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“Best Ideas”

Sports Start-ups Businesses in India 25

Rajpal Singh

Director & Head Sports and Youth Affairs FICCI

Industry's Voice for Policy Change

Federation House, Tansen Marg, New Delhi- 110001 T: +91-11-23487400, F: +91-11-23320714 E: rajpal.singh@ficci.com W: www.ficci.com

Pratik Karmakar/Vaibhav Pandey

Founder & Co-Founder

C-44/G Freedom Fighter Enclave, Saket New Delhi - 110030

E: vaibhav@dextrasport.in/pratik@dextrasport.in W: www.dextrasport.in

M: +91-8802631602/9873921765

(2)

1

Content

Preface . . . 3

Foreword . . . 5

Acknowledgement . . . 6

1) Introduction . . . 7

2) Overview - . . . 9

a) Choosing the Game . . . 9

i) Business Opportunity . . . 9

ii) Focus Sport . . . 10

b) Facts and Figures - . . . 10

i) Ownership Structure . . . 10

ii) Years in Operation. . . 11

3) Initial Journey - . . . 12

a) Background of Founding Team. . . 12

b) Reason to enter in Sports Business . . . 13

c) Initial Investment. . . 13

4) Growth Story - . . . 15

a) Challenges and Obstacles - . . . 15

i) Assessment of Business Challenges . . . 15

ii) Human Resources . . . 16

iii) Dispersion of Company operations . . . 16

b) Financials - . . . 17

i) Break Even Period . . . 17

ii) Annual Turnovers . . . 18

5) Back to the Future - . . . 19

a) Challenges in Indian Sports Sector for New Businesses. . . 19

b) Feedback for Specific Key Stakeholders . . . 20

6) New Sports businesses Companies profile . . . 23

Credits . . . 56

(3)

3 The business of Sports worldwide has not just been

restricted to the playing of sports. It now encompasses a variety of firms covering a wide spectrum of domains.

Although it is still in a nascent stage in India, its potential has truly been unleashed by the growing number of innovative start-ups in this field.

The Sports industry can be divided into four parts

Services - Media, Event management, Education, Medicine and Fitness Infrastructure - Stadiums, Clubs, Academies

Manufacturing/retailing - Equipment, Apparel, E-commerce, Sports stores Ancillary activities - Technology, Law, Advertising, Tourism

The private sector is offering its expertise in various ways and is also keen to invest in various sports infrastructure and events. New private initiatives in Sports are present in all of the above domains New sectors are coming up every year and it is because of young entrepreneurs identifying and building business propositions. We need to facilitate the development of the entire ecosystem so that the environment is more conducive to such entrepreneurs in this fast growing industry.

The need of the hour is to increase private investments in this industry, more than just mere token handouts. We do need to mainstream corporate giving to Sports as a corporate social responsibility (CSR)and the new Companies Bill with its guidelines on CSR should be tapped for Sports too

However it does not take away from the importance of building an eco system to encourage business and entrepreneurship in this area. Granting industry status to Sports related industries and investments would help. The benefits would drill down even to the lowest paid workers, such as groundsmen or janitors.

We have managed to cover just the tip of the iceberg in this report and multiple start-ups are cropping up every day. The aggregate picture looks very promising and, we believe that this will be a key motivator for other entrepreneurs and young people who look towards Sports as a career option.

Naina Lal Kidwai President, FICCI

l l l l

Preface

(4)

3 The business of Sports worldwide has not just been

restricted to the playing of sports. It now encompasses a variety of firms covering a wide spectrum of domains.

Although it is still in a nascent stage in India, its potential has truly been unleashed by the growing number of innovative start-ups in this field.

The Sports industry can be divided into four parts

Services - Media, Event management, Education, Medicine and Fitness Infrastructure - Stadiums, Clubs, Academies

Manufacturing/retailing - Equipment, Apparel, E-commerce, Sports stores Ancillary activities - Technology, Law, Advertising, Tourism

The private sector is offering its expertise in various ways and is also keen to invest in various sports infrastructure and events. New private initiatives in Sports are present in all of the above domains New sectors are coming up every year and it is because of young entrepreneurs identifying and building business propositions. We need to facilitate the development of the entire ecosystem so that the environment is more conducive to such entrepreneurs in this fast growing industry.

The need of the hour is to increase private investments in this industry, more than just mere token handouts. We do need to mainstream corporate giving to Sports as a corporate social responsibility (CSR)and the new Companies Bill with its guidelines on CSR should be tapped for Sports too

However it does not take away from the importance of building an eco system to encourage business and entrepreneurship in this area. Granting industry status to Sports related industries and investments would help. The benefits would drill down even to the lowest paid workers, such as groundsmen or janitors.

We have managed to cover just the tip of the iceberg in this report and multiple start-ups are cropping up every day. The aggregate picture looks very promising and, we believe that this will be a key motivator for other entrepreneurs and young people who look towards Sports as a career option.

Naina Lal Kidwai President, FICCI

l l l l

Preface

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5

Foreword

This compendium of start-ups in sports sector presents analysis of fledgling sports industry in India. It is by no means an exhaustive list of every sports start-up in India, as the number of such firms are already large and still increasing. It is an attempt to showcase some exceptional start-ups who have made a mark in this field.

However, the best take-away from this report is that the size of the sports industry is increasing, employment avenues are opening and money is coming in from all quarters. We are hopeful that this will go a long way in changing the attitude of society towards sports as a full time career, promote entrepreneurship in the sector by encouraging youth for aspiration led career in sports. After all our aspirations are our possibilities!

