With OpraahFx, I wanted to build a community of influencers and brands who work together by creating compelling stories for audiences to consume: Pranav Panpalia, Founder, OpraahFx and OP Gaming

From a YouTube content creator and influencer surrounding supercars to a very successful entrepreneur dealing in talent management, Pranav Panpalia has always been a go-getter in everything he sets his mind to.

The founder of OpraahFX and OP Gaming has had his fair share of hurdles when starting out, and success came only after many years’ worth of grinding.

In an exclusive interview with Abhishek Mallick of Sportskeeda Esports, Pranav opens up about his dreams for OpraahFX and how he envisions minimizing the collaborative gap between video game content creators and brands.

He also stressed the importance of physical and mental fitness for esports athletes during the conversation and how professional gamers can look towards streaming and content creation as a full-time alternate career path.

Here is an excerpt from the interview.

Q. Pranav, the first thing I wanted you to open up about is your journey. From being an influencer to becoming a very successful entrepreneur, the road was not exactly easy. Can you talk us through the hurdles and some of the challenges you faced along the way?

Pranav: I started my entrepreneurial journey in 2016, right after my graduation, by helping my elder brother set up Workly, a co-working space in Delhi. Working with many clients during this short stint at Workly, I learned how global brands function and do business.

Later on, in the same year, I started my YouTube channel — Pranav — dedicated to luxury cars. The following year, I became the first Indian YouTube ambassador for BMW and later collaborated with renowned personalities such as Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli.

This collective experience of having worked with brands and influencers laid a strong foundation for my entrepreneurial journey.

Intending to help, leverage, and mentor young and aspiring influencers, I conceptualized OpraahFx in 2017. Being an avid gamer myself, last year, I ventured into gaming by launching OP Gaming, a catalyst to make Indian gaming OP.

After its launch, OP Gaming bagged the three most prominent clients in the gaming space — FreeFire, PUBG, and Call Of Duty. Alongside these acts, under OpraahFx, I also manage India’s leading gaming content creators.

When I started OpraahFx back in 2016, the concept of Influencer Marketing was at a very nascent stage. Not many understood what it meant and the value it brings.

People did not even know who influencers were. Therefore, convincing brands and educating them about this new marketing tool was the biggest challenge then. Looking back, it was a fun experience that helped me grow and sharpen my convincing skills.

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Q. What was the vision and aim that went behind the creation of OpraahFX? What were some of the primary factors that helped it be as successful as it is today?

Pranav: With OpraahFx, I wanted to build a community of influencers and brands who work together by creating compelling stories for audiences to consume. With the type of brands and influencers we work with, this vision is rapidly becoming a reality.

We are still happily servicing our first client, and that, in a way, is our motivation every day. The main factor that worked in our favor is building an ecosystem of brands and influencers with a foundation of very young and agile minds.

Q. Over the years, OpraahFX was able to build up an incredible network of influencers and content creators from different niches that look to be for marketing services. What are some of the major organizational and managerial challenges you face when having to keep so many of your ducks in a row?

Pranav: I am a firm believer in hospitality and gentle communication with my clients and creators. Being in an industry wherein we create engaging content for viewers, it gets crucial to enable a positive experience for the brands and influencers alike during the process.

One lapse can have a disastrous impact on both — the brands and the influencers. For this, it is imperative to regularly maintain the quality of work we ideate and execute at all times. Hence, we constantly try and improve our internal processes to be able to achieve that.

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Q. You have recently launched OP Gaming, a gaming company that seeks to help both brands and gamers fulfill their “end to end” requirements. What were some of the thoughts that went behind the company? What kind of engagement are you looking for in terms of community participation?

Pranav: I have always been fascinated with gaming and have followed many gamers from the west for many years. For the last few years, I have observed the Indian gaming community closely and witnessed a massive gap between the two.

That is when I thought I need to foray into gaming and create an ecosystem for gamers, games, and brands of all kinds to collaborate and create more engaging and appealing gaming content. I aim to create a world wherein we all play, influence, and earn together — one big gaming family.

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Q. You are pretty vocal about the diversity that the esports industry brings with it when it comes to the inclusion of talent from various parts and niches of society. What are your personal opinions on the balance that competitive video games bring for women and those who are differently-abled?

