Harsh Jain, Founder of Dream11, credits his spouse and family for his personal success and that of his fantasy sports platform.
“Whenever a firm becomes a unicorn or a decacorn, everyone credits the founder. But no one credits their family. Especially (the) spouse,” said Jain, at TechSparks Mumbai.
Jain said a spouse goes through everything a founder undergoes though nobody talks about them and their support. “It’s never your personal story,” he emphasised.
On Women’s Day (March 8), Jain had credited his wife Rachana Jain, a dentist, for the success of Dream11. The startup in 2019 became India’s first fantasy sports platform to become a unicorn, or a company estimated to be worth at least $1 billion, and is currently valued at $8 billion.
“Rach has been the invisible force behind our success—my sounding board, a coach, constructive critic, a shoulder to cry on, someone who helps me stay balanced and not burn out, office and product designer, marketing consultant, HR head… it goes on and on and on!” he had tweeted.
At Techsparks Mumbai, Jain elaborated on the role of family in ensuring founders stay grounded.
“The family is around to help slap you down and bring you back to reality,” he said, adding that family never lets success get to your head.
Jain also touched upon mental health issues that founders undergo.
“As an entrepreneur there are a lot of factors at play. When you are in the business, you cannot switch off… Founders also go through a lot of mental health issues,” he said.
Jain became a fan of fantasy sports in 2001 while studying abroad. He started Dream11, under Sporta Technologies Pvt Ltd., in 2008. The platform has more than 140 million users playing fantasy cricket, football, kabaddi, basketball, hockey, and many other sports.
Dream11 has raised capital from investors including DST Global, Tiger Global Management, Falcon Edge and Kalaari Capital. The platform also runs Dream Capital, an investment arm with a $250-million corpus that has backed about 10 companies across esports, sport equipment, live sports platforms, and fintech.
