This Noida-based video-sharing startup is helping content creators monetise their craft

India has over 600 million internet users. The increasing smartphone and internet penetration has brought an opportunity to connect with Indian audiences.

The prolific use of video-sharing apps by Indian audiences has led to more consumption of ‘entertainment-on-the-go’, encouraging a shift in the consumption pattern of entertainment and information.

Inspired by this possibility, three friends — Sidhartha Rao, Manoj Bhanu, and Rahul Bhattacharya — started Fun2 in May 2020. The platform encourages people and communities to come together and showcase their diversity, trends, and creativity across many categories.

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The trio saw a need to provide equal opportunity to the common people while expressing themselves freely, and potentially, build a community to realise the commercial value of their craft.

“We are a ‘content-first’ and a ‘creator-driven’ platform. We were inspired by this possibility, where every content creator has an equal opportunity and a level-playing field while exploring the potential of their craft or talent,” Rahul Bhattacharya, Co-founder and Director (Strategy) of Fun2, tells YourStory.

The genesis

Initially, Fun2, as the name suggests, started with comedy as a genre. The team wanted to launch a product that could bring laughter and fun into its users’ daily lives. However, they soon realised that restricting themselves to a single category could be a limiting factor. They then decided to shift to a user-generated model.

“It was a thought-provoking coming together of friends and professionals towards a collective vision of building a world-class product. The thought about building communities around exceptional talent and craft propelled us to start Fun2,” Rahul shares.

On the Fun2 platform, audiences can view, share, and promote their favourite content creators as they consume entertainment on the go.

The startup works with three agencies that support its influencer programme. Besides, it operates an internal core team of 37 employees that supports its technology, marketing, and operations verticals.

Rahul says, “Additionally, we are working with a few international firms who are market leaders in social media-led technologies. We have also worked with a top-notch design firm to develop our customer experiences. We are now working with some of the best in the business to shape this idea. The intent is to come up with the strategy and vision within the startup, and get it executed by the best professionals and strategic partners.”

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Community and content-driven platform

At the outset, Fun2 is helping content creators show their talent in a short-video format, thereby encouraging them to become influencers and build communities around their craft. The co-founder says this makes Fun2 stand apart in a market riddled with various short-video format platforms.

It primarily focuses on building a powerful technology-driven, equal opportunity platform that is intuitive, easy to use, and unique in terms of design. The platform is accessible to anyone and everyone who wishes to showcase their talent or support their favourite creators.

Besides, following a content-first and a creator-driven philosophy, Fun2 aims to celebrate and explore the diversity and depth of Indian culture through multiple genres. Lastly, it creates a unique proposition for emerging talent to build on their following and communities around their craft.

The Noida-based startup is also working hard to create a support system for such micro-influencers from an early stage to shape their journey. 

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Business model

With the downfall of ByteDance-owned TikTok in India, the platform is now focusing on bringing more users onboard, and let them experience the wide array of highly exquisite content across categories.

Fun2 — a free platform — earns its revenue from sponsorships, advertisements, and in-app purchases. It is bootstrapped since inception and is available on both Google Play Store and Apple Store.

“As India quickly moves towards a digital ad-based economy, the revenue will depend on the number of people viewing the videos, and the number of ads being served while watching the videos. We also need to constantly check our ad inventory as it shouldn’t be at the cost of compromising on user experiences,” Rahul explains.

Additionally, it will run programmes where people can participate and drive engagement. 

The startup is planning to launch a talent management programme soon to help new content creators become popular influencers.

“We also want to help advertisers and marketers tap this talent through our platform, helping creators achieve milestones in this journey,” Rahul says.

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Market data

Amidst a nationwide lockdown led by the COVID-19 pandemic, Fun2 saw an increase in the average time spent by users on the platform in searching content. This further propelled its number of monthly active users.

Rahul says his team is interested in co-existing and having healthy competition in a market crowded with many players, including Triller, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, Roposo, and Trell.   

Fun2 claims to have already onboarded close to 1,000 creators and is finalising its strategic partnerships with content creators. A tie-up with Instant Bollywood and a few others is in the works.

The platform has over 700 influencers, upwards of about 1,05,465 videos on its platform and over one lakh app downloads. 

“The plan is to build a strong foundation in India, and then foray into international markets, starting with the Asia-Pacific region. We’d also like to explore regional and diverse cultural nuances within the country,” Rahul says.