Sanjiv Paul

Chairman, FICCI Sports Committee Managing Director-Tata Metaliks

(6)

5

Foreword

This compendium of start-ups in sports sector presents analysis of fledgling sports industry in India. It is by no means an exhaustive list of every sports start-up in India, as the number of such firms are already large and still increasing. It is an attempt to showcase some exceptional start-ups who have made a mark in this field.

However, the best take-away from this report is that the size of the sports industry is increasing, employment avenues are opening and money is coming in from all quarters. We are hopeful that this will go a long way in changing the attitude of society towards sports as a full time career, promote entrepreneurship in the sector by encouraging youth for aspiration led career in sports. After all our aspirations are our possibilities!

Sanjiv Paul

Chairman, FICCI Sports Committee Managing Director-Tata Metaliks

(7)

“Best Ideas”

Sports Start-ups Businesses in India

25

7 6

If you take out the federations, historically the sports industry in India has been dominated mostly by sports goods manufacturing. Initiatives in sports have been taken only at the government level and private participation in sports initiatives had been mostly as a CSR activity. But, in the past few years, there has been a wave of firms who have started working on some innovative products and services.

New domains in the sports industry have come up as well. Who would have thought of private rifle ranges and outsourced structured physical educational programs in schools ten years back?

All these start-ups have added significant value in creating a sports culture across the country. They are the next generation of big corporations, who are supporting the growth of the sports industry in their own unique way. They are not only creating a brilliant ecosystem for budding talent to hone their talent and showcase their skills but are also creating employment opportunities for many others who want to develop career in sports.

We thank all the organizations covered through this report for spending some of their precious time with us. We are hopeful that this report will serve as role models for other entrepreneurs and stimulate sports sector development in India.

Abhijit Sarkar

Co-chairman, FICCI Sports Committee

Head-Corporate Communications, Sahara India Pariwar

Acknowledgement Introduction

FICCI is proud to present this primary research based report on “Best 25 Ideas”

Sports Start-ups Businesses in India. During the course of research, we unearthed a lot of inspirational stories behind successful sports ventures and interesting revelations about their journeys to success. Following are the highlights - Even though Professional Sports is something which India is not known for being good at, Youth Coaching is among top 3 business areas where new ventures are working on. A number of ventures focussing on variety of sports have grown rapidly is a testimony to the fact that there is high acceptance of professional coaching across a number of sports across the country.

Another important highlight is the popularity of football as it is the DNA of a lot of new ventures. Certainly as the fastest growing sport and sports business in India.

It is most important to mention that entrepreneurs running sports related businesses are highly motivated individuals whose heart and mind lie in sports. As more than 70% of founders confessed that the main reasons for entering sports business was their "Passion for sports” besides vaccum, and the opportunity to create an impact.

We hope that these success stories on start-ups around sports act as great learning experience and inspire a new generation of sports enthusiasts who will contribute to the growth, development and professionalization of Indian Sports sector.

Sports is calling!

This study is based on responses collected through primary survey (directly contacting the firms). FICCI reached out to over 600 firms out of which 25 were selected in report to do detailed analysis with the relevant information.

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Method

"“Tell me what you play, and I'll tell you who you are.” - Roger Caillois, French sociologist (1961)

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“Best Ideas”

Sports Start-ups Businesses in India

25

7 6

If you take out the federations, historically the sports industry in India has been dominated mostly by sports goods manufacturing. Initiatives in sports have been taken only at the government level and private participation in sports initiatives had been mostly as a CSR activity. But, in the past few years, there has been a wave of firms who have started working on some innovative products and services.

New domains in the sports industry have come up as well. Who would have thought of private rifle ranges and outsourced structured physical educational programs in schools ten years back?

All these start-ups have added significant value in creating a sports culture across the country. They are the next generation of big corporations, who are supporting the growth of the sports industry in their own unique way. They are not only creating a brilliant ecosystem for budding talent to hone their talent and showcase their skills but are also creating employment opportunities for many others who want to develop career in sports.

We thank all the organizations covered through this report for spending some of their precious time with us. We are hopeful that this report will serve as role models for other entrepreneurs and stimulate sports sector development in India.

Abhijit Sarkar

Co-chairman, FICCI Sports Committee

Head-Corporate Communications, Sahara India Pariwar

Acknowledgement Introduction

FICCI is proud to present this primary research based report on “Best 25 Ideas”

Sports Start-ups Businesses in India. During the course of research, we unearthed a lot of inspirational stories behind successful sports ventures and interesting revelations about their journeys to success. Following are the highlights - Even though Professional Sports is something which India is not known for being good at, Youth Coaching is among top 3 business areas where new ventures are working on. A number of ventures focussing on variety of sports have grown rapidly is a testimony to the fact that there is high acceptance of professional coaching across a number of sports across the country.

Another important highlight is the popularity of football as it is the DNA of a lot of new ventures. Certainly as the fastest growing sport and sports business in India.

It is most important to mention that entrepreneurs running sports related businesses are highly motivated individuals whose heart and mind lie in sports. As more than 70% of founders confessed that the main reasons for entering sports business was their "Passion for sports” besides vaccum, and the opportunity to create an impact.

We hope that these success stories on start-ups around sports act as great learning experience and inspire a new generation of sports enthusiasts who will contribute to the growth, development and professionalization of Indian Sports sector.

Sports is calling!

