Aditi Shrivastava on growing Pocket Aces from strength to strength

The last decade has witnessed some prominent changes taking place in the online arena with the rise in the availability of data and low-cost internet access. This data boom has spawned new industries which have grown large in no time. One of them is video streaming. 

The Video Streaming (SVoD) industry in India is forecasted to generate a revenue of approximately USD 2.02 bn by 2024, with an anticipated annual growth rate (CAGR 2024-2027) of 11.10%, leading to an estimated market size of USD 2.77bn by 2027. The average revenue per user (ARPU) within this industry is expected to be around USD 22.68 in 2024. Moreover, the number of users is projected to rise to 108.4 million by 2027. User penetration is predicted to be 6.2% in 2024, increasing to 7.4% by 2027.

Sensing this boom in internet usage and the subsequent demand for content by the country’s youth, Pocket Aces, a digital entertainment company focused on mobile video, was started in 2013 making short-form content to test the waters and garner organic virality. Gradually gaining traction, its platforms grew larger–it skyrocketed with the rise of OTT in recent years and the migration of more viewers towards digital. 

Cut to now, Pocket Aces has completed ten years in the industry. It now has Dice Media, FilterCopy, Gobble, Clout, and Nutshell under its wings. It has 16M subscribers on YouTube, 15M followers on Facebook, and 8.6M followers on Instagram; and clocks 700M video views per month.

Celebrating Pocket Aces’ ten-year-anniversary, Co-Founder and CEO Aditi Shrivastava speaks to Social Samosa about the company’s journey, challenges, evolving strategy, work culture, the future of digital entertainment in India, and sheds light on her journey as a woman leader. 

Iterating with short-form content

Pocket Aces emerged from a void in content catering to younger demographics, driven by a lack of options amid traditional media channels. Initially aiming for feature films, Shrivastava shares that the team pivoted upon recognizing India's smartphone revolution and the ubiquity of internet access, particularly through platforms like YouTube. She adds that conversations with youth revealed a shared frustration with the lack of relatable content, leading Pocket Aces to pivot its mission toward providing content tailored to this audience. 

“The idea was that as consumers, we felt that there wasn't enough content for us to watch. So while TV, radio, etc, we're catering to an older demographic, young people really, there was very limited content. So, actually, Pocket Aces was born from that internal need. We needed more content for young people, by young people,” the CEO shares. 

“These were our initial considerations. We also recognized that many audiences were migrating to platforms like YouTube during this time. Consequently, we realized that we could bypass traditional distributors and financiers by creating content directly for social media platforms. Thus, we pivoted to producing short-form content as it was easily producible. We could consistently release one video per week and distribute it organically. If audiences enjoyed our content, they would share it with their peers, fostering organic virality,” she explains. 

She reveals that the initial process was iterative in nature. Week after week, the team dedicated themselves to refining both videos and distribution strategies. 

Speaking the language of engagement

When Pocket Aces' founders started their entrepreneurial journeys with the company, they faced multiple challenges. One key challenge was establishing a foothold in the industry. Shrivastava reveals, “We were outsiders; we hadn't been part of an ad agency, nor had we studied media. Admittedly, my co-founder Ashwin had some experience working with Lions Entertainment and Jungle Pictures, albeit for only a couple of years.” 

Being outsiders, it was essential for the founders to establish their reputation and earn a sense of credibility. To tackle this, they would try to meet and converse with people, but given the plethora of content creators in India and worldwide, it was difficult to garner attention, reveals Shrivastava. A better way to tackle this was to let their content speak for itself–which it did as FilterCopy started gaining traction. 

Another significant challenge was that of monetisation. Aditi Shrivastava and team navigated this problem with the help of their content as well as articulating the needs of brand managers and marketers. Shrivastava says that they were able to land deals with brands due to their financial backgrounds. “Unlike other media companies and creators who primarily emphasized views, we focused on engagement and practical outcomes. We communicated how our content could drive traffic to their websites, facilitating product discovery, and outlined metrics for measuring success,” she adds. 

Shrivastava’s fellow founders, Ashwin Suresh and Anirudh Pandita, both come from a finance background. Besides Suresh–who has some experience working in the media sector–none of them had a media background. This is one of the two major uncertainties in Shrivastava's mind. At the moment of starting Pocket Aces, Shrivastava was an investment banker with extensive experience in the field. A graduate of Princeton University in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, she had little to no experience in media. The other struggle was Shrivastava’s internal struggle as a woman leader. She shares that self-doubt was one of the hurdles she encountered, adding that women tend to be harsher judges of their own abilities. Sharing an anecdote she reflects, “Early in my career at Goldman Sachs, during my first appraisal, I rated myself lower than my peers. When my manager questioned this, I realized I was being too critical of myself.”

