Set up in 2014, digital gaming and entertainment firm JetSynthesys has expanded at a furious pace, drawing investors like Adar Poonawalla and Kris Gopalakrishnan. Can founder Rajan Navani keep up the tempo?
Infographics: Sameer Pawar
Back in the late ’90s too, Navani had wanted to leverage global partnership in Thailand. Exposed to technology during his stint at NASA, he had thought of venturing into a tech business. And spotted the laser disc market. He tied up with Japanese electronics player Pioneer. By 1997, Thailand emerged as the third-biggest market for laser discs after the US and Japan. Then came the Asian financial crisis in 1997, triggered by currency devaluation. The market crashed in Thailand. “It badly hit everything that was imported into Thailand,” recalls Navani, who decided to shut the business. “That was the first time I saw failure,” he says. Back in India, Navani again had a tryst with failure when he had to shut down the astrology vertical after 18 months of operations. Reason: Maharashtra’s Anti-Superstition Black Magic Act, 2013. Navani brainstormed with his legal team. The feedback was clear: Stay away from the grey zone. The focus then shifted to Bollywood, cricket and devotion. There were huge opportunities in games, which were created along with Bollywood celebs, as well as in vernacular music. Over the next few years, Navani went on to add interest-based communities to his business platforms. Take, for instance, ThinkRight.me, an emotional fitness app which sends out daily affirmations as push notifications, daily videos and supports guided meditations. Then there is 100MB, a digital platform to engage cricket fans across the world through social aggregation, exclusive videos, live quizzes and merchandise. There seems to be a method in the apparent madness. He explains. “Mindfulness community (ThinkRight.me) is the best segment for lending,” he contends. Explaining his logic, he says that a person spending an hour on a mindfulness app is least likely to default. Similarly, lending Rs 50,000 to a user who has been spending around Rs 5,000 on buying merchandise and other items in the cricket games, makes sense. The strategy seems to be more of cross-selling, which comes after user stickiness. The challenges for the venture, though, still remain. And there are many. First, gaming is still the biggest source of revenue. Second, expanding into multiple and diverse sectors means a diffusion of focus. Third, a presence in multiple ventures should have propelled revenue growth. It hasn’t. Navani, for his part, explains why and how digital ventures are different from old-world businesses when it comes to topline, bottom line and valuation. The digital world, he underlines, is about building trust and engagement with users. “I can unlock profit by charging just a rupee or two to millions of users,” he says. But the digital world doesn’t work this way. The moment, he explains, the consumer feels that he is trying to take money from her, she will gravitate to other platforms. The magic lies in making her feel the need to pay rather than asking her to pay. “Has WhatsApp ever charged money?” he asks. “But it’s still a valuable business.” Old-world business, he points out, still doesn’t appreciate the value of a new-age business. Claiming that the company has a strong foundation in place for growth over the next two years, Navani still pitches for building value, and valuation. “We are on our way to becoming a digital unicorn,” he says.