This study is based on responses collected through primary survey (directly contacting the firms). FICCI reached out to over 600 firms out of which 25 were selected in report to do detailed analysis with the relevant information.

l

l

Method

"“Tell me what you play, and I'll tell you who you are.” - Roger Caillois, French sociologist (1961)

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9 8

Overview

"You can't put a limit on anything, the more you dream, the farther you get" ~ Michael Phelps

Choosing the game

Business opportunity

Naturally, the first and foremost thing to know while understanding a sector is the types of products and services that are being offered by various firms. In the context of sports businesses, analysis of the entire ecosystem not only denotes the size of market but also points towards the quality of market. Case in point, the fact that there are not many sports nutrition companies in India underscores the fact the nutrition is given very less importance in general (more so as we go closer to grassroots).

Study of the business opportunities taken up by respondents led to the understanding that: Events, Sports education, and Coaching are three most popular areas being worked on by new sports businesses in India.

Considering the fact that some opportunities like sports betting are illegal in India, it takes out the possibilities of related opportunities like data generation and analytics for betting sites to a great extent. However, the reason that not many new businesses are looking at professional sports, clubs, leagues etc.

might also have to do with the extent of regulations and the functioning of federations.

Figure 1: Business areas

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%

Marketing , sponsorship and player management Research, Consulting and Data Media and news Infrastructure Coaching and grassroots Equipment and merchandise Sports Education Sports tourism and hospitality Sports Events

Therefore, rest companies who have taken part in this study are indicative, and not representative of overall business scenario in Indian sports sector. However, this report still provides a good snapshot of small, medium and emerging businesses in Indian sports sector. All the data collected in this study is confidential (only for use by FICCI), and cannot be shared with other firms (as agreed with respondents). Key areas, that are elaborated on, in this report are:

- Financial performance of new sports businesses in India - Functions wise and focus sports wise split

- Revenue and years of operation summary - Distribution of breakeven period

Feedback for starting sports business - Factors motivating successful businesses

- Their assessment of challenges in Indian sports sector - India as a sporting nation

- Opinion on timing of entry Role of government in Sports

- Support from government and federations - Opinion on role of ministries and other bodies - Key challenges in the environment

About every firm

- Detailed story for every firm describing its products/services, how it was formed, to the current state and future plans. Also the facts regarding financial performance shall come out like annual turnover, break even period, etc. This shall give a very good idea of how many successful business plans in Indian sports were translated to reality, including details like initial investment, background of partners, profitable revenue streams etc.

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Overall scenario:

“Best Ideas”

Sports Start-ups Businesses in India

25

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9 8

Overview

"You can't put a limit on anything, the more you dream, the farther you get" ~ Michael Phelps

Choosing the game

Business opportunity

Naturally, the first and foremost thing to know while understanding a sector is the types of products and services that are being offered by various firms. In the context of sports businesses, analysis of the entire ecosystem not only denotes the size of market but also points towards the quality of market. Case in point, the fact that there are not many sports nutrition companies in India underscores the fact the nutrition is given very less importance in general (more so as we go closer to grassroots).

Study of the business opportunities taken up by respondents led to the understanding that: Events, Sports education, and Coaching are three most popular areas being worked on by new sports businesses in India.

Considering the fact that some opportunities like sports betting are illegal in India, it takes out the possibilities of related opportunities like data generation and analytics for betting sites to a great extent. However, the reason that not many new businesses are looking at professional sports, clubs, leagues etc.

might also have to do with the extent of regulations and the functioning of federations.

Figure 1: Business areas

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%

Marketing , sponsorship and player management Research, Consulting and Data Media and news Infrastructure Coaching and grassroots Equipment and merchandise Sports Education Sports tourism and hospitality Sports Events

Therefore, rest companies who have taken part in this study are indicative, and not representative of overall business scenario in Indian sports sector. However, this report still provides a good snapshot of small, medium and emerging businesses in Indian sports sector. All the data collected in this study is confidential (only for use by FICCI), and cannot be shared with other firms (as agreed with respondents). Key areas, that are elaborated on, in this report are:

- Financial performance of new sports businesses in India - Functions wise and focus sports wise split

- Revenue and years of operation summary - Distribution of breakeven period

Feedback for starting sports business - Factors motivating successful businesses

- Their assessment of challenges in Indian sports sector - India as a sporting nation

- Opinion on timing of entry Role of government in Sports

- Support from government and federations - Opinion on role of ministries and other bodies - Key challenges in the environment

About every firm

- Detailed story for every firm describing its products/services, how it was formed, to the current state and future plans. Also the facts regarding financial performance shall come out like annual turnover, break even period, etc. This shall give a very good idea of how many successful business plans in Indian sports were translated to reality, including details like initial investment, background of partners, profitable revenue streams etc.

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Overall scenario:

“Best Ideas”

Sports Start-ups Businesses in India

25

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11 10

Focus sport

Another approach to understand the ecosystem and sports sector is to study the focus sport of new sports businesses. Naturally the sports which attract money in professional setup or are popular among youth/kids are more likely to be picked up by new businesses. The numbers that came out in our study were:

It is clear from the graph that the majority of new businesses are not sports focussed. This makes a lot of businesses sense in areas like sports events, sports education, and media. However, it can also be attributed to the dominance of cricket, which has left behind all other sports in India in a massive way (which came out as a feedback from a lot of business owners). However, there are exceptions, especially in the Coaching and Player management areas where in companies like Libero sports and MBTA have come out with single sport focussed plans and have executed them successfully. Further, it is not a good indicator for the future of a sport like Hockey which did not feature in the list of any new sports business.

