An Indian tech unicorn's founders share 3 tips for success — including a 'hit by a bus' plan

Harsh Jain says it's an "open secret" that helium doesn't usage his ain phantasy sports app — for phantasy football, astatine least. 

"I americium inactive committed to phantasy shot connected Fantasy Premier League, the crushed we created Dream11." 

Fantasy sports are online games successful which players make virtual teams of proxies that way existent sports players. They tin gain points and triumph currency prizes based connected the real-world performances of these players.  

Fantasy shot was already hugely fashionable successful the U.K. successful the aboriginal 2000s and Jain caught the bug portion studying successful precocious schoolhouse there.

After introducing it to his puerility person Bhavit Sheth, they acceptable retired to look for a phantasy cricket level successful India. When they didn't find what they were looking for, they created their ain successful 2008.

According to Jain, it's the "first mover's advantage" that brought their institution Dream Sports — the genitor institution of Dream11 — to large heights. 

"Once you and your friends are … connected implicit 1 web successful phantasy sports, for a rival to get you to play there, you person to determination each your friends with you," said Jain, who is besides Dream Sports' CEO.

"Because you person your leagues acceptable up, each your friends are playing against each other." 

Dream Sports is not lone India's archetypal sports tech unicorn — the institution besides reportedly holds "almost 90% marketplace share" successful the country's phantasy sports industry. 

The 36-year-olds stock 3 tips connected however to tally a palmy company. 

If there's 1 "fundamental principle" that Jain and Sheth unrecorded by arsenic leaders of their institution — it's making definite their concern isn't reliant connected either 1 of them, they told CNBC Make It.

Jain said, "What happens if you get deed by the bus? Are you gathering standard and systems successful a mode ... not babelike connected [a azygous person] and … having 1 idiosyncratic marque a decision?"

That's wherefore the co-founders enforced a week of "unplug" clip for each Dream Sports employee, including themselves. 

"Once a year, for 1 week, you're kicked retired of the [company] strategy … you don't person Slack, emails and calls," Jain added. 

"Because it helps you greatly to person that 1 week of uninterrupted clip and it helps the concern to cognize whether we're babelike connected anyone." 

Anyone who reaches retired to different worker during "unplug" clip has to wage a good of astir $1,200, Jain added. That has been effectual truthful far, the co-founders said. 

"No 1 wants to beryllium that jerk who called idiosyncratic who was connected unplug," Sheth, who is besides the main operations officer, said with a laugh.

Jain and Sheth said they heard "no" astatine slightest 150 times from task superior firms erstwhile they were trying to unafraid aboriginal signifier backing 10 years ago. 

"We went to each the Indian VCs, and they said, 'This is simply a U.S. concept. Fantasy sports aren't prevalent successful India … Why don't you rise wealth successful the U.S.?'" 

But it was arsenic trying erstwhile Jain attempted to rise wealth successful New York and San Francisco. 

"All the VCs determination told maine to spell backmost to India. 'It's an Indian company, rise wealth successful India!'" Jain recalled. "Then I realized that it was conscionable a polite mode of saying no." 

Instead of feeling discouraged, Jain and Sheth gained substance from the rejections.

"The takeaway was that from each meeting, you tin get to cognize wherefore they said no, you tin inquire them, 'What's your biggest country of concern?'" 

Jain and Sheth said it took them astir 2 years earlier they yet nailed their pitch. 

"Early signifier investors are really looking for profoundly passionate founders, [and products] with a ample market," Jain said. 

"Early traction, precocious retention of users … and founders [who] volition enactment successful determination and volition not springiness up. I deliberation that's what helped america yet ace the pitch." 

Dream Sports' imaginativeness of connecting with India's millions of sports fans has since drawn big-name investors specified arsenic Chinese tech giant Tencent, American concern steadfast Tiger Global and Hong Kong- headquartered Steadview Capital. 

Its past circular of fundraising in 2021 fetched $840 million, giving the institution its $8 cardinal valuation. 

The beingness of an entrepreneur is "always sexier from the outside," Jain said. 

That's thing the puerility friends cognize each excessively good — they mislaid "a mates millions of dollars" worthy successful starting superior erstwhile they were conscionable 26 years old. 

"Every founder, erstwhile you commencement something, you genuinely judge that this is going to explode, you're going to alteration the satellite … and ours crashed and burned." 

Yet, adjacent aft a palmy pivot from a free-to-play to "freemium" exemplary successful 2012, the challenges did not stop. 

"2008 to 2012 was hard successful uncovering the close concern model. 2012 to 2014 was hard successful raising money. And 2015 till present is hard successful matching investors' expectations," Jain said.