“You can only learn swimming by jumping into the pool.” 🏊
At the Truelancer and Payoneer Digital Conclave, I interviewed Anurag Batra, founder of exchange4media and chairman of BW Businessworld, about building media businesses and entrepreneurship in India. 🎙️
📊 In this episode, we unpacked:
- 💡 The idea that didn’t work, and the pivot that did
- 📰 Buying Businessworld
- 🏊 Three rules for new founders
- 👨👩👧 Handling family pressure
- 🌏 Why India isn’t Silicon Valley yet
🎥 Watch the full episode:
💡 The Pivot That Built exchange4media
At 26 and a half, Anurag and two friends had an idea: a platform where media planners, marketers and sellers could buy and sell media time and space, hence the name exchange4media. 💡
But Indian media ran on face-to-face relationships and negotiation, with little transparency, so the model didn’t work. They became a news site on marketing, advertising and media, then launched the weekly IMPACT and the monthly PITCH. For another media founder’s story, read WittyFeed’s Parveen Singhal. 🔗
📰 Buying Businessworld
About two years before this interview, he acquired Businessworld, made it profitable and expanded into BW Hotelier, BW Smart Cities, BW Accelerate and BW CIO. 📰
“We are not in the business of a magazine or events or online. We are in the business of building communities.” What matters to readers is brand and content, whatever the format. His main competition: The Economic Times and CNBC. For more on Indian startups, read Avijit Singh Arya’s interview. 🔗
🏊 Three Rules for New Founders
First, you only become an entrepreneur by getting started, just as you only learn swimming by jumping into the pool. Second, don’t be afraid of failure. Third, whatever you do becomes experience that helps you succeed at something else. 🏊
“The harder you work, the luckier you get.” If you stick with something you enjoy, not just for money or fame, success comes at some stage. He points to Edison and Lincoln: failure is a stepping stone. 🚀
👨👩👧 Handling Family Pressure
Many Indian parents want their kids in a 9-to-5 job. Anurag says that mindset is changing as people see success around them. 👨👩👧
The point of a job is to make money and be happy. If what you’re doing makes you happy, do what you love and love what you do. His role models include Dr. Subhash Chandra, Rana Kapoor, and authors like Amish Tripathi and Chetan Bhagat. For a founder who faced the same pressure, read Appurv Gupta’s story. 🔗
🌏 Why India Isn’t Silicon Valley Yet
He calls India’s startup ecosystem very vibrant, with the best yet to come. But Silicon Valley stands for solving the world’s problems with technology, and India, including Bangalore, has a long way to go. It may happen in 5 or 10 years. 🌏
Upcoming BW events then included the Smart Cities conference in Chennai, the BFSI Technology Summit in Mumbai and the Aviation Summit in Delhi. “Knowledge is power.” 📚
📝 Key Takeaways From the Anurag Batra Interview
- 💡 Pivot when the market doesn’t fit your model
- 📰 Build communities, not just products
- 🏊 Start: you learn by doing
- 💪 Failure is a stepping stone
- ❤️ Do what you love and love what you do
❓ FAQs About Anurag Batra
Who is Anurag Batra?
The founder of exchange4media and chairman of BW Businessworld.
How did exchange4media start?
As a platform to buy and sell media time and space, then pivoted to a news site on marketing, advertising and media.
Does India have a Silicon Valley?
Anurag says not yet, though it may develop in 5 to 10 years.
🎙️ More Inside A Hustler’s Brain Interviews You’ll Love
- 26 Investments at the Age of 26: Ritesh Malik Founder of Project Guerrilla & Innov8
- Deepak Daftari Founder of eSiksha.com Sharing his Domain Business Journey
- Krishna Srinivasan CEO @Whizlabs Telling How He Helping Professionals To Be Successful
- Alex Salinsky On How He Started His 6 Fig Company From Scratch
Will India build its own Silicon Valley? Tell me in the comments. 💬
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Jitendra Vaswani is a well-known expert in SEO and AI-driven digital marketing. He has spoken at international events and founded Digiexe, a digital marketing agency, and AffiliateBooster, WordPress plugin designed specifically for affiliate marketers. With over 10 years of experience, Jitendra has helped many businesses succeed online. His bestselling book, Inside A Hustler’s Brain: In Pursuit of Financial Freedom, with over 20,000 copies sold globally, underscores his influence and commitment to empowering digital marketers.