Ownership structure

Just to give you a perspective of the nature of businesses that we are studying, we have recorded their legal ownership structure. Summary of it can be seen below:

Facts and figures

Evidently 76% firms are private limited whereas rest of them are equally divided in partnership, proprietorship, and in not for profit structures.

Years in operation

Another characteristic of sample which is interesting to note is the age of businesses who are a part of this study. We have an extremely diverse group of respondents, ranging from 6 months old businesses to 10+ year old firms!!!Even though there is a huge difference in the years for which they are operating, all of them can be treated as growing businesses. They have small (and rapidly growing) shares in the market which itself is growing at a huge rate. Some of the businesses are subsidiary or investments of large businesses houses or international firms, but due to their new and evolving nature, they have been made a part of this study. See the graph below to understand the dispersion:

Figure 2: Focus sport

All sports Cricket

Football

Athletics Tennis

Golf

Motorsports Shooting

Badminton Chess

Table Tennis 30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

Figure 3: Type of ownership

Private ltd Partnership Proprietorship Not for profit 8%

8% 8%

76%

20%

20% 20%

8%

32%

Figure 4: Years in operation

0 - 1 year 1 - 3 years 3 - 5 years 5 - 10 years 10+ years

“Best Ideas”

Sports Start-ups Businesses in India

25

(12)

11 10

Focus sport

Another approach to understand the ecosystem and sports sector is to study the focus sport of new sports businesses. Naturally the sports which attract money in professional setup or are popular among youth/kids are more likely to be picked up by new businesses. The numbers that came out in our study were:

It is clear from the graph that the majority of new businesses are not sports focussed. This makes a lot of businesses sense in areas like sports events, sports education, and media. However, it can also be attributed to the dominance of cricket, which has left behind all other sports in India in a massive way (which came out as a feedback from a lot of business owners). However, there are exceptions, especially in the Coaching and Player management areas where in companies like Libero sports and MBTA have come out with single sport focussed plans and have executed them successfully. Further, it is not a good indicator for the future of a sport like Hockey which did not feature in the list of any new sports business.

Ownership structure

Just to give you a perspective of the nature of businesses that we are studying, we have recorded their legal ownership structure. Summary of it can be seen below:

Facts and figures

Evidently 76% firms are private limited whereas rest of them are equally divided in partnership, proprietorship, and in not for profit structures.

Years in operation

Another characteristic of sample which is interesting to note is the age of businesses who are a part of this study. We have an extremely diverse group of respondents, ranging from 6 months old businesses to 10+ year old firms!!!Even though there is a huge difference in the years for which they are operating, all of them can be treated as growing businesses. They have small (and rapidly growing) shares in the market which itself is growing at a huge rate. Some of the businesses are subsidiary or investments of large businesses houses or international firms, but due to their new and evolving nature, they have been made a part of this study. See the graph below to understand the dispersion:

Figure 2: Focus sport

All sports Cricket

Football

Athletics Tennis

Golf

Motorsports Shooting

Badminton Chess

Table Tennis 30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

Figure 3: Type of ownership

Private ltd Partnership Proprietorship Not for profit 8%

8%

8%

76%

20%

20% 20%

8%

32%

Figure 4: Years in operation

0 - 1 year 1 - 3 years 3 - 5 years 5 - 10 years 10+ years

“Best Ideas”

Sports Start-ups Businesses in India

25

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Initial Journey

"One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team" - Kareem Abdul Jabbar (Retired American professional basketball player)

Background of founding team

We wanted to understand the profile of people who are entering the Indian sports sector as owners/founders/leaders of new businesses. Instead of categorizing the founders and leaders by their education (which came out to be management in most cases) and years of experience (which was not very indicative in itself), we decided to depict a summary of the industry/functions where the founders and leaders of these businesses have worked before setting up their current business (see graph below).

Contrary to what we hypothesised, that there is a significant inflow of professionals from other industries, it came out that majority ofbusiness managers have had a direct experience of working in sports sector. Still, there are

a good number of managers coming in from other industries like IT, Marketing, and Finance. However, above analysis led us to conclude that managers who have worked in the sports industry are far more likely to enter and do well in sports business.

A key imperative of this study was to understand the motivations of those who are working hard to shape the future of Indian sports. For past decade or so, India has consistently been recognized as a growing market. There are a number of sectors in India that provide higher chances of success (IT Services, FMCG, and Real estate to name a few). Moreover, in international context there are a huge number of new businesses that are working on internet based products and services as they are easy to build, test, and scale. What motivates then, the businessmen who are choosing sports as their battlefield, that too in a country where sports lacks focus even in our day to day lives. Summary of the responses we received is indicated in the graph. The results show that 'Passion for sports' and 'Opportunity to create impact' are top 2 reasons that motivate people to enter sport sector. Relevant background was also pointed out as one of the factors but it did not receive the same importance as top 2.

Reason to enter sports sector

Initial investment

The investment a business owner makes into a new venture is indicative of their assessment of market potential and the length of commitment they are willing to make. Our focus while recording this data point was to make our readers (specially the investors and budding entrepreneurs), more aware of the

Figure 5: Background of leadership team

40%

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

Travel & Hospitality

Sports

Media/Advertising

Marketing

IT/Software

Consulting

Finance/Legal

Rank1 Rank2 Rank3 Rank4

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%

Passion (emotional attachment to sports)

Opportunity to create impact (blue ocean/lots of space)

Monetary (Financial attractiveness)

Background (education and experience)

Figure 6:

“Best Ideas”

Sports Start-ups Businesses in India

25

(14)

13 12

Initial Journey

"One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team" - Kareem Abdul Jabbar (Retired American professional basketball player)

Background of founding team

We wanted to understand the profile of people who are entering the Indian sports sector as owners/founders/leaders of new businesses. Instead of categorizing the founders and leaders by their education (which came out to be management in most cases) and years of experience (which was not very indicative in itself), we decided to depict a summary of the industry/functions where the founders and leaders of these businesses have worked before setting up their current business (see graph below).

