Startup Mantra: Howzat! Taking cricket to the playing enthusiasts

“Hello Sports” provides hassle-free platform for cricket players of all skill levels to connect, play, and form lasting friendships

Many cricket players have long grappled with a formidable challenge: the arduous task of finding fellow players and arranging matches. Traditional methods of finding player(s) have proven unreliable and time-consuming, leaving enthusiasts stranded in their quest for competitive cricket. “Hello Sports”, a platform founded by 31-year-old Amit Jain, is bridging this gap and aims to transform the cricketing landscape. This sports-tech startup is seamlessly connecting cricket players of diverse ages and skill levels as they can locate nearby enthusiasts, secure convenient time slots, and effortlessly organise matches with just a few clicks. The platform’s services take care of everything, from securing suitable grounds to providing essential equipment, qualified umpires, and diligent scorers and serves as a dynamic community that fosters inclusivity and camaraderie, nurturing a sense of belonging among cricket players.

Amit Jain, founder of Hello Sports. (HT PHOTO)

The first step

After graduating in BCom in 2012 from his hometown Bhusawal in Jalgaon district, Amit decided to move to Pune in search of career opportunities. From 2012 to 2019 Amit worked at the Bank of New York Mellon then he decided to quit his job to take entrepreneurship full time.

Amit said, “I remember while leaving my job, I had told my family that my company is kicking me out. Because I feared they will never allow and agree with my decision. I also decided to go on solo backpacking on a tight budget and travelled Kanyakumari to Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh to Mumbai. I wanted to unlearn and relearn with a fresh perspective and hence I set off on a whim with just ₹17,500 and two humble outfits to my name. I am fortunate enough to explore over 100 cities in recent years, including the six-month adventure that changed my life.”

Amit also loves community building and networking and that is where he met his one co-founder, while he found the third co-founder during a trek. The duo is yet to be officially onboarded.

“For over a decade, building communities and networking has been my driving passion. I have had the privilege of hosting tons of amazing offline meetups across India and creating thriving online communities that connect people from all over the world. We three co-founders have become very good friends along the years and, we have kept experimenting with different business ideas,” said Amit.

Experience transformation

Amit said, “Our story began with a passion for cricket and frustration with the traditional ways of finding players to play with. We wanted to play cricket, and even though we had a great network we found it difficult to find players who would play with us. We realised that we were not alone in this struggle, and that there were countless others who shared our love for the game and our desire to connect with like-minded players. Then we decided to solve this problem for ourselves and came up with the idea of “Hello Sports”.

“We are aiming to transform the cricket experience by making it easier for players to connect, play, and build lasting relationships. Traditional methods of finding players, can be unreliable and time-consuming and our platform solves this problem by providing a centralised hub where cricket players of all ages and skill levels can connect with each other, book the nearest slot, and organise matches easily. We take care of logistics, including securing the ground, equipment, umpires, and scorers, so that players can focus on playing the game they love,” said Amit.

“The unique value proposition of our cricket community is that we provide a hassle-free platform for players of all skill levels to connect, play, and form lasting friendships. Our platform takes care of all the logistical aspects of playing cricket, from finding players and organising matches to providing the necessary equipment and even umpires and scorers. This alleviates the pain points of our target market, allowing them to focus solely on enjoying the game and connecting with other players. Furthermore, our community is inclusive and welcoming to players of all ages and skill levels, which sets us apart from other competitors. We provide a space where seasoned pros can challenge themselves and newcomers can learn and grow in a supportive environment,” he said.

Product-market-fit (PMF)

“We focused on understanding the needs and pain points of our target market, which is cricket enthusiasts in Pune. We have conducted market research, engaged with players, and analysed user feedback to iterate on our product development. Initially, we launched a beta version of our platform with basic features such as player registration, match scheduling. We then collected feedback from early adopters and used it to refine our platform, adding features such as scorekeeping, real-time chat, etc,” he said.

“By listening to our users and continuously iterating on our product development, we have been able to achieve product-market-fit and build a loyal customer base of cricket enthusiasts in Pune. We will continue to gather feedback and refine our platform to meet the evolving needs of our users and provide the best possible cricket experience,” Amit said.