“Being a woman leader comes with its challenges, whether it's facing scrutiny for our choices regarding family or dealing with gender biases in the workplace. However, I firmly believe in proving people wrong through hard work and determination. We must embrace these challenges and demonstrate our worth through our actions, rather than succumbing to stereotypes. That's my motto in life: to defy expectations and exceed limitations,” she remarks. 

Aditi was just shy of 30 when she started Pocket Aces. 

Science meets art

Explaining what strategies have worked for Pocket Aces over the years and why it was able to achieve popularity, Shrivastava says that it had to do with the synergy between the left (the founders) and right-brained (creators and artists) people. She remarks, “I believe we've integrated science into the art of content creation. We bring a diverse background, stemming from left-brained education and professional experience.” 

The CEO reveals that their approach involves synergizing content with elements of humor or drama, adapting to various contexts seamlessly, adding that this symbiotic relationship between science and creativity is pivotal in their content's success. “At Pocket Aces, we pride ourselves on having individuals proficient in both left and right-brain functions, embodying the essence of versatility. This duality is what sets us apart,” she notes. 

She reveals that Pocket Aces focuses on observing the needs of the audience and caters to them. This is how its content strategy has evolved over the years. Elaborating further, she says, “In India, people crave information, but they prefer it in smaller, more digestible formats rather than lengthy articles. This insight led us to launch Nutshell, our informational channel. Surprisingly, the most popular categories are geopolitics, Indian history, sex education, and entertainment news.” 

She adds, “Indians, fundamentally, want to look and feel good. They seek entertainment, comedy, wellness content, beauty, fashion, grooming advice, and opportunities to become smarter and wealthier. Additionally, they desire to showcase their talents to the world. Hence, our talent and creative management endeavors.” 

Shrivastav mentions that Pocket Aces places emphasis on identifying the interests of young viewers and tailoring content accordingly. 

Partnering with creators

When it comes to partnering with creators through its multiple wings, Pocket Aces’ focus lies in assessing the creator’s potential in building a meaningful relationship with their audience. In addition to this, Shrivastava mentions two more criteria, she expounds, “We consider if they possess the discipline to sustain this engagement consistently, day after day, for months on end. It's a challenging task, especially when done from home. Thirdly, we evaluate their willingness to collaborate with various partners to generate income, as ultimately, they aspire to turn this into a career. However, they must remain open to integrating brand content seamlessly into their style and maintain flexibility while still retaining the audience's affection.” 

Pocket Aces’ revenue model relies heavily on brand collaborations. With Clout, it manages some of the most popular creators on Instagram such as RJ Karishma, Ayush Mehra, Disha Madan, and Viraj Ghelani. 

Future: Bright for creators, tricky for new platforms

With the digital entertainment landscape in India undergoing rapid changes, Aditi Shrivastava offers an elaborate answer to how she sees the future shaping up. She says, “In the evolving media landscape, consolidation is widespread, leading to a reshuffling of businesses across platforms like Yahoo or Bing. The OTT space, which once thrived in commissioning and releasing numerous pieces of content, has experienced a slowdown in recent years. Short-form content faces a unique challenge as the audience's attention span shrinks due to already consumed lengthy content.”

She goes on, “Today, the average Indian spends approximately four and a half hours on social media, with over 50% of that time dedicated to entertainment content. The frequency with which people access platforms like Instagram is staggering, with user-generated content (UGC) playing a significant role alongside producer-generated content (PGC) and influencer content. This influx of content drives the demand for short-form content, but competition among platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, and Facebook is fierce. It's challenging for new platforms to emerge and gain traction when users are already loyal to established leaders. Unique offerings can carve out a niche, but the reality remains that most users gravitate toward a few key platforms, making it difficult for newcomers to monetize effectively.”

The CEO further adds, “For content creators, the landscape presents varying revenue streams. While platforms like YouTube offer substantial ad revenue shares, others like Instagram rely heavily on branded content. Companies like ours thrive on branded deals, delivering significant ROI to our brand partners. However, sustaining a platform solely on ad revenue can be challenging, necessitating large branded partnerships for financial viability.

“In this environment, new platforms face an uphill battle, especially in the general entertainment sector. It's more feasible to thrive as a creator on existing platforms rather than attempting to launch a new one. News platforms and niche-focused platforms like gaming still have opportunities, but the costs associated with running a streaming platform are prohibitive without a massive user base. Ultimately, attracting users away from established giants like Facebook and Google remains a formidable challenge for newcomers,” she sums up.