Contrary to what we hypothesised, that there is a significant inflow of professionals from other industries, it came out that majority ofbusiness managers have had a direct experience of working in sports sector. Still, there are

a good number of managers coming in from other industries like IT, Marketing, and Finance. However, above analysis led us to conclude that managers who have worked in the sports industry are far more likely to enter and do well in sports business.

A key imperative of this study was to understand the motivations of those who are working hard to shape the future of Indian sports. For past decade or so, India has consistently been recognized as a growing market. There are a number of sectors in India that provide higher chances of success (IT Services, FMCG, and Real estate to name a few). Moreover, in international context there are a huge number of new businesses that are working on internet based products and services as they are easy to build, test, and scale. What motivates then, the businessmen who are choosing sports as their battlefield, that too in a country where sports lacks focus even in our day to day lives. Summary of the responses we received is indicated in the graph. The results show that 'Passion for sports' and 'Opportunity to create impact' are top 2 reasons that motivate people to enter sport sector. Relevant background was also pointed out as one of the factors but it did not receive the same importance as top 2.

Reason to enter sports sector

Initial investment

The investment a business owner makes into a new venture is indicative of their assessment of market potential and the length of commitment they are willing to make. Our focus while recording this data point was to make our readers (specially the investors and budding entrepreneurs), more aware of the

Figure 5: Background of leadership team

40%

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

Travel & Hospitality

Sports

Media/Advertising

Marketing

IT/Software

Consulting

Finance/Legal

Rank1 Rank2 Rank3 Rank4

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%

Passion (emotional attachment to sports)

Opportunity to create impact (blue ocean/lots of space)

Monetary (Financial attractiveness)

Background (education and experience)

Figure 6:

“Best Ideas”

Sports Start-ups Businesses in India

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15 14

investment requirements of sports businesses in general. As you can see, the respondents are almost equally split among all the bands (except 5-10 lakhs group). It shows that market is witnessing the entry of all types of investors ranging from small exploratory investments (like 5 lakhs and below) to a large scale long term investment size (50+ lakhs).

Challenges and obstacles

Though each founder and business leader has their own story to share, we wanted to understand their overall perspective on the difficulties they have faced. We asked them to rate their understanding of challenges in the Indian sports sector for new businesses. Their responses are shown in the graph below.

As you can clearly see, over 70% of respondents continue to believe that doing business in sports sector is tougher than working in any other sector. Half of them rated sports sector as very tough which went up by 10% points after they spent some time working in this sector. Now, the reasons for this feedback were primarily structural, which is not a good thing for Indian sports business in general as it can discourage new talent from choosing sports sector as a business/career option.

Growth Story

"The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning" - Pele

Figure 8: Assessment of business challenges

29% 29% 29%

38%

33%

43% Initial assessment Revised Assessment

Like any other business Though than any other Very though 23%

6%

24%

29%

18%

Figure 7: Level of initial investment

Upto 5 INR 5 - 10 INR 10 - 20 INR 20 - 50 INR 50+ INR

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Sports Start-ups Businesses in India

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15 14

investment requirements of sports businesses in general. As you can see, the respondents are almost equally split among all the bands (except 5-10 lakhs group). It shows that market is witnessing the entry of all types of investors ranging from small exploratory investments (like 5 lakhs and below) to a large scale long term investment size (50+ lakhs).

Challenges and obstacles

Though each founder and business leader has their own story to share, we wanted to understand their overall perspective on the difficulties they have faced. We asked them to rate their understanding of challenges in the Indian sports sector for new businesses. Their responses are shown in the graph below.

As you can clearly see, over 70% of respondents continue to believe that doing business in sports sector is tougher than working in any other sector. Half of them rated sports sector as very tough which went up by 10% points after they spent some time working in this sector. Now, the reasons for this feedback were primarily structural, which is not a good thing for Indian sports business in general as it can discourage new talent from choosing sports sector as a business/career option.

Growth Story

"The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning" - Pele

Figure 8: Assessment of business challenges

29% 29% 29%

38%

33%

43%

Initial assessment Revised Assessment

Like any other business Though than any other Very though 23%

6%

24%

29%

18%

Figure 7: Level of initial investment

Upto 5 INR 5 - 10 INR 10 - 20 INR 20 - 50 INR 50+ INR

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Human Resoruces

To understand the growth of new businesses, we have looked at the increase in their employee strength and the increase in the span of their geographical operations. Honestly, the results are inspirational. You can clearly see the huge increase in team strength and number of offices achieved in a short span of time.

