THE POWER OF ‘ SHORT FORM’ CONTENT
THIS DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT START- UP PRODUCES SHAREABLE, SNACKABLE CONTENT FOR MILLENNIALS.
This digital entertainment start- up produces shareable, snackable content for millennials. 121
1) The Founders
Ashwin Suresh, Aditi Shrivastava and Anirudh Pandita (L-R) have known each other for a long time. Suresh and Pandita studied at the University of Illinois, while Shrivastava and Pandita went to the same school in Kuwait. The trio got together in 2014 to launch the digital entertainment start-up.
2) The Idea
To produce low-budget, snappy content under its three brands – FilterCopy, Dice Media and Gobble – with a Facebook-first approach. FilterCopy produces shareable content (listicles, sketches, short videos, branded videos and memes); Dice Media creates longform web series and Gobble is the food content destination.
3) The Backers
Raised $3 million last December from a group of global investors led by Sequoia Capital India, including North Base Media, T.V. Mohandas Pai-led Aarin Capital, 3one4 Capital, Axilor Ventures, and FreeCharge founders Kunal Shah and Sandeep Tandon; and raised an unknown sum in angel funding in December 2014. According to a filing with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, the company earned revenues ` 25.85 lakh and incurred losses of ` 1.24 crore during financial year 2015/16.
4) The Rivals
PocketAces competes with new-age entertainment start-ups such as TVF, Culture Machine and ScoopWhoop, as also with platforms like Buzzfeed and other traditional media channels.
5) What sets them apart
The ‘Facebook-first’ approach. “When we have to test something, we make a meme. If people like it, we put it on Facebook. If people like it there, then we make a fullfledged video,” says Pandita.