ENTREPRENEUR/STARTUP SPECIAL...LESSON NO.24 FROM REAL EXAMPLES

Gaining Currency Through Social Gaming

RAMAPRASAD RAJENDRAN
Co-founder, HashCube Technologies

Founded in 2008 by two gaming enthusiasts, Bangalore-based social gaming startup HashCube Technologies has global social game services provider Zynga squarely in its sights. Co-founders Ramprasad Rajendran and Deepan Chakravarthy, former schoolmates, both 28, were working in the corporate sector, a list that included Wipro, Motorola and Nova Global, before deciding to join hands, and launch their venture four years ago, with the intent of leveraging social media networks. “We ran a sudoku website while we were in college, which got a lot of attention. Additionally, Facebook had opened up its gaming platform in 2007. We decided to place our game on the platform, and the rest is history,” Ramprasasd said. The startup, which currently boasts of two million users, has four games, mainly on the globe’s premier social media website – Facebook. They include Sudoku, the Loop and the Dotgame. “Social gaming is still a very nascent industry in India. Therefore, our focus is on the global markets. We have seen the success of Zynga and Playfish, and there’s no reason, why the same can’t be replicated by us in India as well as overseas,” Ramprasad said. HashCube, which currently has an employee strength of seven, including Chakravarthy and Rajendran, is looking to make its presence felt in the United States, the UK, Canada and Australian markets. Rajendran insists that focus of the company is on growing its user base. Profits, he says, will follow. “We are not profitable at the moment. But this is such a fast-paced industry that gaining traction is possible if your products are welldeveloped and marketed in an innovative manner,” he said, while declining to provide financial details. It is a strategy that has caught the interest of risk capital. Earlier in the month, the Indian Angel Network, led by former head of Yahoo India, Sharad Sharma, and Google India Managing Director Rajan Anandan, invested an undisclosed amount in HashCube. 3 TIPS TO RAISE MONEY
Keep a constant focus on the product; keep fi ne-tuning it

Compete with the global majors when it comes to product design and offerings

Explore every possible platform to market the product.

Get the word out

Biswarup Gooptu ET120720