The Coalition, Mumbai: Day 2 Wrap-Up
Conference
Inspiring speakers, check. Relevant conversations, check. Spitfires and bonhomie, check. We didn’t expect any less after an explosive Day 1.
Invite your friends
and enjoy a shared experience
How many content specialists does it take for a cracking session?
No, not 42, just 4 actually – Rega Jha, Editor, BuzzFeed India, Supriya Nair, National Editor, Brown Paper Bag, Mahesh Narayanan, Managing Director, Saavn India and Aparna Purohit, Creative Head – Development, Amazon Prime Video, India - joined on stage to talk about their experience in developing content for India.
What we loved:
Mahesh confirmed that at one point, there were more streams for Nucleya in India than Justin Beiber. Get working on your tracks people, it’s a brand new day!
The new rules
An insightful hour with 15 minute presentations by people who are changing how things are done.
‘Project Defy’ - Abhijit Sinha’s path-breaking alternative to the current education system, because “Generic education systems do not work. You cannot teach the same things to a lot of people”. Yes!
Priyanka Agarwal from Wishberry spoke of a new type of intimacy, digital intimacy - the need for content creators to form intimate relationships with their (super)fans. Wishberry’s latest, Triber will make it easier for artists and fans to achieve just this.
‘What Young India is Reading’ - Trisha Bora, Comissioning Editor, Juggernaut Books, gave us an insight into what young India is reading. Turns out it’s non-fiction, politics & current affairs. And second on the list, erotica!
‘What Makes Us Click’ - Shreyas Srinivasan, Founder, Insider,in & NH7.in, presented key findings from looking at data of 4,000 events that Insider has ticketed. Quick learnings: Ticketing is taking a larger piece of the revenue pie than before and early purchases/ first 10 day sales usually account for 15-20% of total sales. So yes event organisers, you can project how many people will show up!
Closing note from the session
“Selling tickets on the day of the event is like a first date, you never know which way it’ll go.” Shreyas Srinivasan, Founder, Insider,in & NH7.in.
Create. Share.Repeat.
What’s a creative industry conference without some noteworthy performances?
Anirban Dasgupta took a stab at the perils of entrepreneurship. “When employees get motivated, they quit.”There was lots more of where that came from, ofcourse. Catch more of his work here.
The storytellers from Kommune, set up by Roshan Abbas came on next. “We make you cry we make you laugh, weput a little bit of our hearts out there. ” And that’s exactly what happened. Hussain Haidry, Shamir Ruben and Rabia Kapoor shared deeply personal pieces. We heard stories on being an extrovert, on smoking, special relationships, and chai vs. coffee (always a battle!).
Not done yet! Ofcourse you’ve heard singer-songwriter Ankur Tewari!We got him at The Coalition, that beautiful writing and performance, Sid Coutto beat boxing, and everything was well in fifth gear!
Up that UBP
That’s Unique BragWorthy Proposition for those who weren’t there. Kunal Shah, Founder Freecharge introduced everyone to Delta4, a unique theory to calculate whether your product/ business will be successful. In his words, since nobody gives you frank feedback in India, Delta 4!
Days Of Future Past
“To create something sustainable for the genuine well-being of humanity, a short term hack will never work” – Anand Gandhi, Filmmaker & Innovator
Thanks to Anand Gandhi, Kunal Shah, Founder Freecharge, Shreyas Srinivasan, Founder, Insider,in & NH7.in, Roshan Abbas, TV Anchor, Communications wiz & Entrepreneur. Deep Kailey, Fashion Director and Director, Deep Kailey Ltd. and Vijay Nair moderating, we went from the deep end on the role of evolutionary biology in business (and Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi), the future of AI in the creative arts, the possibility of VR concerts, the need to integrate design with technology, the meaning of human life, phew! One of the most intense panels from the two days which caused The Coalition account to tweet out some BIG questions.
Vijay Nair, CEO OML had this to say “If these guys were teaching, I would’ve never dropped out.”
It Runs In The Family
A panel that brought together creators from different generations in the same family left us in awwww. Sorry, we had to say this. Internet sensation, Mallika Dua came with father, respected TV journalist, Vinod Dua, comedian Zakir Khan with father, noted sitar player Ismail Khan and Chinmay Bhogle, founder editor of The Ring Side View, came with the voice that has led us through thousands of hours of cricket, sports presenter Harsha Bhogle. ‘Is this a parent-teacher meeting?’ Mallika asked. Moderated by Tanmay Bhat, Ashish Shakya from AIB and Vijay Nair, we got reactions, respect (both ways!) and rolls of laughter in this candid session.
And with that, the Festival of Creativity brought its first Mumbai edition to close. Leaving us with all the things it promised – new plans, more questions and more, connections. Until we meet again.
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