Figure 9: Team Size

40%

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

Initial

<5 5 to 10 10 to 20 20 to 50 50 +

Now

38% 38% 10% 10% 5%

10% 19% 29% 19% 24%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

Figure 10: Dispersion of company operations (initial)

Mum bai

Bangalore

London

Hyderabad

Gurgaon

Delhi

Pune

Meerut

Figure 11: Dispersion of company operations (current)

20% 18% 16% 14% 12% 10% 8% 6% 4% 2% 0%

Mumbai Bangalore London Hyderabad Gurgaon Delhi Pune Meerut Goa Gujarat TN Kolkata Assam Up Rajasthan Chennai Uttarakhand Kerala Nagpur MP Dubai

Financials

To understand the financial performances, we have looked at the break even period and annual turnover figures of businesses. Though there are businesses (10%) who did break even in first year itself, majority of them have taken close to 3 years to do so. This will give a good idea to the investors, who are looking at Indian sports market, about usual investment horizon. Also, the business sizes achieved by lot of new businesses are very impressive. About 20% of businesses have even crosses the 10 Crore mark which is fairly impressive thing to do in any market across the world.

10%

21%

16% 53%

Figure 12: Break even period

< 1 yr 1 to 2 yrs 2 to 3 yrs 3 yrs and above

“Best Ideas”

Sports Start-ups Businesses in India

25

(18)

17 16

Human Resoruces

To understand the growth of new businesses, we have looked at the increase in their employee strength and the increase in the span of their geographical operations. Honestly, the results are inspirational. You can clearly see the huge increase in team strength and number of offices achieved in a short span of time.

Figure 9: Team Size

40%

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

Initial

<5 5 to 10 10 to 20 20 to 50 50 +

Now

38% 38% 10% 10% 5%

10% 19% 29% 19% 24%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

Figure 10: Dispersion of company operations (initial)

Mum bai

Bangalore

London

Hyderabad

Gurgaon

Delhi

Pune

Meerut

Figure 11: Dispersion of company operations (current)

20%

18%

16%

14%

12%

10%

8%

6%

4%

2%

0%

Mumbai Bangalore London Hyderabad Gurgaon Delhi Pune Meerut Goa Gujarat TN Kolkata Assam Up Rajasthan Chennai Uttarakhand Kerala Nagpur MP Dubai

Financials

To understand the financial performances, we have looked at the break even period and annual turnover figures of businesses. Though there are businesses (10%) who did break even in first year itself, majority of them have taken close to 3 years to do so. This will give a good idea to the investors, who are looking at Indian sports market, about usual investment horizon. Also, the business sizes achieved by lot of new businesses are very impressive. About 20% of businesses have even crosses the 10 Crore mark which is fairly impressive thing to do in any market across the world.

10%

21%

16%

53%

Figure 12: Break even period

< 1 yr 1 to 2 yrs 2 to 3 yrs 3 yrs and above

“Best Ideas”

Sports Start-ups Businesses in India

25

(19)

19 18

Back to the future

"I hated every minute of training, but I said, 'Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion."- Muhammad Ali

Interestingly, even after their assessment of Indian sports sector has become 'more challenging', over 90% of respondents indicated that their future strategy in India is to invest and grow. About 25% of them also indicated that they plan to focus on international markets too. Moreover, while 75% of respondents asserted that 'Now' is the time to enter the sports market in India, 84% of them rated India as a tough market for sports start-ups and highlighted that markets such as USA and Europe are friendlier for sports businesses. In line with FICCI's core endeavour of being the industry's voice of policy change, we asked the respondents to share the key challenges that they see in Indian sports sector and the feedback that they have for government and regulatory bodies. Below is the summary of the information we collected:

Figure 13: Annual turnovers (in INR)

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

Upto 50 Lakhs 0.5 to 1 Cr 1 to 5 Cr 5 to 10 Cr 10 Cr +

Clearly 'lack of sports focus in general' came out as the top reason, in the eye of respondents, for the suffering of Indian sports sector. Further, lack of access to funds, Absence of industry ecosystem, and over domination of cricket were also mentioned by a lot of respondents. It is quite astonishing to realize how connected the above four reasons are. Few respondents suggested that our policy making should incentivize new sports businesses and gives access to funds to sports entrepreneurs (through dedicated sports incubators), so that the ecosystem which gets developed will support the sports focus sustainably.

Figure 14: Challenges in Indian sports sector for new businesses

38%

18% 23%

21% Lack of sports focus in general

Over domination of Cricket Absence of Industry ecosystem Lack of access to funds

“Best Ideas”

Sports Start-ups Businesses in India

25

(20)

19 18

Back to the future

"I hated every minute of training, but I said, 'Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion."- Muhammad Ali

Interestingly, even after their assessment of Indian sports sector has become 'more challenging', over 90% of respondents indicated that their future strategy in India is to invest and grow. About 25% of them also indicated that they plan to focus on international markets too. Moreover, while 75% of respondents asserted that 'Now' is the time to enter the sports market in India, 84% of them rated India as a tough market for sports start-ups and highlighted that markets such as USA and Europe are friendlier for sports businesses. In line with FICCI's core endeavour of being the industry's voice of policy change, we asked the respondents to share the key challenges that they see in Indian sports sector and the feedback that they have for government and regulatory bodies. Below is the summary of the information we collected:

Figure 13: Annual turnovers (in INR)

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

Upto 50 Lakhs 0.5 to 1 Cr 1 to 5 Cr 5 to 10 Cr 10 Cr +

Clearly 'lack of sports focus in general' came out as the top reason, in the eye of respondents, for the suffering of Indian sports sector. Further, lack of access to funds, Absence of industry ecosystem, and over domination of cricket were also mentioned by a lot of respondents. It is quite astonishing to realize how connected the above four reasons are. Few respondents suggested that our policy making should incentivize new sports businesses and gives access to funds to sports entrepreneurs (through dedicated sports incubators), so that the ecosystem which gets developed will support the sports focus sustainably.

