Harsh Jain is one of the most successful and influential entrepreneurs in India. He is the co-founder and CEO of Dream Sports, a sports technology company that owns brands such as Dream11, FanCode, Dream Capital, DreamSetGo, Dream Game Studios, and Dream Foundation1 The biggest fantasy sports website in India, Dream11, offers fantasy basketball, kabaddi, hockey, and cricket games. Harsh Jain has a net worth of around $100 million as of 2021.
Harsh Jain Early Life and Education
He was born in 1986 in Mumbai. He is the son of Anand Kumar Jain, a business magnate who previously worked with Anil Ambani, the brother of Mukesh Ambani. His mother is Sushma Jain, a painter.
Harsh Jain attended Greenlawn’s High School in Mumbai and Sevenoaks High School in England. He completed his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied Mathematics and Economics. He then pursued his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Columbia Business School in New York.
Harsh Jain has been interested in sports and gaming since childhood. He was a fan of the Indian cricket team and the Manchester United Football Club. He also played football actively in his school and college days.
Career and Achievements
Harsh Jain started his career as a summer intern at Microsoft in 2006, working on the feasibility and commercial benefits for Microsoft to enter the Push-To-Talk (PTT) marketplace. In 2007, he joined Jai Corp Limited as a marketing manager for 13 months.
In 2008, Harsh Jain co-founded Dream11 with his business partner Bhavit Sheth. The idea was to combine his love for sports, gaming, and technology and create a platform for every sports fan to play fantasy sports. Initially, Dream11 faced many challenges, such as a lack of funding, legal issues, low internet penetration, and low awareness of fantasy sports in India. However, Harsh Jain and his team persisted and overcame these obstacles with innovation and hard work.
In 2010, He co-founded Red Digital, a social media agency that managed clients like Dell, Adidas, PVR, Berger Paints, EduComp, and Reliance Foundation. The agency was acquired by Gozoop, another marketing agency in Mumbai, in 2013.
In 2017, Harsh Jain became the president of the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS). This industry body aims to protect consumer interest and create standardized best practices for fantasy sports operators in India.
As of 2021, Harsh Jain is the Culture Enforcement Officer (CEO) of Dream Sports, which has expanded its portfolio to include brands like FanCode (a digital sports platform), Dream Capital (a corporate venture capital arm), DreamSetGo (a sports experiences platform), Dream Game Studios (a gaming studio), and Dream Foundation (a philanthropic arm).
Dream11 is the flagship brand of Dream Sports and has grown into India’s largest fantasy sports platform, with over 100 million registered users and 10 million paid users as of 2021. It became the first Indian gaming company to achieve a unicorn status (a valuation of over $1 billion) in 20193 Dream11 is backed by investors like Kalaari Capital, Multiples Equity, Steadview Capital Management, Tencent Holdings, TPG Capital, ChrysCapital, Footpath Ventures, Think Investments and others.
Dream11 has also partnered with various sports leagues and associations such as the Indian Premier League (IPL), International Cricket Council (ICC), Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), National Basketball Association (NBA), Indian Super League (ISL), Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), International Hockey Federation (FIH), European Cricket Network (ECN), Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and others.
He has received many awards and recognitions for his entrepreneurial journey and achievements. Some of them are:
- Entrepreneur of the Year Award by Economic Times Startup Awards in 2019
- 2019’s EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Startups
- Fortune India 40 Under 40 list in 2018 and 2019
- GQ 50 Most Influential Young Indians list in 2017 and 2018
- Forbes India 30 Under 30 list in 2015
Harsh Jain Personal Life
Harsh Jain has been married to Rachana Shah Jain, a dentist, since 2013. The couple has a son named Krish. He lives in Mumbai with his family. Harsh Jain is a vegetarian and loves to travel and play sports. He is also a philanthropist and supports various causes related to education, health, sports. He the environment through his Dream Foundation.
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