Abhesh Verma has over 16 years of illustrious career throughout which he has tackled various challenges such as increasing sales and has lead digital media operations from the ground up. An innovator at heart, Abhesh has developed strategies that showcase his ability to boost sales globally.
Over the years, he has accumulated vast experience while delivering outstanding business results by implementing SEO, SEM, and social media strategies to enhance traffic acquisitions.
What inspired you to build the above product/ service?
Need for getting instant access to entertainment & Live TV on the go, inspired us to build this product.
The internet revolution of the late 90s and early 2000s saw the World Wide Web emerge as a viable medium for delivering and consuming video entertainment content across the globe.This fact was attested to by the gradual rise in the number of IPTV service providers and online video content platforms as well as an increasing shift away from the traditional appointment-based viewing that was prevalent at that time.
A similar trend was witnessed during the nascent smartphone-driven digital proliferation at the beginning of this decade. India, as a country, had a very low internet penetration owing to a distinct dearth of households owning personal computers and laptops. However, with technology making the ownership of electronic devices more affordable and accessible, there was a massive scope of opportunity to use the digital platform as an enabler of high-quality on-the-go video entertainment solutions. This led to the conceptualisation of nexGTv, which is today India’s biggest subscription-driven app within the Mobile TV/OTT entertainment industry.
Also, add data on the number of TV household in India and problem of 1 TV per household, so there is a limited possibility of watching individual choice content. Also, mobile being a personal device, the problem of limited access to TV (both due to 1 TV every home and stationary nature of TV) became an opportunity.
What was the most challenging part of your journey till now?
Limited and restricted access to costly data over mobile for our users is our most challenging part.
One of the most prominent challenges in front of anyMobile TV/OTT video content provider operating in the Indian market has to be poor internet connectivity. Despite having the second largest number of internet users in the world, only 34.5% of the Indian population currently has access to an internet connection. To make the situation even trickier, most of the country’s internet users are still depending on low-speed internet connections such as dial-up and 2G. This presents a major hurdle for any online streaming service, as the low internet speeds adversely affect the quality of the end-user viewing experience.
The other challenge could be the cost of data as an add-on.
How did you overcome those challenges?
Revolutionary video compression technology and allowing users to select Save Data mode are few innovations and features that help address such challenges.
While the introduction of high-speed broadband connections and 4G-LTE networks is steadily changing the internet landscape in India, a large part of the country still does not have access to high-speed digital connectivity.Moreover, owing to the high rates of mobile-based data packs, users often end up accruing heavy charges for using their mobile devices to view video entertainment content online.
This problem was tackled by nexGTv by launching its revolutionary Save Data feature.Leveraging technology, we granted the control of the viewing experience in the hands of the consumer. By allowing them to manually switch between ‘Performance’ and ‘Data Saving’ modes, we allowed our users to streamline their data consumptions without a breakage in their viewing experience. This heralded immense savings for the end-consumer, who was saw the validity of his/her data subscriptions extended by as much as 5 times.
Please provide a brief overview of your product/ service.
NexGTv is India’s largest mobile TV subscription platform, where our services are available on WEB, WAP, Android, iOS, Windows, and Tizen, along with all feature smartphones.
nexGTvdelivers high-quality India-centric entertainment solutions for our consumers in over 140 countries through its extensive catalogue of 150+ channels and 1500+ movies.We also develop tailored original entertainment content such as ‘It’s My City’ – India’s first Mobi series which starred global superstar Priyanka Chopra as herself – that have received tremendous response from our digital viewership owing to their relevance and their engagement quotient. This quest for consumer-centric entertainment also saw us launch our SPOTLight platform in collaboration with India’s leading director Imtiaz Ali, which provides content developers from across the country with a viable platform to showcase their talent and monetise their offerings whilst adding to the diversity of our platform offerings. We have also recently launched nexGTv Kids app, which delivers highly curated kids’ entertainment content in a reliable, safe and secure environment.
What is your life mantra?
Too many to quote here:
- When you say, I say why not?
- If you are going to do a job, do it properly.
- No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, show up and never give up.
- To achieve what you have not, you must become who you are not.
Share some details about the investments that you have been able to fetch for the business till now.
We have not actively looked out for funding from outside investors.
How do you protect yourself from the problem of Brain Drain? Tell us about your company’s attrition control practices.
While attrition is common for many companies, we have not seen this as an issue. We hire our team members selectively and as such almost all of our team members have been with our company for many years. We create a progressive and productive environment for our colleagues where they have fun while learning and as such are motivated. We also conduct regularly scheduled activities with our teams, which include team building exercises and stress release activities that also keeps them fresh and aligned with company goals.
According to you, what are the three qualities an individual must have to achieve success?
- Never give up.
- Look at the positive.
- Trust your gut.
We are today living in a day and age where technology innovation is an integral part and parcel of the everyday life. As a result,business approaches are seeing multiple evolutions within a span of just a few years. This constantly changing, highly dynamic business environment requires a high quotient of adaptability to succeed, be it in an individual or a company.
Another quality that any individual today needs to succeed is multi-functionality.Having a multi-functional approach allows foran integration ofvarious skills in order to deliver a more comprehensive, well-rounded effort that creates a better business impact. For example, a sales person with the knowledge of marketing can often use marketing techniques in order to make his/hersales pitches better and more targeted towards the end-user, often resulting in betterconversions.Professionals today therefore need to pick up various secondary skills in addition to their primary domain expertise to be truly successful.
I am also a firm believer in the belief that winners make the most errors, and that the ability to get back up after stumbling matters more than the fall itself. Thomas Alva Edison is reported to have found ‘1000 ways of not making a light bulb’ before he finally invented one, while Henry Ford went broke five times before going on to establish one of the most renowned automobile brands in the world. On the entertainment front, Walt Disney was fired from a newspaper because he was considered unimaginative and devoid of good ideas, while reputed comedian and social satirist Jerry Seinfeld reportedly goofed up his first onstage act. These people are real-life examples that highlight success can be achieved despite, and often because of, failures. Therefore, perseverance and a refusal to give up areamongst the most important qualities for a successful person in my opinion.
Which online tools/ services/ apps do you use the most and would like to recommend as well?
I use Google Docs, Drive, Calendar the most. I also use evernote.
Share any one habit which you think makes you more productive.
Waking up early& meditation keeps me focused and I feel it helps me remain productive
Share any one habit which you wish to change in yourself.
I would like to become more patient.
Answer in less than 50 words
Never give up
- One mistake you believe every individual must avoid
Be picky with who you invest your time in, wasted time is worse than wasted money.
- One most important lesson that you have learnt till now
Talk with people who help you see the world differently.
What are your plans for next 3 years?
Grow, grow and grow. We are looking to expand our content catalogue, our user base, our reach, business alliances& partnerships.
What are your top three getaway destinations?
I live in Orlando, Florida and that is actually the top destination for getaway with family. Other then this, Bahamas, Aruba & Miami would be my preferred getaways.
If you get a chance to start your career again what would you do differently this time?
Every single experience, whether good or bad,that one goes throughis a part of one’s continued evolution and learning. Everything that I am today and that I have achieved is a result of everything else that preceded it. So, if I get a chance to start my career again and do things differently, I will not change a single thing. But at the same time, I would give more thanks to people and my team mates that helped me at each juncture & in each venture of my life.
Share a quote that inspires you the most.
The only way to do great work is to love what you do. – Steve Jobs