Fandrum, as the name suggests means fan as in person-noun, and drum here is the influencer. So, Fandrum is a fan as the influencer. Content is in the driving seat today. Content consumption is no more a passive activity done in the drawing room of the house. It is a choice that everyone makes and at one’s own pleasure. And, thus the idea of a social media platform with fans or content as its fulcrum. Fans give content its meaning, its shelf life and its virality. When fans embrace content, it becomes part of popular culture. Thus, fans are at the centre of the world of the content of Fandrum
How did you come up with the idea? Tell us about the inception and the core idea of the venture.
I sat through a lot of board meetings wherein we kept looking at the audience data, yet 20 per cent of the people(fans) give you 80 per cent of viewership. That's where I realised that we need to identify and celebrate the fans.
How do you stand unique from your peer competitors?
Our USP is the ‘Fan Value Calculator’. We believe in measuring the intangible. The social equity that a fan puts behind a celebrity or content is true, and without any consideration. He fights for his celebrity. He defends him. But why isn’t there any consideration? For any social contract, consideration is the main pillar. The Fan Value Calculator measures the social equity spend by a fan, and then rewards him for the same. Thus, no more a mere exercise out of love but one which would be recognised, rewarded and rejoiced.
Also, all the platforms were not designed with fan communities as the primary feature while the basic relationship in Fandrum is fan with his community. Also, we shall serve the various other considerations that arise from content consumption like discovery of content, exploring content around content and purchases.
There are the marquee social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. Our differentiation lies in our central factor which is Content. The other platforms harness omnipresent factors like friends, work, news, etc; our usage of the content as the central factor is the differentiator.
What were the key challenges you encountered? How helpful were they for your business development?
Every day you encounter challenges. Every day is ground zero, get up the next day and start the hustle.
The other challenge that I personally, as a woman entrepreneur, faced was unconscious bias around. There are skeptics everywhere - including family, friends, and even peers. Especially because I come from a successful corporate background. When I quit my job to start my own venture, no one agreed with my decision. It was considered too risky as I was expected to go the conventional route of holding on to a typical day job.
Coming from a corporate background of 15 odd years in media and entertainment the startup is an all-new territory and a whole new world, every decision from the biggest to the smallest make a huge impact whereas a corporate job is a piece of cake in comparison.
What are the growth plans to develop further? What are your next big plans?
We’re looking at ways to have 100 million Fans on the platform in the next couple of years and rewards as many fans and their fandoms in the coming years.
What is your monetisation model? Also, share about the funding status.
Business and revenue model: The business model is built on three pillars
1) Advertising: Starting as the content marketing platform; our backend is designed to eventually become the building block for a Demand Side Programmatic Platform.
2) Entertainment Wallet: A built-in wallet for all the Entertainment needs.
3) Big Data as a Service for Content Producers.
As an entrepreneur, what has been your biggest learning so far? What part of your work do you enjoy the most?
The biggest learning is to keep going and be at it, there will be challenges and lows in your journey. The idea is to keep the belief, be audacious and keep moving forward. The things I personally enjoy the most are when we are able to fulfil and celebrate the dreams of fans and the happiness on their faces. Gratitude is just a very Humbling experience.
