Maharsh Shah is a 23-year-old computer science and engineering graduate from Nirma University. He completed his Bachelor of Technology degree in May 2022 and was ready to start his career as an employee in an office. However, he had a different plan in mind. He had started freelancing in his second year of college, as a web developer for a startup, where he built a network and met his mentor and co-founder, Deep Kharadi. Deep had an MBA in sports management and had worked with big tournaments like IPL, ISL, and Pro Kabaddi, which gave him an insight into fan engagement.
Maharsh and Deep started ideating in June 2021 and decided to bring web3 and sports together to create NeoFanTasy. The reason for starting in India was that fans could only reach out to their favorite players if they had a strong connection. To make it easier for people to get a proper fan experience, they created NeoFanTasy so that people wouldn't need connections and could enjoy the experience through rewards.
NeoFanTasy is a fantasy game that rewards people with NFTs instead of cash to avoid gambling. The NFTs act as tokens that help in the fan experience that they arrange in partnership with sports teams. They incorporated their company, Next Block Technologies Pvt Ltd, on July 29, 2021, with NeoFanTasy as their product. To raise funds, they also started working as an agency to make NFTs and tokens.
Their hard work and the innovative idea paid off when they received recognition in 2021 from the Global Students' Entrepreneurs Award, GSEA, by the Entrepreneurs Organisation Gujarat. This recognition helped Maharsh get in touch with Kalyani Patel, the director at NG proteins, who gave him a few projects. They worked on marketing campaigns with NFTs.
At the same time, they were working on NeoFanTasy and had a team of 7 people. Prateek Toshniwal from Iv Growth Associates helped them raise their first funds. Maharsh had an emotional attachment to blockchain from his school days, as he was an avid quizzer, and to sports, as every Indian loves cricket. He said, "NeoFanTasy is something I myself would want to experience."
During college, Maharsh also had an idea to include blockchain in carbon credits to bring transparency. Although the idea was rejected by IIT Gandhinagar, he met his mentor, Satya Mehta, who was an entrepreneur and founder of RoomPe and KhannePe. Satya gave him all the answers he needed and guided him through his journey. "I had the vision in my mind, and I got the steps to reach there with the help of my mentor," said Maharsh.
His parents gave the paid-up capital to register the company as a private limited company. "My first pitch to investors was to my parents. My first investors are my parents," he said. As of now, NeoFanTasy had 1070 users and was re-furnishing the entire look of their website. By IPL 2023, they planned to organize daily matches.
Maharsh faced challenges when he started his company. His age was a disadvantage, and he struggled to convince potential stakeholders. But the rejections and guidance from his mentor shaped him, and he learned how to speak in a convincing manner that never showed his age.
According to Maharsh, the trend of starting up is wrong in the youth, as they didn't go into details of their ideas and wishes directly began. He faced this issue himself but was lucky that his idea had some viability and he had the right guidance. Social media gave the youth unreal expectations, and he advises people to educate themselves before starting a business.
He believes that if people truly value technology, then some innovative ideas would not fail. Unfortunately, he saw that even good products were failing because the market was ruled by greed.
Maharsh was determined to make a difference, so he gave up an internship at a prestigious NMC bank to pursue his startup dream. His parents were his biggest supporters, always standing by him in difficult times and financially as well.
Maharsh quickly became a beloved figure in the startup community, NeoFanTasy. Despite the risks involved in starting a business, he was confident that his startup would grow, even if slowly. His connections also helped him manage the risk.
Despite criticism from those who didn't understand his vision, Maharsh never wasted time explaining himself. He simply told them he started a business and left it at that. He had a passion for technology and advised others to follow their passions, rather than just chase money.
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Maharsh also stressed the importance of education and authenticity, telling others to "be real" and not be swayed by the glamorous and shiny lights of social media. He looked up to a mentor, or "guru," as a guiding force in his life, both personally and financially.
Maharsh was a natural risk-taker and this sometimes worried him. But he trusted his instincts and was always willing to take a chance. In three words, Maharsh was passionate, devoted, and a natural risk-taker.
Maharsh was just getting started, with big things on the horizon. He hinted at unnamed projects in the works, promising that this was just the beginning.
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