains. However, Abhinav Das encountered a significant obstacle – funding. He required approximately 2.3 crore rupees, equivalent to about 383,000 dollars at the time, to kickstart his vision.

Despite seven years of dedicated efforts and the creation of an impressive prototype, Evomo failed to generate any revenue. Abhinav Das attempted to secure venture capital to obtain certifications and commence manufacturing, but his endeavors only yielded a fraction of the required funds – a mere 12 lakh rupees, or 18,000 dollars at the time.

Facing limited options, Abhinav Das took a daring leap and applied for Y Combinator in 2015. Despite being accepted for an online interview, he fell short of securing a spot after the in-person interview in California.

The setback was a crushing blow, leading Abhinav Das to shutter Evomo, depart from Ahmedabad, and return to his parents' home in Delhi. He grappled with a profound sense of purposelessness, battling bouts of depression characterized by prolonged sleep and difficulty in getting out of bed.

Yet, amidst the darkness, Abhinav Das resolved to reclaim his passion for entrepreneurship. He embarked on a journey to resurrect his dreams, eventually founding Orangewood Labs alongside his co-founders, determined to make a lasting impact in the world of robotics.

Abhinav Das and his fellow co-founders at Orangewood Labs are on a mission to revolutionize the robotics industry. Their focus? Building robotic arms that are not only affordable but also incredibly easy to program, thanks to their innovative AI-powered software named RoboGPT.

00:00 Intro
02:52 Building Ather S340 and 450
09:15 Indian EVs vs Chinese EVs
19:29 Can India become the biggest electric vehicle exporter?
28:10 Indian EV industry (wave 1)
33:30 Struggles of building an EV company
40:40 How Ather almost shut down
52:09 The hardware wave
58:10 How to take feedback
1:04:48 Asteroid mining is the future
1:09:59 The future of the energy industry
1:15:45 Outro

00:00 Intro

01:50 From a Bedroom, to a Basement

05:53 Hiring in 2005: a Big Challenge

10:26 Building Culture, Organically

11:10 Running a Global Company in India

14:16 Being Profitable and Bootstrapped

16:16 Three Near-Death Experiences

22:40 Milestones and the Path Ahead



Pallav Nadhani founded FusionCharts at the age of 17 in an effort to earn himself some extra pocket money. He succeeded in doing so, and now, 17 years later, he has more pocket money than he knows what to do with. The data visualization company has over 28,000 customers as of December of 2019, some of which include Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Adobe, Walmart, NASA, and many, many more. In this video, Pallav explains how he built FusionCharts from his bedroom and turned it into a multi-million dollar company over the course of the last 17 years.



From a Bedroom, to a Basement: Pallav Nadhani was able to run FusionCharts for three years on his own before he realized that he needed help. He onboarded his first employee, a friend of his cousins, and together they worked out of Pallav's bedroom for about a year and a half. By the end of this period, they were working with over 1,000 customers, and couldn't handle to workload on their own anymore. They shifted into a basement office and started hiring more employees.



Hiring in 2005: a Big Challenge: Hiring wasn't a very easy thing to do for a startup in Calcutta in 2005. India's startup ecosystem was still in its infancy, and the startup ecosystem in Calcutta was nonexistent. Employees were hesitant to join the startup despite the fact that they were already working with a number of Fortune 500 companies. However, with time and experience, Pallav was able to assemble of solid team of engineers.



Building Culture, Organically: Even as FusionCharts was scaling up and the startup was onboarding more and more employees, Pallav really didn't know anything about building strong culture. Instead, he simply focused on instilling values like pride in the company, a strong work ethic, and the desire to learn and grow on the job. As a result of these values, FusionCharts was able to establish a strong culture organically.



Running a Global Company in India: Less than 1% of FusionCharts' customers are Indian. This is something that Pallav takes pride in, because going global from India was a pretty big challenge when FusionCharts was first starting out. In spite of this, FusionCharts has been able to build quality products that are good enough not only for India, but also for the world. What is more, they have done so as a bootstrapped, profitable company from day 1.



Being Profitable and Bootstrapped: Because FusionCharts has always been profitable and bootstrapped, they have very rarely struggled with money problems. In fact, the biggest money they have faced is a surplus of funds. The challenge for them has been to figure out what to do with these funds. Part of the reason that they are able to be profitable and bootstrapped is that FusionCharts is a very lean company: they have 68 employees serving 28,000 customers!

Pravesh Pandey is one of the most renowned faces in India's Hotel and Restaurant Industry. He started his career with ITC Hotels back in 2002, where he was a Guest Service Coordinator.

He spent the next decade of his professional career in senior positions at key companies like P&O Cruises, Lizard Lounge, Henry Tham Lifestyle Restaurant, and Hard Rock Cafe.

In 2020, Pravesh started Bissi Bissi Oota, which is India's first QSR brand serving home-style meals that are 'Shuddha', 'Aarogya', and 'Taaza'. They ensure the provision of fresh, nutritious, and hygienic food at the most affordable prices. In fact, a meal is provided at a price of INR 30.

Pravesh is also one of the shareholders and directors at Byg Brewski Brewing Company , which at the time of its opening was India's largest Microbrewery.

Pravesh early in his career also helped in the rapid expansion of 'Social'.

Candice Lock's journey from her upbringing in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, oto her tech career in New York is a tale of cultural fusion and culinary passion. Growing up in a Cantonese family, she later found herself at the Copacabana salsa club in New York, where the Latinos affectionately referred to her as "Chinita," meaning "little Chinese girl" in Spanish. Her love for Latin American cuisine, especially Mexican food, blossomed during her time in the city that never sleeps.When Candice moved to Bengaluru for work in 2008, fate intervened, and she crossed paths with Amit Mirchandani, who had a deep appreciation for Mexican cuisine from his time in the United States. In 2010, and Candice had not only married Amit but had also fully embraced her passion for Mexican food.Together with Amit and his brother Sameer, who shared her love for Mexican cuisine, they embarked on a journey to bring the flavors of Mexico to Bengaluru. Tacos became their specialty, and they started selling them at Bengaluru's Soul Sante.