Figure 14: Challenges in Indian sports sector for new businesses

38%

18%

23%

21% Lack of sports focus in general

Over domination of Cricket Absence of Industry ecosystem Lack of access to funds

“Best Ideas”

Sports Start-ups Businesses in India

25

(21)

21 20

Feedback for specific departments is written below:

As mentioned earlier, feedback from lot of respondents was to create ecosystems that encourage investments in sports infrastructure. One way to start this can be to give Sports an Industry status, and help Indian Sports and Fitness Industry to bring in Foreign Direct Investment or Foreign Institutional Investments. International exposure to sports across all levels can be a quick way to make corrections at lot of levels. Further, to incentivize entrepreneurship, it was suggested that C&I ministry should provide tax benefits and train local experts.

Respondents requested sports ministry to allocate grants for multi-sport facilities in every state. Also, they suggested that we should have adequate representation of players in decision making bodies. This will help us in putting right systems in places to develop adequate reach to the grassroots to identify and nurture talent. Also it was suggested that sports ministry should work closely with leading and emerging players in building the Sports Infrastructure across the country. Moreover, to develop grassroots sports, sports ministry should undertake: Revamping of PE curriculum, Training of existing man-power in School, and Building a level of competitiveness at school, state and national levels to identify, nurture and sustain sports talent. We can also generate momentum by recognizing Industry Players who contribute to the overall Sports Improvement in the Country. Respondents also requested for increased transparency in tendering and bidding so that there are more world class players who get motivated to take part in the process. Improving federations, is another concern (which lot of respondents mentioned) which should be addressed by sports ministry.

Finance ministry is expected to create focus and allocate funds for nurturing the start-up eco-system in the country, and to invite companies, organizations to ideate and execute new/fresh ideas, and scale up businesses. As lack of access to funds, is one of the key challenges being faced by new sports businesses in India, allocating additional budget for sports loans and providing tax exemption for investment in sports can lead to more funds flowing into this sector.

1. Commerce and Industry

2. Sports ministry

3. Finance ministry

4. Health ministry

5. Education ministry

6. Information and broadcasting

7. Tourism Ministry

All the respondents felt that there is great need to focus on areas like Sports Nutrition and health. Health ministry can aim to build an enabling environment for start-ups in the areas of Health and Nutrition, Fitness, Sports Performance and Bio-mechanics. A strong physical foundation is a precursor to being a healthy and active individual. If a child has inculcated the habit of keeping themselves physically fit in their formative years, they would be more likely to carry this into their adulthood. Here ministry can also promote sport as a way to health by making health & fitness assessment of school-going children mandatory - and then tracking each child's progress over years

Education ministry should incentivize school teachers and kids to focus more on sports through mandatory sports subjects; and additional marks for sports achievers. Sports/Fitness/Health should be part of the curriculum with contribution to overall rating. If we successfully make Sports and Fitness a

"focus" area in schools which is treated as a subject at par with regular courses, we'll automatically develop into a health and sporting nation. Few respondents suggested that one way to achieve this is to make an Independent body for Physical Education & sports, to support the entire ecosystem of coaches, an institute for specialized sporting careers can be started which will support the supply of talent to match the demand which is being generated in grassroots.

I&B ministry can contribute by broad basing the sports audience. This can be done in both ways: by increasing the penetration of sports broadcast and by increasing the sports that are broadcasted. Ministry should look to create engaging content in sports beyond cricket to develop a broader interest in sports. By encouraging more sports on prime time, apart from cricket, we can slowly build fan following for other sports which will then attract sponsors and eventually better talent.

Tourism ministry can contribute to the state of sports in India by destination branding (internal as well as external) especially during sporting events (which will generate more sponsor confidence). Also, we can look to lobby with other

“Best Ideas”

Sports Start-ups Businesses in India

25

(22)

21 20

Feedback for specific departments is written below:

As mentioned earlier, feedback from lot of respondents was to create ecosystems that encourage investments in sports infrastructure. One way to start this can be to give Sports an Industry status, and help Indian Sports and Fitness Industry to bring in Foreign Direct Investment or Foreign Institutional Investments. International exposure to sports across all levels can be a quick way to make corrections at lot of levels. Further, to incentivize entrepreneurship, it was suggested that C&I ministry should provide tax benefits and train local experts.

Respondents requested sports ministry to allocate grants for multi-sport facilities in every state. Also, they suggested that we should have adequate representation of players in decision making bodies. This will help us in putting right systems in places to develop adequate reach to the grassroots to identify and nurture talent. Also it was suggested that sports ministry should work closely with leading and emerging players in building the Sports Infrastructure across the country. Moreover, to develop grassroots sports, sports ministry should undertake: Revamping of PE curriculum, Training of existing man-power in School, and Building a level of competitiveness at school, state and national levels to identify, nurture and sustain sports talent. We can also generate momentum by recognizing Industry Players who contribute to the overall Sports Improvement in the Country. Respondents also requested for increased transparency in tendering and bidding so that there are more world class players who get motivated to take part in the process. Improving federations, is another concern (which lot of respondents mentioned) which should be addressed by sports ministry.

Finance ministry is expected to create focus and allocate funds for nurturing the start-up eco-system in the country, and to invite companies, organizations to ideate and execute new/fresh ideas, and scale up businesses. As lack of access to funds, is one of the key challenges being faced by new sports businesses in India, allocating additional budget for sports loans and providing tax exemption for investment in sports can lead to more funds flowing into this sector.

