“Onspon.com bridges the information and access gap between brands
and events”, Hitesh
Gossain, Founder & CEO of onspon.com
and events”, Hitesh
Gossain, Founder & CEO of onspon.com
 |
| Hitesh Gossain, Founder & CEO of onspon.com |
ST Bureau: When did you
decide to take the path of ‘entrepreneurship’ as your career? Do you remember
any special incident?
decide to take the path of ‘entrepreneurship’ as your career? Do you remember
any special incident?
Hitesh Gossain: It all started when I was managing sponsors ships for the events
at IIM Ahmedabad and realised that despite me being from one of the most
premier institutes of India – it was a challenge. When I took a job and was on
other side – realised sourcing of sponsorships is a equally big challenge.
Hence a perfect opportunity to create a responsive marketplace based on
information arbitrage and knowledge enhancement
at IIM Ahmedabad and realised that despite me being from one of the most
premier institutes of India – it was a challenge. When I took a job and was on
other side – realised sourcing of sponsorships is a equally big challenge.
Hence a perfect opportunity to create a responsive marketplace based on
information arbitrage and knowledge enhancement
ST Bureau: Can you
briefly tell us more about your startup?
briefly tell us more about your startup?
Hitesh Gossain: Onspon.com bridges the information and access gap between brands
and events. 450+ brands use Onspon to evaluate some fantastic opportunities;
right from a B2C exhibition having 1,00,000 footfalls to a corporate engagement
platform reaching 100+ offices, children content reaching 20,000+ schools, to all major leagues – ISL , IPL , Pro
Kabaddi etc. The problem of sponsorship raising is everywhere – and we
understood it soon.
and events. 450+ brands use Onspon to evaluate some fantastic opportunities;
right from a B2C exhibition having 1,00,000 footfalls to a corporate engagement
platform reaching 100+ offices, children content reaching 20,000+ schools, to all major leagues – ISL , IPL , Pro
Kabaddi etc. The problem of sponsorship raising is everywhere – and we
understood it soon.
Onspon has been rated as an exhaustive high quality platform for
assessing the best partnership opportunities across 7000+ avenues. The best
part is, that its a marketplace model – hence no ‘sales pitches’ – we are event
agnostic hence brands get what they want.
assessing the best partnership opportunities across 7000+ avenues. The best
part is, that its a marketplace model – hence no ‘sales pitches’ – we are event
agnostic hence brands get what they want.
ST Bureau: How big is
your team at present?
your team at present?
Hitesh Gossain: We are 15 of us spread across 3 locations.
ST Bureau: Did you get
any funding for your startup? Are you planning to attract funding in the near
future?
any funding for your startup? Are you planning to attract funding in the near
future?
Hitesh Gossain: Yes, we have already secured early stage funding and are
utilizing them to create products that bridge the technology gap between events
and brands – we shall raise further funds post that.
utilizing them to create products that bridge the technology gap between events
and brands – we shall raise further funds post that.
ST Bureau: What
challenges do you face in your daily professional life?
challenges do you face in your daily professional life?
Hitesh Gossain: As we are trying to disrupt a very archaic media sales setup,
there was a lot of resistance by the agencies who are brand custodians on media
procurement decisions. Event sponsorships happen to be non-traditional media.
Here my experience of working with one of the biggest EMC organizations came
handy and we created a structure where agencies benefit tremendously from our
algorithms and use it to recommend their clients the best partnership
opportunities – which as almost impossible earlier.
there was a lot of resistance by the agencies who are brand custodians on media
procurement decisions. Event sponsorships happen to be non-traditional media.
Here my experience of working with one of the biggest EMC organizations came
handy and we created a structure where agencies benefit tremendously from our
algorithms and use it to recommend their clients the best partnership
opportunities – which as almost impossible earlier.
To overcome these challenges we have created a unique business
model – brands don’t pay us and we charge for the incremental value which we
add to the events.
model – brands don’t pay us and we charge for the incremental value which we
add to the events.
ST Bureau: How do you see
yourself in next 2 years from now?
yourself in next 2 years from now?
Hitesh Gossain: Growth with focus on value creation. Multi country expansion and
global partnerships. We have following plan for next year:
global partnerships. We have following plan for next year:
o
We are launching exclusive B2B sponsorship marketplace
We are launching exclusive B2B sponsorship marketplace
o
Launching a 24X7 call centre for events
Launching a 24X7 call centre for events
o
Technology backbone creation for events to better coordinate on
their technology needs – engagement with all event stakeholders in backend
Technology backbone creation for events to better coordinate on
their technology needs – engagement with all event stakeholders in backend
This will be a rapid scale up backed by tremendous traction on
paying clients – we would definitely look for a second round once the gap
starts coming between the cash outflow and projected revenues – we don’t see
that happening for next 12 months at least as our revenue pipeline growth is
also very promising.
paying clients – we would definitely look for a second round once the gap
starts coming between the cash outflow and projected revenues – we don’t see
that happening for next 12 months at least as our revenue pipeline growth is
also very promising.
ST Bureau: What are your
hobbies in your personal life? Which is your favorite holiday destination?
hobbies in your personal life? Which is your favorite holiday destination?
Hitesh Gossain: I love to travel and try new cuisines. My idea of travel is to be like a local and
my favourite destinations are Istanbul, Paris and Bangkok.
my favourite destinations are Istanbul, Paris and Bangkok.
Interviewed by Startup Terminal Bureau
