I am born and brought up in Jaipur. My college days from Hyderabad have taught me a lot in making the person I am today. One word which will best describe me is passion. I made my blog, www.defencelover.in, which is a defense blog. Thankfully, I got to know the immense potential of the internet and how it is changing the world. I get inspired from writers. I love spending time making new friends and discussing various ideas at Quora (www.quora.com/Raghav-Gakhar-1). Apart from that, I love researching on virality.
WittyFeed is a modern age blogging platform for charticles (photo stories and listicle). We wish to provide a platform for modern day writers who don’t want to write more but want to express themselves using media such as pictures and videos where they can express themselves freely and be discovered by millions of people at the same time.
Consider us like the YouTube of the content industry. We also wish to be a platform where people come on a daily basis to read quality stories, stories which usually do not make it to the news headlines and main-stream media. We are all about that is trending and goes viral on social media.
WittyFeed wishes to express opinion and views through minimal pictures and design which can reach out to masses.
Currently, we are able to hit 1.5-2 million unique visitors daily from all across the world on our website.
WittyFeed has 40% of its audience in USA alone.
How did Wittyfeed come about?
When Facebook gained momentum in India around 2011, we made several Facebook pages and we were able to successfully make them viral by providing what our likers needed. After knowing about the wide scope of the content industry, we launched WittyFeed. The idea was simple, change the way how the advertising industry works. It’s not about ideas, it’s about making ideas happen.
Could you walk us through the process of starting up Wittyfeed?
There is a long story behind WittyFeed. I believe failures are stepping stones to success. Before making WittyFeed, we made several content websites in order to create content and make it go viral. In spite of generating huge traffic from previous content websites, we failed to make the brand value which should come with it.
With, WittyFeed, we have struck all right chords and after 6 months of our launch, we got recognized by Facebook as we got verified badge recently. We have generated much more traffic than our previous websites.
Building a product is an ongoing process. It only starts and never ends. Ever since we went live with a minimal product in October, we have continuously added a lot of new features and there a lot of more coming in the coming weeks.
Did you encounter any particular difficulties during a startup?
I have loved each moment I have worked in a startup. It gives me freedom to choose and the work the way I like. I don’t think there is a job where you don’t face difficulties. For a startup, the biggest difficulty can be wrong decisions taken by excitement. If you have chosen to work in a startup, your team becomes your new family. You just know that you can overcome every difficulty with your team.
What kind of feedback did you get for Wittyfeed so far?
The journey with WittyFeed has been incredible. People are coming to us and are appreciating our content, the designs and the idea behind it. They look forward for our work. It fills me with excitement and happiness whenever someone tells me that they are loving WittyFeed. We also get suggestions on how we can develop the content our website. I have learned a lot from the valuable suggestions with the people I have interacted so far.
What is your strategy against your competition?
The content industry is pretty old and there are a lot of content websites globally, but our concept is new. The best thing is, there is no monopoly of anyone and the internet is free. Also, our USP is the way we choose to distribute our content and make it viral all over social media. We have a unique system which helps us generate the traffic we have today and it is totally scalable as well.
What can you tell us about the industry?
In the content industry, the thing which matters is how fast can you deliver the new content to your readers. Your brand depends on how awesome your content is, just not how much content you have.
One must have the proper analysis of the data and the content consumption habit of your audience. From the outside, it seems that the content creation is very simple but from inside, it needs a proper data and research. What matters is how you present yourself.
What is the future of the industry and how do you plan to stay relevant in this industry?
In the future, it’s clear the content industry will blossom as the global internet users will multiply in coming time. We plan to stay relevant in the industry by creating the content which will never get old.
WittyFeed is going to expand further with its mission to be the modern age blogging platform for charticles. We are also planning to launch our merchandise very soon so that all our designs can be available in printables such as posters and, t-shirts etc.
What do you think about being an entrepreneur in Asia?
Being an entreprenuer in Asia is hard. We have age old traditions that either you have to become an engineer or a doctor, and at the same time, there are many people who do engineering, because of parental pressure. So, from where will you get the initial push or basic of being an entreprenuer? It has to come from the way you are grown up and your choices.
I am very happy that in recent past, there has been a boost of startups and new entrepreneurs emerging up. I feel there is a lot needed to motivate people to listen to their heart and choose their passion as their career.
I think that Asian entrepreneurship is on the right track to match the western. But, there is a lack of available sources and proper funds. Startups are encouraged there and that is something which we must learn from the West.
What is your definition of success?
When you fail, you fail alone and when you achieve success, it’s because of your team. I like the story of Chinese Bamboo tree. You take a little seed, plant it, water it and fertilize it for a complete year and nothing happens. The second year and third year, you keep on watering it but nothing happens. It becomes quite discouraging at that point of time. Sometime after five years, the bamboo tree sprouts and grows Ninety Feet in next five weeks.
Everyone wonders that its a just an overnight growth but only you know, how selflessly you worked for it. There is nothing called overnight success. Success will follow you if you keep your basic right and work with a plan and a passionate team.
Why did you decide to become an entrepreneur?
I kept my passion before anything else. I just asked myself whether if I will enjoy what I will work, when my heart said yes, I chose it. I had a feeling that I will enjoy what I will work and I will never get bored.
In your opinion, what are the keys to entrepreneurial success?
The key to entrepreneurial success is a proper plan and a target. Don’t worry if people steal your tactics, you must worry when people stop doing that. Always, chase a vision, never chase money. Money will end up following you. There are people who left their 40 hour weekly job to work 80 hours a week, because they love what they do. Never worry about failure, it’s just about that one strike. Always try to learn from the opinion of others. It can be your competitor but there is no harm in learning from him.
Any parting words of wisdom for entrepreneurs out there from your personal experience?
Entrepreneurship does not build your character, it reveals your character. Your life, priorities, thinking will remarkably change if you choose this life. In the end, everything comes down to how well you treat others. Respect others to get their respect, no matter how successful you are.
