From Rejection to Riches: Meet Harsh Jain, CEO Of Rs 65,000 Crore Dream11
Harsh Jain's journey from a Microsoft intern to the CEO of Dream11 is pretty inspiring. Despite being rejected 150 times, Harsh Jain and his friend Bhavit Sheth built Dream11 a fantasy gaming platform, which is now worth Rs 65,000 crores. Let's find out how he did it.
Early Years and Love for Sports:
Harsh Jain always loved sports, especially cricket. Growing up in Mumbai, he was a big fan of the Indian Cricket Team and the Mumbai Indians. He also liked technology and games, and he wanted to combine them with sports.
Starting Dream11:
During college, Harsh did an internship at Microsoft and that's when he got interested in fantasy sports. After finishing college, he came back to India and started his own business. In 2008, Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth started Dream11. They wanted to create a new way for people to enjoy sports through fantasy games. Even though they faced a lot of rejection, they didn't give up. Eventually, Dream11 became very successful, and it's now one of the most popular fantasy sports platforms in India.
Rejection
Despite being a prominent player in the gaming industry today, Dream11 encountered numerous challenges during its early days. Harsh Jain, one of its founders, revealed that approximately 150 venture capitalists rejected their business idea initially. Additionally, the company had to confront accusations of operating as a gambling platform. Overcoming these obstacles wasn't easy, and Dream11 had to engage in several legal battles to establish itself as a legitimate platform.
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Bringing Fantasy Sports to India:
Dream11 changed the game in India by offering fantasy sports for cricket, football, basketball, and more. They used technology to make the experience fun and engaging for millions of users.
Education and Business Skills:
Harsh Jain went to Sevenoaks High School from 2001 to 2003. Then, he went to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia for five years, where he studied engineering, electric engineering, mathematics, and economics. Later in 2012, he went to Columbia Business School in New York to get a Master's in Business Administration (MBA), according to his LinkedIn page.
Personal life
In 2013, Harsh Jain got married to Rachana Shah, who is a dentist. They have a son named Krish. In 2021, Harsh and Rachana became quite famous after they bought a very lavish apartment worth Rs. 72 crore which is spread over two floors, the 29th and 30th, in a super expensive area in India. It's a big deal because it's near Mukesh Amabani's Rs 15,000 crore Antilia. This news got a lot of attention in the media at the time.
Dream11's Big Success:
The Dream11 app lets users create fantasy sports teams where their rewards depend on how well their chosen players perform in real games. Users earn money when their players succeed. The app covers various sports like basketball, cricket, football, and kabaddi.
Dream11 has become immensely popular in India, with 100 million users in 2020 and 140 million in 2021, over 200 million as of 2024, a remarkable growth from just 2 million users in 2016. Being the first Indian gaming startup to join the Unicorn Club in April 2019, Dream11 has achieved significant milestones. Dream11 is one of three gaming unicorns ¡ª companies valued at over $1 billion ¡ª in the country, alongside Games24x7 and Mobile Premier League. It even sponsored the 2020 Indian Premier League and currently holds the title of the lead sponsor for the Indian cricket team.?
Harsh Jain, one of Dream11's founders, is a passionate supporter of the Indian Cricket Team, Mumbai Indians, and Manchester United. He believes that technology can enhance the sports experience, a vision realized through Dream11's platform, which has attracted over 200 million users last year and added 55 million more users to the platform.
Despite initial setbacks, including rejections from 150 venture capitalists in the two years after 2012, Dream11 persevered. Today, it offers a wide range of fantasy sports options, including basketball, hockey, football, kabaddi, and cricket, catering to the diverse interests of sports enthusiasts.
Plan to go global?
Fantasy gaming platform Dream11 doesn't plan to go global, according to Harsh Jain, the co-founder and CEO. He shared this during an event called Startup Mahakumbh in New Delhi. Jain believes Dream11 has a unique advantage in India because it has a massive domestic market, being one-sixth of the world's population.
Jain highlighted India's strengths, like having the largest young population and government support for technology. He emphasized the need to seize the opportunity this presents. Currently, Dream11 boasts around 220 million users in India and sees potential for further growth.
Dream11 restricts its platform to Indians only, which Jain sees as a positive. Over the years, the platform has experienced steady growth, with 150 million users after 15 years and adding 55 million more in the past year alone. Most users are aged between 25 and 60 and come from smaller towns, with only 28% from Tier-I and Tier-II cities.
Despite challenges faced by Indian gaming companies due to regulations and taxes, Jain remains optimistic. He sees potential in integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into Dream11's operations, especially in sports, where data availability is good. Dream11 has partnered with Columbia University to work on AI-related projects, such as machine learning and reinforcement learning, aiming to enhance the sports experience for users.
Harsh Jain's story shows that you shouldn't give up, even if things seem tough. With hard work and determination, you can turn your dreams into reality, just like he did with Dream11.
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