#StartUpStreet: #SaregamaIndia acquired a majority stake in #Filtercopy and #DiceMedia owner Pocket Aces. Here's co-founders Aditi Shrivastava, Ashwin Suresh and Anirudh Pandita on what went behind the deal, and the road ahead. #BQLive
00:00 This is Rishabh Bhatnagar and you're watching Startup Street on BQ Prime.
00:04 Today we have with us Aditi Srivastava, Anirudh Pandita and Ashwin Suresh.
00:09 They're all co-founders of Pocket Aces, the digital entertainment startup that's behind filter copy, Dice Media and many more.
00:16 They've all cashed out and they've sold their stakes to music label giant, Saregama.
00:22 Aditi, Ashwin, Anirudh, thanks so much for taking time out today.
00:27 I'm sure it's been a whirlwind few days for you guys at Pocket Aces.
00:33 To start us off, this question is directed to all three of you.
00:38 What exactly went into the making of this deal?
00:42 Let's start from right from the beginning, right?
00:45 What were the initial conversations like? Who approached you and what did they have in mind?
00:51 Yeah. Hey, Rishabh, thanks. It's great to be here.
00:56 So we, you know, about a year ago or so, we decided that going down the road to bring a strong strategic partner was the right next move for us in terms of scaling the business further with the expertise and relationships that they can bring in.
01:14 And so, you know, when we started reaching out to players, Saregama's name came up.
01:21 And of course, we were working with some bankers who were advising us on the deal. And honestly, we were very kind of excited to think of a music label player because, you know, it's obviously a very complimentary to what we do.
01:38 When we first met the team, there was just a lot of comfort and a lot of resonance in between our team and their team.
01:47 And it just felt like a really good fit. You know, obviously, we were talking to other people as well.
01:53 And I think it's just the conversations have been the right intent, very comfortable.
02:00 And, you know, they see the value that we can add to them.
02:07 And so, yeah, it's been a really fun journey of conversations, finally concluding in like a win-win situation for us and all our stakeholders as well as them.
02:21 Right. Ashwin, Anirudh, anything you want to add to that?
02:27 Sure. Look, I'll just kind of reiterate to Anirudh's point. I think what was important for us was not that we found a strategic partner, but specifically who that was.
02:39 There had to be an alignment in terms of mindset, the values that we as an organization have, you know, we believe in, that we've created over the last several years.
02:48 We wanted to make sure some of that sustains as well. And I think interacting with the Saregama team very quickly, I think we realized this was a good fit.
02:56 And although we share a lot of same values and there's a lot of complimentary things about good business, that's very exciting for us.
03:04 Yeah, just to add to that, I think, you know, it's been on our minds as founders of this company that we have to provide the right sort of exit to initial shareholders and people who believed in us from day zero.
03:19 And providing the right sort of returns, I think, provides encouragement for future investment in the media sector in India.
03:26 And I think it's amazing that one of the most iconic brands in Indian media and entertainment has chosen to partner with us.
03:36 And it also will encourage a lot of new startups that will come out because we will serve as an example.
03:41 And for us, all our early shareholders, etc. are very happy with this transaction.
03:46 They also see the strategic fit that Ashwin and Aditi talked about.
03:51 So for us, that's a very heartening thing. And we are very, very happy that we were able to deliver this sort of return to everyone involved.
03:59 Right. OK, so from what I understand, Ashwin and Anirudh, the two of you will be managing Loco, which was spun off about two years back.
04:10 And Aditi, you will still continue to be at the helm of Pocket Assist?
04:15 Yes, very much so. I'm looking forward to building the business over the next few years.
04:20 We continue to operate the way we do. And I think this adds a good wind beneath our wings.
04:26 Right. Very interesting. A question that comes to my mind is that this transaction has come at a time when Pocket Assist was still growing very healthily.
04:38 You guys posted a hundred crore plus revenues for FY23. That's a good jump from what you did in FY22.
04:45 Why the call right now to sell and to move out?
04:50 Because I believe there was still a little bit of growth that Pocket Assist just had without a strategic partner such as Sarigam.
04:59 Yeah, I think, Rishabh, there are many factors that go into, you know, going from 100 to 1000, you know, requires a different ballgame.
