The Indian Sports Ecosystem – Guest Lecture by Mr. Richu Paul

1. The Indian Sports Ecosystem – Guest Lecture by Mr. Richu Paul OBJECTIVE To understand several untouched constituents of the Indian sports industry which are not symbiotic with the Indian sports ecosystem and opportunities or entrepreneurship in the sports industry. KEY TAKEAWAYS Mr. Richu Paul provided the following insights during his lecture. Take up more individual projects to gain experience in the industry. Apply different tactics than what you would normally. Cross-sell yourself rather than selling yourself in a single direction. Find a creative way to draw consumers. Attend sports and related events to connect and create a solid network. Have a contributing nature so recruiters will want to invest in you/hire you. Launch a start-up. Don’t worry about success or failure. See it as a job created by you, for you and sell it as work experience. There are few start-ups which are successful and only Sportskeeda among them is commercializing so far. Ensure your LinkedIn profile looks like your brand. There are a lot of things you can do – freelance, work in an NGO, be a content writer, join a start-up, etc. Show that you did something. Start collecting data and information about your field of interest. This will not only show that you have potential but can add value to your profile and eventually get you paid more. All you need is data and then infrastructure and technological requirements and finally, capitalize on talent. For example, there is an eco-friendly problem/solution in badminton that racquet wires are created by feather and shuttlecock by plastic, also another opportunity. Be the change you want to see in policies and the system as a whole. Create your own team, work as a team player, and be a problem solver. Be realistic and leave the project if it’s not working out. Change the project to increase your versatility. Apart from having knowledge of data and information, which is key to be your part of profiling, you can sell the extremity of sports anywhere.             OPPORTUNITIES IN SPORTS ARENAS Star Sports is the leader when it comes to TV and media DNA and IMG take the top spot in event management The app market is still available for takers   

2. Besides these areas, work in the direction of creating opportunities rather than waiting to get one. You can create a sports movie club, which will create short movies or regular cinema create awareness among audiences. Not only will this create opportunities in the media sector on a large scale, but this will also be an untouched genre of Indian sports movies. And who knows? Your next sponsor could be Netflix or Amazon. Video can be a good means to commercialize as well. You can start a YouTube channel as there are few sports video bloggers. You can also organize an exhibition for the sports ecosystem where every leading stakeholder, retailer, infrastructure, technology companies, foundations, federations, coach crew, wholesalers, manufacturers, top corporates, policymakers, sports leagues, sport management companies, and industry stakeholders under one roof. Consider the scope of luxury management mergers, which could be in sports such as high-speed boat races, Golf, Tennis, and Boxing. By the end of the lecture, many students, who said that they wanted a job in a company, were motivated to pursue entrepreneurship. CONCLUSION The story of the Indian sports ecosystem reflects the globalization of the economy with all its opportunities and challenges. It requires leadership which recognizes sport as “more than a business.” It fits into the age we live in today – the age of entrepreneurship. And this will transform the globe, with sport playing a major role that will provide enthusiasts with a more sustainable future. ABOUT THE SPEAKER Mr. Richu Paul is the co-founder of Purple Salt, a media consulting company based in Cochin. In 2017, after understanding the need to uplift the unexplored potential in the Indian sports sector, he started focusing on building a community to bring Indian sports under one roof. What started as a small group has now become a vibrant community called positive sports vibe, with the active participation of over 5000 people from both India and abroad. Currently, he is working towards connecting people in the field of sports to make a positive change in the ecosystem. After his post-graduation diploma in event management and photography, Mr. Paul joined the Sahara group as a celebrity manager in 2005. He later joined the Getty family which opened up opportunities in photography in London. He worked with numerous South Asian celebrities from the art and sports industries and initiated fashionstylologer, a fashion news platform to uplift Indian fashion profile in Europe. In 2015, he returned to India and co-founded Purple Salt. Mr. Paul had a deep passion for sports from his school days. He had represented the state in football (under 16) and had represented the district in inter-state table tennis (under 16). Currently, his passion for sports has helped several struggling sportsmen in getting closer to their dream. You can connect with Mr. Paul via Instagram or LinkedIn.