We foresee a world that heavily relies on the possibilities offered by apps: Arpit Jain

Adgully has been turning the spotlight on the entrepreneurs who fought against all odds to bring their dreams to fruition in our special series – START-UP STARS. We at Adgully wholeheartedly support the ‘Vocal for Local’ movement and have been featuring numerous local/ homegrown businesses, brands, and Apps in the count.

GreedyGame has been growing at a rate of 2X (100 per cent growth rate) despite not being a VC-funded company. Their ARR touched $17. 2 million in 2021-22 and it is exceeding rapidly in 2023-24. The company solely focuses on business profitability, which explains its success during this time of market volatility. While other companies are laying off employees, GreedyGame is slowly and steadily hiring employees, growing its employee base.

It has opened third office in Delhi after Bangalore and Delavare, USA. It plans to expand in other metro cities in India. Meanwhile, its operations have expanded in countries like Thailand, Singapore, London, Luxembourg, Dubai, etc.

In an exclusive interaction with Adgully, Arpit Jain, Founder and CEO, GreedyGame, speaks at length about how the company came into being, empowering publishers with AI-powered SaaS platform PubScale, the evolution of the app developer as well as gaming ecosystems in India, and much more.

What inspired the founding of your start-up venture and what problem did you set out to solve?

During our time at IIT Ropar, I collaborated with Arink Verma (who later became co-founder of GreedyGame) on a project called Enactus. The project was aimed at developing sustainable business models for local communities, working on it helped us think about business challenges and problem solving. Around that time, we noticed the growing popularity of mobile gaming among our friends at college and how they were actively trying to avoid disruptive pop-up ads, going to the extent of disconnecting their internet connections while playing. This observation sparked an idea: what if we could revolutionise in-game advertising by adopting a content-driven approach and prioritising user experience. Thus, in October 2013, GreedyGame was born.

Our journey began when we got shortlisted for the TLabs accelerator program in New Delhi, propelling us forward and igniting our vision. Further, recognising the potential of our offerings, we expanded our services beyond gaming apps and extended our reach to websites as well. Since our inception, we have been committed to providing innovative, contextual and non-intrusive advertising solutions that benefit both app developers, publishers, advertisers and users, offering a win-win situation for all stakeholders involved.

Could you provide an overview of your product/ service and its unique features or benefits?

Sure. Our recently launched product, PubScale, is a comprehensive AI-powered SaaS platform, specially designed to empower publishers and drive growth in their mobile app businesses. This all-in-one platform integrates ad monetisation, user acquisition, ad mediation, and analytics solutions, streamlining the technical and operational aspects of app monetisation and user acquisition.

With PubScale, publishers are equipped with the essential tools to effectively monetise their apps while reducing the burden of complex processes. By consolidating these vital functionalities in one platform, PubScale allows publishers to focus their efforts on creating outstanding content, ultimately improving the overall user experience.

The platform helps app developers in many ways with various offerings. For instance, PubScale AdX serves as an ad monetisation platform that helps app and game publishers monetise their users. It has a proven track record of empowering over 1,500 publishers over its decade-long experience. With PubScale, publishers can connect seamlessly with 15+ premium demands like Google, Inmobi, Pubmatic, and other top global advertisers. With high-quality ads being delivered to relevant demand partners, publishers can achieve high fill rates and eCPMs. Furthermore, it ensures brand safety by serving policy-compliant ads.

PubScale SDKX utilises the power of native ads and creates innovative non-intrusive ad placements for game and app developers on the fly. It also acts as an ad mediation platform that helps publishers optimize their revenue by enhancing ad performance. With multiple premium demands outside AdMob, it employs industry-best bidding techniques and strategies to ensure that inventory never remains unsold. This subsequently boosts fill rate, eCPM, and ultimately revenue. It supports cross-format fills to determine the best compatible ad formats and placements which leads to optimised ad performance. It proudly boasts of helping its clients achieve an average revenue growth rate up to 40% with around 500+ integrations so far.

PubScale GROW serves as a mobile app user acquisition platform for app developers. With this tool, developers can set goal-based campaigns to drive user engagement and acquire users for their platform. It serves as the ultimate mobile DSP to obtain quality app installs and high conversion volumes without compromising user experience. This ensures personalised ad targeting to improve ad relevance and attract the right users. Also, developers can gain easy access to premium ad inventory and drive quality traffic to their apps by tapping into PubScale’s rich network of 1,000+ partners. This programmatic advertising platform possesses remarkable campaign and conversion tracking capabilities to improve ad performance.

