Bootstrap First, Raise Money Later from Udupi, Karnataka: Rohith Bhat’s Exhilarating Journey with Robosoft (Part 5)

Sramana Mitra: Both of them were structured as subsidiaries of Robosoft?

Rohith Bhat: Yes.

Sramana Mitra: You continued Robosoft with the regular format of doing services projects?

Rohith Bhat: Yes.

Sramana Mitra: What was the revenue level of Robosoft at this point when you launched these two companies?

Rohith Bhat: During 2010 to 2011, it was $3 million. What happened in Robosoft was we were able to go out in the market and tell more and more customers about our capabilities. In the initial couple of years, it was more about selling technology capabilities. We also started having design capabilities.

Our customers would come to one company and we would come up with an app strategy, design, and engineering under one roof. That still continues until now. From 2013 to 2017, the app has moved on from being this standalone entity to something more complex. It started coming with a middleware and backend. Now an app is much more than what you see on the device. It’s a whole bunch of technology.

Building an app used to take two to three people in three months. Now building an app is more involved. It’s not just about building an app on the phone but also building really strong backend technology as well.

Sramana Mitra: I have a bunch of questions now. Your point is well-taken that the app is more complex now. If you look at the pure services business that now includes design and more complex implementation, what is the scale of that business in 2017?

Rohith Bhat: It’s close to $10 million.

Sramana Mitra: Does that $10 million include the two subsidiaries?

Rohith Bhat: Without the two subsidiaries. Both subsidiaries, together, generate $8 million.

Sramana Mitra: What is the split? Which business is the bigger business?

Rohith Bhat: The games business generates around $6 million to $7 million.

Sramana Mitra: In the games business, what is the business model? Are you doing free-to-play games?

Rohith Bhat: We are doing freemium games there – Farmville kind of games. We have a game that’s about building a restaurant. This one game had generated close to $20 million in lifetime revenue over the last three years.

Sramana Mitra: What kind of premium digital goods do you sell in that? What’s the storyline?

Rohith Bhat: It’s about being a culinary master. The idea is there are customers who line up to eat at the restaurant and you need to get to seat them, take their orders, and cook their meals. When the game starts, it starts with two tables. As you progress through the game, you’re able to add up to around 25 tables, increase appliances, and cook different cuisines from around the world.

This segment is part 5 in the series : Bootstrap First, Raise Money Later from Udupi, Karnataka: Rohith Bhat’s Exhilarating Journey with Robosoft
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