Ever heard of a start-up creating content to help other start-ups get cracking? Meet denture Capital. Set up by Manu Srikumar and Pranav Chimulkar, it started out with content, expanded to a YouTube show and then graduated to a film about how to start a company. Later they started a client services wing as requests began to pour in from other start-ups who wanted denture to help them in making videos.
Hold on. Why is there a lowercase ‘d’ and an uppercase ‘C’ in denture Capital? "We wanted a name that would be fun. We looked at the most popular term of those times which was ‘venture capital’ and did some wordplay to come up with denture Capital," said Manu.
How did dC start off? "In March 2016, we felt that video content about start-ups and the start-up ecosystem was not very interesting. There was a need for new forms of content and new presentation styles. That’s why we decided to start a YouTube show on start-ups. At that point in time, there was a lot of hype around start-ups and funding. We felt a funny take on what was happening would be interesting for people to watch," said Manu Srikumar.
Let's keep it simple
Like most other companies, they started small. Bootstrapping their way from their bedrooms, "It was started as a project that needed no office or formal registration. The idea was to do something interesting that will grab eyeballs and get everybody’s attention. We managed to do that in just 3 to 4 months of starting. The show was very well received by the start-up ecosystem. We were featured on the official Android channel on YouTube. We also had offers to get acqui-hired," he recollected.
Though most people who started companies around the same time have folded up since Manu believes that they're doing a lot right to still be around. And relevant. "Doing any business is a struggle and it takes a lot of time, effort and money to scale up. Almost 90% of the start-ups here shut shop in the first two years. We are extremely lucky that we have passed the initial phase of really understanding what business model to work on. A hustle mentality, passion and a solid early team have really helped us," Manu explained. Need an example? "Our very first employee, Maddy, was once kicked out of a start-up event for excessive networking," Manu said, before breaking into laughter.
Selfie anybody?
And popularity is often a fickle mistress. "When we started a YouTube show, we were very popular. There were a lot of people who wanted to click selfies with us saying we will one day be popular and they will have a selfie with us. This does not happen today," he added.
In one year, denture Capital has serviced more than 50 brands including WeWork, Go-jek, Akshaya Patra Foundation and currently thrives on a 15 member team. They work from an office now and have been hiring more and more young professionals. "We aspire to grow even more and are not looking for anything short term. We also have interest from investors and we feel this is a good time as we are clear on our business model. Growth is what we are going after," said Manu.
He added that everyone involved with their start-up has been extremely helpful throughout the journey. "Our friends and family have been very instrumental in what we have achieved. We have also got the support of the start-up ecosystem that roots for us. Everyone from the co-working space we operate out of to some of our very supportive clients," he added.