Product roadmap

Prioritising the product roadmap is critical to ensure that we are delivering value to our users and meeting our business objectives, Amit explained. Elaborating on it, Amit said, “We are evaluating the impact and feasibility of each feature or improvement on our platform. We are gathering feedback from our users through surveys, interviews, and user testing to identify their pain points, needs, and desires. We are also prioritising features that have a high impact on user experience or business objectives and are feasible to implement given our resources and technical constraints. Our product roadmap is aligned with increasing user engagement, growing our user base, and generating revenue.

Go-to-market strategy

Explaining the go-to-market (GTM) strategy, Amit said, “We leverage digital channels such as social media, email marketing, and search engine advertising to reach our target market and drive traffic to our platform. We use targeted messaging and creative content to highlight the benefits of our platform and encourage users to sign up and participate in our community. We are also partnering with other brands and organisations that share our values and target market to extend our reach and tap into new audiences.”

“We are working with sports equipment providers, sports clubs, and fitness studios to promote our platform to their customers and members. We are also hosting events and tournaments for individual players to engage with our community and build brand awareness. We want to leverage these events to showcase the benefits of our platform, generate user-generated content, and encourage word-of-mouth referrals. We are incentivising our users to refer their friends and family to our platform through a referral programme. By combining these elements, we aim to build a strong brand presence, generate user acquisition, and drive engagement on our platform,” he said.

“Our product differentiation strategy includes constantly innovating and improving our gameplay features, investing in cutting-edge technologies, and collaborating with our community to gather feedback and insights. We also plan to maintain a competitive edge by expanding our partnerships with brands and offering unique experiences that are not available elsewhere in the market,” said Amit.

Analytics

Amit said, “We recently achieved a significant milestone in just four months since inception. We have built a community of over 17,000 players in Pune alone, demonstrating our ability to connect players of all skill levels and ages with each other. We are focussing on building long-term relationships with customers by offering them an exceptional experience. This includes providing them with high-quality equipment, organising engaging tournaments and events, and ensuring they feel part of a welcoming and inclusive community. We segment our customers based on their behaviour and preferences and develop personalised marketing strategies for each segment. This allows us to better understand the needs and interests of our customers and tailor our offering to them.”

“Additionally, we are proud to have more than 150+ players playing every weekend with us across Pune. We are tracking metrics such as user activity, time spent on our platform, and frequency of usage apart from regular survey of our customers to track their satisfaction and feedback. We have partnered with more than 20 brands that showcased their brand to them. Overall, these milestones demonstrate our commitment to building a thriving cricket community in Pune and providing our players with an unparalleled cricket experience,” he said.

“We are using a combination of analytic tools, customer feedback surveys, and financial reporting systems to regularly review and analyse metrics like user engagement, user acquisition, customer satisfaction, revenues, and brand partnerships. By tracking these KPIs, we track the number of brands that partner with us, the success of their campaigns, and their level of satisfaction with our services and hence we can further ensure that we are meeting our goals and delivering value to our users and partners,” he added.

Business model

Explaining the business model, Amit said, “It is based on a combination of booking fees and tournament fees. We charge players to book their weekly slot with us, and we also organise one tournament per month that players can join for a fee. In addition to these fees, we also generate revenue through brand partnerships. We have already partnered with a variety of brands who own a team, sponsor, partner, and advertise with us. These partnerships provide additional value to our players while also generating revenue through sponsorships, advertising, and other collaborations.”

“Moving forward, we plan to continue growing our network of brand partnerships and exploring additional opportunities for collaboration. This includes partnering with companies that provide cricket-related equipment, services, or experiences, as well as collaborating with other organisations that share our mission and values. Our business model is designed to provide a sustainable and scalable revenue stream, while also providing value to our players and partners. By diversifying our revenue streams and building strong partnerships, we are confident in our ability to continue growing and expanding our platform in the future,” Amit said.

Next big move

Sharing his plans for future, Amit said, “Our goal is to create a vibrant and engaged community of cricket enthusiasts. To reach our target market, we are using a combination of online and offline marketing strategies. We have a strong online presence, with an active website, social media accounts, and email newsletters that keep our community informed about upcoming events and promotions. There is a huge market of newcomers, seasoned players and cricket enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels who are looking for a fun, social, and inclusive way to play the game. We are planning to leverage our existing player base to spread the word and attract new players. Our players will be our biggest advocates and they will be encouraged to invite their friends and family to join our community.”