Pranav: I always believed that gaming is for everyone. Be it a kid or grown-up, boy or girl, differently-abled or not, it is a world for everyone. One doesn’t need any special skills or training to make an entry into gaming. We learn and upskill by playing and getting defeated each day

All one needs is some passion, and I believe everyone who wants to be a part of this community has ample amounts of it. However, I would love to see more women and differently-abled gamers join this community, only to strike the equilibrium and propagate that it is a ‘world with a space for everyone.’

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Q. What do you feel about the video games content creation market in India? Do you see it as a full-time career option, and if so, where do you see the content creation industry heading in the next five years?

Pranav: Gaming, once considered a pastime, is emerging as a whopping industry of $2.8 billion in India. Growing at 40% CAGR, the Indian gaming sector is seeing great acceptance as a professional industry. With the easy availability of affordable smartphones and pocket-friendly data plans, gaming has penetrated to the nooks-and-corner of the country and world.

The lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic further strengthened this leisure activity. These chains of events led to the exponential rise of ‘gaming influencers or gaming content creators’ across the world. And the world is definitely in need of gamers who create lively, interactive, relatable, entertaining, and helpful gaming videos.

Content creator as a career is a phenomenal opportunity for gaming enthusiasts to build their community and earn while doing what they love the most. Despite having no fixed salaries, this career option is an excellent opportunity to make a living through brand integrations, sponsorships, ad sense, products/merchandise, etc.

Q. Wrist sprains, Carpal Tunnel syndromes, and mental fatigue have often been some of the more widespread health problems that professional esports talents face today. Especially in India, health and wellness for professional players is not exactly a priority among esports organizations. Can you share some of your thoughts on the matter and elaborate on the importance that both physical and mental health hold for any esport athlete?

Pranav: With gamers playing from the comfort of their homes, many people generally assume that esports is the safest sport to play. However, constantly playing for longer hours eventually affects their wrists, necks, backs, and mental peace in the long run. None of this is new or shocking, as it is meant to be if gamers don’t play responsibly and follow a fit gaming schedule.

Also, with the esports industry growing exponentially in India, especially after the COVID-19 lockdown last year, more and more aspiring gamers are choosing esports as their career. I believe now is the perfect time for esports organizations and federations to come together and create awareness about a fit gaming lifestyle before we lose many great gamers because of their physical and mental injuries.

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Q. You have been a big propagator of the idea that professional gamers should also dab into a bit of streaming and content creation themselves. How would you suggest an esports professional manages his/her time to balance out both these aspects?

Pranav: I have always believed that there needs to be a balance in the type/variety of content that creators put across because that is how one can grow and attract more audiences. Gamers who play professionally have a great opportunity to build a whole new fan base if they foray into gaming content creation alongside playing professionally.

This way, they can increase both engagement and revenue. More than time, it is about managing the process of content creation well. One can create a variety of content by playing one game only if he/she has planned, strategized, and played well.

Q. What kind of importance do you feel regional gamers hold in the Indian video games industry? In what way would you, or even OpraahFX, for that matter, channel the in-house talent to make the industry more lucrative for all the stakeholders?

Pranav: It is really interesting to see how regional gamers are growing in India. They have positioned themselves so strongly amongst their audiences. Few even enjoy better reach and engagement than national creators.

Also, we are currently in talks with a few regional gamers and are soon planning to collaborate with YouTube to help them grow wider.

Q. Can you please throw some light on the latest charity event — Mask On India — by OP Gaming?

Pranav: Mask On India was a non-profit initiative by OpraahFx and OP Gaming in collaboration with YouTubers Slayy Point and Mythpat. We raised INR 50+ lakhs for COVID relief by bringing together India’s most significant gamers and influencers who played games like Minecraft and Skribbl to engage with the audiences. 35+ Indian influencers joined a 7.5-hour YouTube live stream on April 25 and raised funds for oxygen supply in the country.

Scheduled on the day of an IPL match, this charity stream withstood the true test of their “influence” as we received an overwhelming response from the audiences with 10M+ total views.

Q. Before we conclude our session, can you provide our readers with some advice as to how the gamers of tomorrow should choose brands to partner with?

Pranav: The best way to create engaging branded video content is by deeply understanding the needs and wants of your audiences. Show, promote, and sell them only what they want and resonate with, and not what gets you more revenue.

Choosing the latter will only increase your un-subscription numbers. So, the best way to decide over brands is to interact with your audiences and learn what they want.