Most innovations and inventions start with the question Why. And then the determined minds get down to making or creating their own products or services. When Tiktok became famous in India and post-its ban, three friends got together to make something similar to Tiktok which would resonate with audience.
“Why don’t we have a platform like Tiktok in India? After all, we have so many talented people across the breadth of the country who are waiting to showcase their talent at every platform that is available. Why are these folks only seen on TV,” said Udit Pathak, Co Founder of Bamchik, which is the entertainment app from Anoroc Technologies- technology solution provider.
Short video consumption in India
A report by RedSeer Consulting, ‘Short-form video- The Rise of Made in India digital content’, Indian short-form apps have successfully retained 67 percent of the TikTok era users and have onboarded around 30-35 percent new users over the past year.
The study shows that 75 percent of the current short-form video users will likely stick to these domestic apps and are unlikely to switch back to Chinese apps even if the ban was lifted.
Bamchik launched in July
Bamchik was launched early this month. Co-founded and created by Pathak, Pulkit Kochhar, Abhinav Narula who are both Founders and Directors. The trio dreamt of ‘building something really big and creating something which can give an advantage to the entire society.’.
Kochhar has entrepreneurial experience as founder of Tote and Joota, a brand dedicated to celebrities offering luxury essentials, customized leather bags, shoes, and accessories. He is the Creative head at Bamchik. Narula was the Partner at Ah So Yum (a pan Asian cloud kitchen) and was also associated with CIFT as the Project Manager for their e-learning vertical and as a proprietor for Mascat Allied Services for their food truck business (Hawkers).
A new CTO has been inducted, Gunjan Jaswal. “He was earlier the CTO of ScoopWhoop and has recently come on board”
How Bamchik works
It is a short video creation platform for audiences of all age groups but the duration of the video is longer—one can make a 1 minute long video. A user can upload time-lapse videos, GIFs, and long or short clips. Basically, the users will be able to create any kind of content, be it their passion or expertise, said Kochhar. It is a unique ‘no-ad-interruption’ user interface.
Besides, one can explore the peppy and trending collection of the Bamchik original music and mix it with the trending ones to make the content more entertaining. The most innovative content will get an opportunity to be featured on the Bamchik Social Media Platforms. The more followers you gather, the more will be your fan base and the closer you get to become a #Bamchik verified user and have a blue tick against your profile.
This is a space where you can earn fame and exciting cash prizes by participating and winning weekly thematic contest across interesting four categories – Social (Sharing moments of selfless acts or raising your voice against unjust deeds in the society), LOL (Make people laugh with your witty and humorous content), Challenge(Push your creative limits and shoot out-of-the-box content with Bamchik's weekly challenges), and Talent(Participate in weekly talent-based thematic contests and showcase your talent).
Pre-seed funding received
The venture has received pre-seed funding from ‘someone known in our circle, who happens to be from private sector’.
The trio hope to monetise it by putting advertisements from different brands. “ We can sell that on a basis of subscription model to different brands. This way the brands will get a B2C connect.” For that, Bamchik is waiting for ‘ample downloads’ before brands can directly reach out to the customers and sell their products and services. “We have a Spotlight section in the app which is the best option to promote a brand without harming user’s interest,” said Pathak.
As of now, Bamchik is not looking at funding though ‘we have some people in our minds,’ said Pathak. He is in a happy space with Narula and Kocchar that their creation has been well-received and ‘there are many who want to be part of their journey’. “But there is still time before we approach anyone,” he said.