How does your start-up differentiate itself from competitors in the market?

Our competitive edge lies in its revolutionary integrated platform, ‘PubScale’, which outshines other market competitors by providing a holistic solution for app and game publishers. In contrast to rival offerings, PubScale proactively addresses the core challenges faced by publishers, such as limited marketing and monetisation expertise and resource constraints.

The focal point of our start-up is to empower publishers of all sizes, recognising the struggles they face in effectively monetising their apps and gaining visibility. Through the PubScale SaaS platform, we extend tools to publishers, shouldering the responsibilities of marketing and monetisation. This allows them to focus on honing their app (including website) and game content, while PubScale drives their business growth. At the heart of PubScale’s distinctiveness are several key features:

All-in-One Solution: Unlike competitors who require publishers to rely on multiple tools, PubScale offers an integrated console approach, simplifying the journey for developers and publishers. It becomes the one-stop platform for app growth and monetisation, streamlining their operations and decision-making processes.

Seamless Integration: PubScale boasts easy technology integration, complemented by a user-friendly dashboard interface. This ensures a smooth onboarding experience for publishers, regardless of their technical proficiency.

Expert Guidance: Recognising that publishers often face limitations in time and resources, PubScale acts as a valuable ally. It not only accelerates their monetisation process, but also bridges the knowledge gap by offering expert guidance in marketing and monetisation management.

Dedicated Customer Support: The PubScale platform is backed by a customer success team, ensuring publishers receive dedicated support whenever they need it. This personalised assistance helps them navigate challenges and make the most of the platform’s capabilities.

By combining these strengths, PubScale distinguishes itself as the go-to choice for publishers and advertisers seeking a comprehensive, efficient, and supportive solution to thrive in the competitive market. With PubScale’s powerful suite of services, publishers can confidently entrust their business growth to a platform that truly understands their needs and aspirations.

What milestones has your company achieved so far, and what are your future growth plans?

Over the past decade, our company has achieved significant milestones, positioning ourselves as a prominent player in the advertising and app monetisation industry. Our journey began in 2013, and within just two years, in 2015, we successfully launched in-game advertising, establishing a strong presence in the mobile gaming industry. In 2018, we further showcased our commitment to innovation by piloting Google AdMob in native advanced format.

Our dedication to pushing boundaries continued in 2019 when we partnered with Google as their first distributor of native advanced formats on a global scale. Simultaneously, we released SDKX, an ad revenue optimisation platform that empowers publishers to boost revenue on existing ad networks, enabling us to cater to non-gaming app publishers as well.

Building on these successes, 2021 was a pivotal year for us, as we introduced GROW, a self-serve ad buying platform that empowers publishers with greater control over their ad campaigns.

The year 2023 marked another major milestone for us with the launch of PubScale, a comprehensive app growth and monetisation platform tailored for publishers. This further solidified our position as a one-stop solution provider in the adtech space.

Our success is attributed to the strong partnerships we have formed with prominent demand partners like Google, InMobi, PubMatic, Criteo, Smaato, Affle, Affinity, Mobavenue and others, which have bolstered our inventory yield. On the client side, we have partnered with renowned publishers such as Gameloft, MX Player, Reliance Games, Truecaller, OLX, Amanotes, NDTV, Doubtnut, Kwalee Games, HT, Teslatech, and others, showcasing our capability in supporting publishers to generate more revenue.

Looking towards the future, our growth plans revolve around continuous innovation, expanding into new geographies, and developing cutting-edge solutions that empower publishers and advertisers alike. We are committed to staying at the forefront of the industry, driving advancements, and delivering exceptional value to our partners and clients.

What problem does your start-up solve?

Our start-up addresses the fundamental challenges faced by small and medium-sized app developers and publishers in today’s highly competitive market. While creating an app is now easier than ever, many developers struggle to progress beyond that point. The larger companies have the financial resources to acquire users and generate revenue effortlessly, but the smaller players often find themselves at a loss.

Enter PubScale – the solution to this problem. We specialise in providing assistance to these developers and publishers, offering them a guiding hand at every stage of their journey. Whether it is user acquisition, revenue generation, or any other point along the way, we are here to support and empower them.

