Meet man, who faced 150 rejections, built Rs 64000 crore company, his father is Mukesh Ambani's...

'Effort never goes in vain' is not just a saying; it is a set of golden words inspiring millions. Harsh Jain is a living example of someone who embodied this spirit, refusing to accept defeat even after facing repeated rejections. His perseverance and belief eventually propelled him towards success, and he founded a company with a valuation of approximately Rs 64,000 crore (November 2021), known as Dream11.

Fantasy cricket, hockey, football, and various other games find their place on this platform. However, the journey to success for this company was not a smooth ride. Harsh Jain, overseeing design, tech, product, and marketing aspects, and his partner Bhavit Seth handling operations, faced significant challenges in securing funding initially. Harsh himself admitted that after 2012, he approached nearly 150 venture capitalists in two years to raise funds for the company, and each time, his idea faced rejection.

The year was 2008 when the Indian Premier League (IPL) kicked off, marking the beginning of the journey for Harsh and Bhavit to work on the idea of Dream11. Faced with numerous rejections, the duo persisted in their efforts. The user base of the platform started growing rapidly around six years after the inception of Dream11. In 2014, the user count reached 1 million, and by 2018, it soared to 45 million. In just the following year, the platform doubled its user base, and presently, it hovers around 200 million users. In 2019, the company achieved unicorn status, indicating a market value exceeding 1 billion dollars (around Rs 8,100 crore).

With the increasing number of users on the Dream11 platform, the company achieved several other milestones. In 2020, it secured the sponsorship rights for the IPL, and currently, it holds the sponsorship for the Indian cricket team jersey as well. 

Harsh Jain is the son of renowned business magnate Anand Jain, often regarded as the third son of Dhirubhai Ambani in close circles with Mukesh Ambani. In 2013, Harsh Jain married Rachana Shah, a dentist, and the couple welcomed their son Krish. Reports indicate that the couple invested in a luxurious duplex apartment valued at Rs 72 crore in Peddar Road, south Mumbai, in 2021.

Born in Mumbai, Harsh completed his high school education in London and obtained a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. Later, he pursued an MBA from Columbia University. It was during an internship at Microsoft during his time at Columbia University that the idea of Dream11 was conceived, changing his path forever. The 36-year-old entrepreneur holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Columbia Business School at Columbia University.

In July 2010, Harsh co-founded Red Digital, a prominent social media agency based in Mumbai. However, in 2013, Gozoop, a Mumbai-based marketing agency, acquired Red Digital. Demonstrating his involvement in the sports sector, Harsh assumed the role of President of the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports in 2017.