-Dhawal Agrawal, Co-founder, Quriverse

Team 100X.VC interviewed the Founders' of their Portfolio Companies about their Start-up journey; from idea, execution to overcoming challenges. Here, Dhawal Agrawal, Co-founder, Quriverse shares his responses.

Q1. How did the idea of the Quriverse come up?

I met Abhishek in my second year of college, and he had an idea to create something related to fandom. At that time, I was working on building a coding community at my college and was also very interested in the anime fandom. The idea of creating a community for fans caught my attention, so we decided to start by building an RSS reader to track our interests. We were pleasantly surprised by the positive response we received from other students who wanted to use the tool. This encouraged us to develop a customized solution to improve the fan experience and address the shortcomings of existing solutions.

Q2. What made you start working on and executing this idea?

I have always been interested in creating software products. After receiving positive feedback for our RSS reader on our college campus, we started working on building a product that met the needs of the community. The rapid growth of our community gave us the confidence that it has the potential to become something significant. The success of other community platforms like Discord and One Football also boosted our confidence and motivation.

Q3. When did you realize the need to raise Venture Capital - Seed funding?

In 2021, we developed and launched a web app that offered curated content and forums for users to communicate. Although we gained a few users, we realized that we needed to improve the level of engagement within our communities. While we had a distribution platform in place, we needed to enhance the interactive features of our product, such as live streaming and creator tools. Therefore, in August 2021, we decided to seek venture capital to expedite this process and make it more efficient.

Q4. How has 100X helped you at the beginning of your journey?

100X has played a crucial role in our journey thus far. It is vital for startups to have early believers who can validate the business and help it get off the ground quickly. The constant guidance from the core team at 100X has helped us stay on track and move in the right direction. Additionally, the community of founders across different cohorts has provided us with valuable support and assistance in numerous areas.

Q5. Has your startup pivoted? If so, What has the pivot been?

Initially, we set out to create a product for all types of social fandoms. However, we soon realized that each fandom had specific needs. We also noticed that the anime fandom in India has been growing rapidly in recent years, but there are not many tools available specifically for that community. This prompted us to develop quriverse, a platform tailored specifically for anime fans and creators.

Q6. What challenges did you face & how did you overcome them?

One of the major challenges we faced during the early days of our startup was obtaining funding and finding appropriate mentorship. Abhishek and I were working on developing our business, but we were struggling to find direction. 100x provided us with the necessary guidance to get us on the right track. At this stage, we faced another challenge of building a strong team. It was difficult to find individuals with the right skills and mindset for the job, but after much effort, we were able to assemble a talented group of people.

Q7. What stage is your startup at present?

We have completed the beta testing phase and our web application is currently only accessible by invitation. We plan to open it up to the public in the coming month and also launching our android app. We have also been working on improving the user experience by experimenting with different technologies.

Q8. As founders, what are your goals for the next 1-2 years?

Our goal for the next two years is to expand quriverse globally, giving animators a source of income. We aim to make quriverse the most recognized brand in the animation industry by entering the digital market and expanding into areas such as content distribution, licensing, and more.

Q9. What keeps you motivated & keeps you going?

Starting a company can be tough, but it is also very rewarding. The possibility of creating something that will make a difference for many people is what drives me to keep going. Additionally, the support and feedback we receive from our community help to keep us motivated.

Q10. Your message for Startup founders building in the Social Media sector?

My message to other founders building in the same sector would likely be to focus on creating a unique and valuable product or service that addresses a specific need or problem for users. In the crowded and highly competitive world of social media, it's important to stand out and offer something that sets your platform apart from others. This could involve focusing on a specific niche or target market, leveraging new technologies or features, or providing exceptional customer service and support.

About Dhawal Agrawal:

Dhawal is an alumnus of HBTU Kanpur and has experience in developing and scaling software products. During his time in college, he made several contributions to the development of the coding community and mentored many students. He also created several tech applications and started the coding club at his college. He has been involved in the anime ecosystem for the past four years. Currently, at Quriverse, he is working on creating the future of the Anime Community Platform for fans and influencers worldwide.