Shark Tank fame OTT platform Stage in talks to raise funds in a new round

Pitchlabz | Posted on October 8, 2024 |

Funding Round: Neeraj Chopra-backed Stage is seeking to raise $7-$9 million in a new funding round, marking its largest to date, with participation expected from existing investors like Blume Ventures and US-based Goodwater Capital.
Platform Overview: Stage is a hyperlocal OTT platform that caters primarily to audiences in Haryana and Rajasthan, offering content in regional dialects such as Haryanvi and Rajasthani, creating a niche among local viewers.
Growth and Subscribers: The platform gained notable attention after its pitch on Shark Tank, successfully securing funding from prominent investors in 2023. It currently boasts over 130,000 subscribers who pay an annual fee of Rs 400.
Financial Performance: In FY23, Stage experienced a decline in revenue to Rs 2.94 crore from Rs 3.87 crore in the previous year, with losses widening from Rs 1.06 crore to Rs 2.3 crore, according to data from Tracxn.
Future Plans: The company aims to expand its geographic reach using the new capital, planning to launch shows in 20 different dialects over the next five years as part of its growth strategy.

Neeraj Chopra-backed Stage, commonly touted as the Netflix for Bharat, is in discussions with venture capital (VC) funds, including US-based Goodwater Capital and others, to raise around $7-$9 million (about Rs 56-72 crore) in a fresh and its largest-ever funding round, sources familiar with the development told Indian Startup News (ISN).

Existing investors like Blume Ventures and others will also participate in the round to retain their ownership in the company, sources added. Stage and Goodwater Capital did not reply to ISN’s email.

What does Stage do?

Stage is a hyperlocal video entertainment platform, an OTT or over-the-top media service like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar and several others. It is a dialect based platform which has created a niche for itself by tapping viewers largely in Haryana and Rajasthan belt and others who prefer watching content in Haryanvi and Rajasthani.

Stage had shot to fame when it pitched to investors on Shark Tank season 3 and received funding from Lenskart’s Peyush Bansal, Boat’s Aman Gupta and Emcure Pharma’s Namita Thapar in 2023.

At that time, on the show, founders including Vinay Singhal and others, had said that the company has more than 1.3 lakh subscribers who pay Rs 400 per year to consume content on Stage.

In FY23, Stage had seen i

What does Stage do?

Stage had shot to fame when it pitched to investors on Shark Tank season 3 and received funding from Lenskart’s Peyush Bansal, Boat’s Aman Gupta and Emcure Pharma’s Namita Thapar in 2023.

At that time, on the show, founders including Vinay Singhal and others, had said that the company has more than 1.3 lakh subscribers who pay Rs 400 per year to consume content on Stage.

In FY23, Stage had seen its revenue fall to Rs 2.94 crore from Rs 3.87 crore recorded in FY22, as per data available on Tracxn. Its losses widened from Rs 1.06 crore to Rs 2.3 crore during the same period, data showed.

While Stage is currently focused on Haryana and Rajasthan, it will likely use the fresh capital to enter new geographies.

“We have identified 20 different dialects in which we will launch shows and content over the next five years,” co-founder and CEO Vinay Singal said while pitching on Indian reality show Shark Tank.

The founders had pitched for a valuation of Rs 300 crore ($36 million) for Stage and raised money at Rs 250 crore, a rare feat for a startup that pitches on the show. In several cases, companies otherwise raise money at less than 50% of their desired valuation.

“We’re betting on you (the founders), otherwise your business model is loss-making,” Peyush Bansal, founder of Lenskart, said just before making an investment in the company.

Stage has raised over Rs 100 crore since its inception in 2019 from 150 backers, including institutional investors and angels, Tracxn data showed.

Here’s a summary of the key information regarding the startup Stage, its fundraising efforts, and the involved parties:

Startup:

Name: Stage
Description: A hyperlocal video entertainment platform offering content in dialects, primarily targeting viewers in Haryana and Rajasthan.

Founders:

Vinay Singhal (Co-founder and CEO)
Others unspecified but mentioned as part of the founding team.

Funding Details:

Current Fundraising Round: Series unspecified (working towards raising a fresh and largest-ever funding round)
Target Amount: $7-$9 million (approximately Rs 56-72 crore)
Valuation during Shark Tank: Rs 250 crore (approximately $30 million)
Total Funds Raised Since Inception: Over Rs 100 crore from 150 backers

Investors:

Current/Existing Investors:
- Blume Ventures
- Others unspecified but confirmed participation in the upcoming round.
New Potential Investors:
- Goodwater Capital (US-based VC)
Investors from Shark Tank:
- Peyush Bansal (Lenskart)
- Aman Gupta (Boat)
- Namita Thapar (Emcure Pharma)

Additional Information:

Stage gained significant visibility by pitching on Shark Tank India, Season 3.
The platform has over 130,000 subscribers who pay Rs 400 annually for access.
The financial performance noted a revenue decline from Rs 3.87 crore in FY22 to Rs 2.94 crore in FY23, with losses widening from Rs 1.06 crore to Rs 2.3 crore in the same period.
Plans for future expansion include launching shows in 20 different dialects over the next five years.

This overview captures the essential aspects of Stage’s funding journey, its investors, and the founding team.

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