1. Commerce and Industry

2. Sports ministry

3. Finance ministry

4. Health ministry

5. Education ministry

6. Information and broadcasting

7. Tourism Ministry

All the respondents felt that there is great need to focus on areas like Sports Nutrition and health. Health ministry can aim to build an enabling environment for start-ups in the areas of Health and Nutrition, Fitness, Sports Performance and Bio-mechanics. A strong physical foundation is a precursor to being a healthy and active individual. If a child has inculcated the habit of keeping themselves physically fit in their formative years, they would be more likely to carry this into their adulthood. Here ministry can also promote sport as a way to health by making health & fitness assessment of school-going children mandatory - and then tracking each child's progress over years

Education ministry should incentivize school teachers and kids to focus more on sports through mandatory sports subjects; and additional marks for sports achievers. Sports/Fitness/Health should be part of the curriculum with contribution to overall rating. If we successfully make Sports and Fitness a

"focus" area in schools which is treated as a subject at par with regular courses, we'll automatically develop into a health and sporting nation. Few respondents suggested that one way to achieve this is to make an Independent body for Physical Education & sports, to support the entire ecosystem of coaches, an institute for specialized sporting careers can be started which will support the supply of talent to match the demand which is being generated in grassroots.

I&B ministry can contribute by broad basing the sports audience. This can be done in both ways: by increasing the penetration of sports broadcast and by increasing the sports that are broadcasted. Ministry should look to create engaging content in sports beyond cricket to develop a broader interest in sports. By encouraging more sports on prime time, apart from cricket, we can slowly build fan following for other sports which will then attract sponsors and eventually better talent.

Tourism ministry can contribute to the state of sports in India by destination branding (internal as well as external) especially during sporting events (which will generate more sponsor confidence). Also, we can look to lobby with other

“Best Ideas”

Sports Start-ups Businesses in India

25

(23)

23 22

countries and use their expertise in improving our sports infrastructure or giving access of better facilities to our players.

FICCI is expected to create global platforms for Indian and developed ecosystems to interact and associate. Also, FICCI must play a pivotal role in binding all the stakeholders together - Businesses in Sports, various nodal ministries, National and State Federations, Councils and Associations and Media to interact, interface and collaborate on Sports related initiatives and giving them the scale that it deserves. With all the corporate contacts, FICCI can develop an incubation cell for sports startups. Also, FICCI should play a key role in lobbying with the government to get Industry status to sports in India.

8. FICCI

New Sports businesses Companies profile

"No one who ever gave his best regretted it."

(player, coach, owner and pioneer in professional American football) - George Stanley Halas

KOOH sports

l

l

l l l

KOOH Sports was set up in June 2010 by a group of successful corporate professionals with over 100 years of combines experience in international service and consumer industry space. With a passion for making a difference to sports in India, KOOH aims towards contributing to grassroots development in Indian sports. KOOH's vision is driven by two trends that mark the present and future of Indian sports:

1. Technology taking over sports in the lives of Children and,

2. consistently weak performances (relative to other top nations) by India in International competition across most sports.

The mission of the company is to rekindle children's love for physical sports and deliver this through a multitude of sports and physical education programmes that will cut across grass root level initiation to identify and nurture talent.

Sharing the same vision, the country's biggest corporate houses Tata Consulting Services (a Tata group company) & HDFC have invested in KOOH Sports.

"To make a difference to sports in India by focusing on grassroots level development"

Key products/services: "Sports Education, Sports Development Centres, and Sports Talent Platforms"

Unique proposition : Sports Development Centres and Technical Directors Focus sports: Athletics, Cricket, and Football

Competition: Edusport, Leapstart Business fundamentals:

Vision:

“Best Ideas”

Sports Start-ups Businesses in India

25

(24)

23 22

countries and use their expertise in improving our sports infrastructure or giving access of better facilities to our players.

FICCI is expected to create global platforms for Indian and developed ecosystems to interact and associate. Also, FICCI must play a pivotal role in binding all the stakeholders together - Businesses in Sports, various nodal ministries, National and State Federations, Councils and Associations and Media to interact, interface and collaborate on Sports related initiatives and giving them the scale that it deserves. With all the corporate contacts, FICCI can develop an incubation cell for sports startups. Also, FICCI should play a key role in lobbying with the government to get Industry status to sports in India.

8. FICCI

New Sports businesses Companies profile

"No one who ever gave his best regretted it."

(player, coach, owner and pioneer in professional American football) - George Stanley Halas

KOOH sports

l

l

l l l

KOOH Sports was set up in June 2010 by a group of successful corporate professionals with over 100 years of combines experience in international service and consumer industry space. With a passion for making a difference to sports in India, KOOH aims towards contributing to grassroots development in Indian sports. KOOH's vision is driven by two trends that mark the present and future of Indian sports:

1. Technology taking over sports in the lives of Children and,

2. consistently weak performances (relative to other top nations) by India in International competition across most sports.

The mission of the company is to rekindle children's love for physical sports and deliver this through a multitude of sports and physical education programmes that will cut across grass root level initiation to identify and nurture talent.

Sharing the same vision, the country's biggest corporate houses Tata Consulting Services (a Tata group company) & HDFC have invested in KOOH Sports.

"To make a difference to sports in India by focusing on grassroots level development"

Key products/services: "Sports Education, Sports Development Centres, and Sports Talent Platforms"

Unique proposition : Sports Development Centres and Technical Directors Focus sports: Athletics, Cricket, and Football

Competition: Edusport, Leapstart Business fundamentals:

Vision:

“Best Ideas”

Sports Start-ups Businesses in India

25

References

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