We understand that publishers may have excellent skills in crafting high-quality content and developing apps and games, but they often lack the expertise in effectively marketing and monetising their products. This is where PubScale comes in. By filling this critical gap, we equip publishers with the essential tools and platforms they need to scale their business successfully.

In summary, our platform serves as a bridge between app developers/ publishers and their potential for growth. We help them navigate the complexities of the market, ensuring they can reach their target audience, generate revenue, and achieve sustainable success. With PubScale on their side, smaller players no longer need to be overshadowed by the big players – they have the support they deserve to thrive in the competitive app industry.

How much funding has the company raised, and from which investors?

The company was founded in 2013 and has raised approximately $1.2 million through four funding rounds to date. The most recent funding round was in 2020, with an undisclosed amount raised. In the previous rounds, notable investors such as Times Internet, Ankit Nagori, Sujeet Kumar, Anuj Choudhary and Ravi Garikipati participated in supporting the company’s growth and development.

What is the company’s growth plan and vision for the future?

We foresee a world that heavily relies on the convenience and possibilities offered by apps. Central to our mission is the goal to democratise the app economy, making app growth accessible to a broader range of creators and entrepreneurs. With this shared vision, we are strategically aligned to expand our presence both in the United States and Southeast Asian countries. The positive traction already experienced for PubScale in various countries like the US, UK, Singapore, Indonesia, Morocco, Egypt, Thailand, UAE, and other countries has reinforced the decision to pursue further expansion in these regions.

To achieve this growth, one of the core strategies is to strengthen the team by recruiting passionate and talented individuals who share our vision of innovation and excellence.

In addition to geographic expansion, we aim to enhance the user experience for publishers by developing further cutting-edge tools and solutions with PubScale. The goal is to enable publishers to focus on improving their apps and games while benefiting from the technological advancements provided by PubScale. This involves investing in research and development to create new ad formats, data-driven insights, and advanced targeting techniques.

Furthermore, to stay at the forefront of the advertising industry, we plan to leverage emerging technologies such as AI and machine learning. These advanced technologies will enable the delivery of personalised and relevant ads to users based on insightful data points, ensuring a more tailored and engaging ad experience.

Overall, our growth plan is driven by a commitment to innovation, excellence, and strategic expansion in key regions, while its vision for the future revolves around creating value for publishers and advertisers through advanced technology and data-driven insights.

Who are your target customers, and how are you acquiring them?

As an adtech company, app developers, websites, and gaming companies are our primary customers. For app developers, we offer non-intrusive ad formats that seamlessly integrate into their apps, allowing them to monetise their creations without compromising user experience. Website owners and publishers can benefit from PubScale’s native ad formats that blend well with their site’s design, providing an effective way to generate revenue from online content. Gaming companies, on the other hand, can leverage PubScale’s innovative in-game advertising solutions to monetise their games while ensuring a smooth and uninterrupted gaming experience for users.

What are the major challenges the company faces currently?

Ensuring continuous growth and profitability at the same time is always a challenge. This becomes particularly true when attempting to expand into international markets. The complexities and unique demands of these markets require careful navigation and adaptation to local conditions.

Additionally, a critical challenge lies in acquiring the appropriate resources and talent to effectively operate in the international arena. Finding the right people with the necessary expertise and understanding of diverse markets can be an uphill task.

Moreover, maintaining a healthy unit economics while expanding globally poses another obstacle. Balancing expenses, revenue streams, and operational efficiency becomes crucial to ensure sustainable growth and avoid financial setbacks.

However, we are actively addressing these challenges and diligently working towards developing effective strategies to overcome them. By leveraging our strengths and learning from experiences, we are optimistic about charting a successful path towards international expansion and continued profitability.

How does the company measure success, and what are its key performance indicators (KPIs)?

We measure our success using several key performance indicators (KPIs). Firstly, we track the number of publishers we onboard each year to gauge the expansion of our network and reach. Our year-on-year revenue growth is a crucial metric that showcases our ability to attract app developers and generate increased ad impressions, contributing to higher revenue. Of course, profitability remains a top priority to ensure our financial health. Additionally, we closely monitor ad impressions, click-through rates (CTR), ad fill rate, and eCPM to assess ad performance and engagement, enabling us to optimize our offerings. Customer retention and satisfaction are equally vital for our long-term success, and we continuously strive to maintain healthy relationships with our publishers and advertisers. By leveraging these KPIs, we gain valuable insights to make data-driven decisions, driving our ongoing growth and success.