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Matters that matter to the average Indian
Karan Dev
@Karan.Dev · 1:34
Gaming and Social networking: In conversation with Qlan founder Sagar Nair
Prior to Clan, Saga was the founder of The Times of Esports, India's premiere gaming and esports news portal. Sagar is an experienced marketer and brand builder with over a decade's worth of experience in companies such as the Live entertainment and industry behemoth Star India sago, I'm delighted to spark this conversation with you. It's awesome to have you on. Swell. I saw a post of yours where you loaded the Indian government for its efforts in recognizing the gaming industry
Sagar Nair
@Sagar_Nair · 4:51
So we are looking forward to that and also talking a little bit about it more in the conversation to sort of address your question, Karan, in terms of how the government providing that acceptance has affected the industry, not only the businesses and the founders and the entrepreneurs, but also that basic layman gamer who's out there. It's phenomenal, right, because gaming and esports in India has been a sleeping giant for the longest time. It was always under the Sagar
Karan Dev
@Karan.Dev · 0:47
And seeing as how we've got a strong presence in tier two and tier three, India as well. In terms of interests in gaming and esports, diversity is key. So how do gamers approach social networks? Is it the same way as other users do, or is there a sort of different code that gamers follow when they're on Clan, for instance? I feel that gamers have a stronger sense of identity. So I was wondering what you thought about all of that
Sagar Nair
@Sagar_Nair · 4:08
For the gamers, the profiling that land provides is absolutely spot on in terms of giving an opportunity to these guys to get recognized for the skills that they possess, be it gaming proficiencies or semi professional skills that these guys have developed or the sort of content that they make individual gamers being able to interact with the right set of people and create a competitive gaming team of their own and other issues as well. So it's very organically seated in sort who probably sum it up
Karan Dev
@Karan.Dev · 0:33
That's very Interestingly framed Sagar. I think when you approach it as a social solution platform, then you're looking at it in a very cohesive and in a friendly sense for the users to get to know each other. And your focus right now is on esports. So what are the other areas that you're likely to branch out to and added to this question? Is the revenue model going forward?
Sagar Nair
@Sagar_Nair · 4:25
It's barely two or three years old, but we do foresee ourselves venturing in the casual gaming sector, but I mean, it boasts a larger user base and is equally social in nature, but that is a long term conversation. For now, the focus will remain on esports because we've not even sort of tapped the initial potential that it has in the long run
Karan Dev
@Karan.Dev · 0:40
Sagar. I know a lot of people who are listening in are really gaming to be watching your journey. And I know I'm excited about how Clan is going to evolve in the coming years. I have a strong feeling that you're approaching this in the best way possible because is you're really involving every stakeholder, and I think it's looking like things are really going to shape up well for you
Sagar Nair
@Sagar_Nair · 5:00
I mean, it's a funny story that led to us getting into the Esports space in its entirety. Navy, one of the co founders and I myself used to work with Tencent back in the days when they were in India with PUBG. We were a central agency for them to carry out a bunch of events, also handle their merchandising and on ground presence
Karan Dev
@Karan.Dev · 0:30
That's very inspiring, Sagar, especially the fact that this is the culmination of years of research and identifying gaps in the market. And it's great how your earlier venture informed the foundations of clan. And like you said, I think finding the right people to bring the idea to life is imperative and Congratulations on successfully achieving that. At this point, I think Sagar, more people would like to join the conversation. So I'd like to open this up and really looking forward to some questions
Gaurav Chauhan
@Gaurav1106 · 0:42
And do you think like is it only tier one cities which probably will help you on that segment or do you see a lot of interest coming from tier two, tier three and tier four cities also
Nimisha Dhami
@NimishaDhami · 0:16
Hi Sagar Great insights. I am not a gamer and I am nowhere close to a gamer. However, I would like to know what you think. That our Indian games and esports likely to gain global word recognition
Swell Team
@Swell · 0:15
Aishani Chatterjee
@Aishani · 0:13
Hello Sagar. I had a question for you. Are there any examples of gaming networks across the globe which maybe inspired you
Sagar Nair
@Sagar_Nair · 2:37
Hey Gaurav, really glad that you enjoyed the conversation and thank you for the support and the kind words. We'll take every bit of it and I try to build what we envision the clan. To answer your question, Gaurav, of when I said 400 million active gamers, this is across esports, which is competitive titles and casual gamers as well. Now what happens in this case in terms of your on your growth is that it's multifaceted
Abhishek Negi
@Abhishek1156 · 0:07
Hi Sagar. I just want to ask you that. What were your favorite games growing up
Olivia Debroy
@itsoliviaaaa · 0:41
Hi Sauser. So I've been listening to your conversation for a while and your words have literally pushed me to give a look at your app. Gaming and I are truly miles apart from each other, but, but with the little knowledge that I have, I tremendously love the graphics. I love the amount of games that the app holds on. I loved the tabs of Social and Squad. That basically gives a base for the GM gamers to socialize with a number of people
Sagar Nair
@Sagar_Nair · 2:38
And I strongly foresee India being able to disrupt that space, specifically the mobile esports space, because the rate at which India is adopting mobile titles or mobile games and the rate at which the talent in India is growing and being discovered through various tournaments is something that is unparalleled right now out there. So to probably sum up your question, I would definitely leave it at a note by saying that maybe in the next five years we'll definitely see India leaving a Mark on the mobile sports space
Sagar Nair
@Sagar_Nair · 2:04
Hey Aishani, hope you're doing well. Yes. Discord is a platform that we Dove into heavily while building plan. Discord is a platform that sort of built its foundation and and reach prominence by simply operating as a community platform for gamers. Discord is sort of a chat platform, but on steroids because there are just so many cool things that you can do on display. In fact, in 2020, they outgrew the whole gaming space
Sagar Nair
@Sagar_Nair · 1:10
So I play a lot of Call of Duty, Mobile and also Pokemon. But what I enjoy the most still is when a bunch of friends get together to play and practically beating the h*** out of digital characters that we play. So games like a Mortal Kombat, a tech in any mortals is something that I thoroughly enjoy. But yeah, FIFA will always and always lead the battle because I'm a semi pro footballer in real life myself
Sagar Nair
@Sagar_Nair · 3:36
Let me tell you, these are things that really excite the TG that I'm talking about. We may not be able to sort of resonate with them, but customisation and personalisation of anything and everything to do with their character or their profile is something that they're really big on. Going ahead. We're also in talks with a bunch of partners for allowing the gamers to monetize these coins for actual money. Now, digital wallets are always on the lookout for acquiring younger users, to be precise
Gaurav Chauhan
@Gaurav1106 · 0:57
Thanks for those insights. I think it makes a lot of sense. And I just really, really hope that soon you guys go beyond IVL, because that is I know how big of a fish or massive Goliath it is. And once I think we will be able to surpass it in any other category, any other fashion, any other areas. I think that would be a great hit for the country, great insight for the people of the country. And that would be a very proud moment
Karan Dev
@Karan.Dev · 0:29
Well, Sagar, on that note, I'd like to draw this conversation to a close. It's been wonderful connecting with you. Thank you for being so patient and taking time out to answer everyone's questions as well. I know I speak for everyone when I say that clan is truly something that's exciting, exciting and it's unique. And we're all rooting for you and rooting for clan