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Rishi Khiani 31
Company: Urban Eye Media
and Konversys.
Vital statistics: UEM
was established in 1996, Konversys in 2005. Employs 28
full-time staff.
Where it’s at: Ballard
Estate. UEM (www.urbaneye.com) is in the process of being acquired by one of
the country’s largest media houses. Khiani will stay on
the company’s board. He also continues as CEO of
Konversys, which is working on its first round of
venture capital funding.
What it does: Urban Eye
Media “gets companies online” and helps them establish a
strong Internet presence through web design, marketing,
promotions and branding. Konversys helps companies
upgrade to high-tech standards and incorporate
sophisticated technologies like RSS, Ajax, podcasts, and
even blogs.
How it works: Usability
experts help web designers and business marketers merge
the most sophisticated technology systems with
cutting-edge design.
Revenue model: Clients
from around the world hire the company not only to
create websites, but to help maintain them and grow
traffic. Annual revenues run into millions of dollars.
Clients include the US Army, Nike, FIFA 2006, Universal
Music, CNBC-TV18, Samsung, the Aditya Birla Group and
Bluffmaster! producer RS Films.
History: Armed with a
business degree from Babson College in Boston, Khiani
returned home to Mumbai in 1996 and created UEM quite
“by accident”. He was called into a discussion on a B2B
portal for the textile industry, and ended up creating
the website on his own. Local media got wind of it, and
Verve magazine became his second client. Since then, the
company has grown organically, through viral marketing.
“That’s the reason we were unaffected by the boom and
bust,” explained Khiani. “We diversified, found offshore
clients and added services. And we’ve stayed small.
We’re not a low-cost agency, so we take on few clients
and do our best work with them.”
Industry snapshot: A
strong online presence is the way of the future and new
companies realise its importance, especially as the
30-second TV spot is dying a fast death. “Contextual
marketing, like Google does, and direct marketing is
going to eat its way into traditional advertising” said
Khiani. Still, Indian web designers are sorely lacking
both thinking and training. Interface design needs to be
given priority in schools.
Challenges: “The ‘build
it and they will come’ concept doesn’t apply to
websites,” said Khiani. He has to convince clients that
it takes a lot of work – and money – to launch and
maintain a site, as well as to market it right and drive
traffic to it. “Processes need to be set in place; you
need to show up on search engines, you need content
managers and editors, a real-time response team, banner
ads, otherwise a website is just going to gather dust.
There won’t be a return on investment.”
What’s next? “We’re on
the verge of a boom in e-commerce in India. Even
traditional companies are starting to catch on. We’ll
see this in as little as six months.” The main reason
for the growth spurt? Lots more credit cards, less
security concerns and multiple payment options. “Ebay
and online ticketing are spearheading the movement,”
said Khiani. “There’s going to be tremendous growth, but
it won’t be a bubble that will eventually burst. This
time around, everyone has done their homework. It makes
financial sense.”
Why Mumbai? Initially,
Khiani picked Mumbai as a base for UEM simply because
the city was home, the only place he could leverage his
contacts. But he doesn’t regret the decision. “Bangalore
may be more IT-savvy, but we’re targeting the media
companies and they’re all in Mumbai. So long as you’ve
differentiated yourself, it won’t matter where you’re
located.”
Photograph Nameet
Potnis
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