05:10 Right. And so for a different ballgame, you can do it faster with, you know, more experienced relationships, you know, help coming from people who have done it.
05:22 Right. And so that was the thought process. Right. I think for our next phase of growth, this was the right move.
05:28 And we have been thinking about that for a while. Interesting. Aditi, the entirety of the Pocket Assist team will be retained.
05:36 Will the Dice, Media, Filter, Copy, all these divisions, they'll all still be in place?
05:41 Yes, absolutely. Got it. All right.
05:46 Then this question is for Ashwin and Anirudh.
05:49 What are you guys planning on doing with your sort of windfall gains, if I may call them, apart from managing Loco?
05:59 Look, the first thing we did, both Anirudh and I, right after this team was consummated, was we went back on to a call with the Loco leadership team for our goal setting for the upcoming quarter.
06:11 I think on a day to day basis, nothing's really going to change.
06:15 We're committed to building Loco out. There's a long journey there that we've committed ourselves to and nothing will change for us on that basis.
06:23 I think part of the reason this transaction was monumental for us in many ways, of course, is besides the fact that there will be Loco to be available for us.
06:33 Also, we wanted to repay the faith shown by, like Anirudh said, early investors, but also early employees to the company.
06:40 We've had a lot of people who've been at the company since day one, who have been a very integral part of shaping Bokenage to what it is today.
06:48 And while you're right that we would continue to grow with or without this transaction, I think the rate of growth can certainly be accelerated with the path of Sadegama.
06:57 And it is a good point in time to reward those early employees by helping them see liquidity as well.
07:03 And so for us, it was a tactical thing, I would say, to some degree. And overall, like I said, for Anirudh and me, life isn't changing on a day to day basis.
07:14 Yeah, I think we are actually in the mode where we're really excited to see where this goes next.
07:19 And we feel very comfortable in leaving this in the hands of the current management and the folks that they'll be joining at Sadegama.
07:30 So that excitement is still there and we're still looking forward to amazing things that will happen.
07:36 In terms of our time, as Ashwin said, we have a very, very important responsibility towards the company we work on on a day to day basis.
07:43 So we're excited to grow that out. And gaming is obviously a booming sector in India.
07:48 And we've rewarded our shareholders with two separate companies now. So hopefully we can provide them exciting returns on the other companies.
07:58 Right. Will we perhaps see some sort of an angel investing play from the two of you?
08:06 I mean, I'm relatively active in the angel space anyway. I've been with Linstore for a while.
08:11 So I will continue as usual. Honestly, I don't think there's going to be any meaningful change in our day to day lifestyle.
08:21 Sorry, go on.
08:28 Yeah, I was saying, I completely agree with Ashwin and I still feel the best way to manage wealth for those who are very active in the startup sector is to invest a lot passively.
08:39 So I'm looking forward to doing that and giving back in whatever way we can to the community.
08:46 Just to add here, I think one of the things that has led to kind of our growth so far has been that we don't ever shy away from putting our heads down and achieving our goals.
09:03 And in that sense, nothing changes. Right. So we have the next set of goals clearly laid down for Loco as well as Pocket Aces.
09:13 And we're just going to be focused towards getting that, getting there and getting that done.
09:19 Right. Lastly, guys, as what should some of your subscribers, the crores of subscribers and followers that you have across social media, is there something that they should expect going ahead?
09:35 So on everything going ahead, all of that planning is happening. So at some point later, we can talk about this. But yeah, fun things are cooking.
09:47 Yeah, Loco will continue to make great content, this time with even better soundtracks.
09:54 Yeah, and I think the interesting thing which I wanted to add was to mention that we are now representing so many people who are making popular content.
10:01 So you're going to see from us on every single platform that you can think of. And we really only were missing, you know, film, music.
10:09 And now with this current, you know, acquisition, I think that also gets fulfilled. So we're very excited.
10:17 Right. Thank you so much, Aditi, Ashwin and Anirudh for joining us here at VQ Prime.
10:22 Viewers, this was the co-founders of Pocket Aces who just sold a majority stake in their company to Sarigama. Stay tuned.
