Blume Ventures Backed OTT Platform STAGE Ropes In Harsh Mani Tripathi As Cofounder

Regional over-the-top (OTT) platform STAGE has appointed Harsh Mani Tripathi as its new cofounder, days after securing an undisclosed funding from Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra.

The startup’s cofounder and chief executive officer Vinay Singhal announced the appointment on X.

In his new role, Tripathi aims to scale up STAGE as a product, aspiring to evolve it into an OTT++ platform and deliver unique value to its users.

“My focus is on positioning Stage distinctively in the OTT market and transforming it into a platform that offers unparalleled value,” said Tripathi.

Launched in 2019 by former founders of WittyFeed – Vinay Singhal, Parveen Singhal, and Shashank Vaishnav, STAGE is an online entertainment platform catering to regional languages in Haryana and Rajasthan. It creates content like web series, poetry, and storytelling, among others.

The platform claims to have more than 225K subscribers.

Tripathi, acknowledged as a serial entrepreneur, has a track record in the edtech sector, including his Delhi-based venture Pyoopil Education Technologies which was acquired by UpGrad in 2016.

Earlier, he was with STAGE as chief product and strategy officer since 2018.

“Tripathi exhibited a commitment similar to that of a cofounder, facing challenges alongside the team. From conceiving STAGE to building it from the ground up, securing funding and revolutionising content consumption in local dialects, he played a pivotal role at every stage,” said Singhal.

In January last year, STAGE raised INR 40 Cr ($4.83 Mn) in a funding round led by Blume Ventures, with participation from NB Ventures, Dholakia Ventures, TSM Ventures, WeFounderCircle, Mumbai Angels, Tarmac Ventures, Tailwind Ventures, Longtail Ventures, Lets Ventures and AngelList.

Existing investors Better Capital, IPV, TCA, Venture Catalysts and some angel investors also participated in the funding round. With the latest round, STAGE has raised INR 71 Cr ($8.57 Mn) in funding from investors.

In FY22, STAGE clocked a revenue of INR 3.85 Cr.

In the regional OTT space, STAGE competes with the likes of aha Video, Planet Marathi, and Hoichoi. 

India is one of the largest markets for OTT companies in the world, from both scale and monetisation standpoints. According to a recent report by the media consulting firm Ormax Media, named ‘The Ormax OTT Audience Sizing Report 2022’, India has more than 423 Mn OTT users.

The report added that India has 119 Mn active paid OTT subscribers at present, with 49 Mn SVOD (Subscription Video On Demand) subscribers.

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