MyStarHub Launches India’s First Celebrity Shout-out Platform

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Common is not so common in India these days, especially when it comes to gifting. With technology at the fingertips and money in their pockets, millennials are looking out for a unique gifting solution to stand out from the crowd. For the generation which is more affluent than its predecessors, unique gifts and gifting styles have become a part of their image. The rise of gifting culture is evident from reports that expect India to emerge as a leading contributor to the global gifting market poised to become $475 billion by 2024. The country’s gift market itself is set to grow exponentially to $84 billion by 2024 from the present $65 million.

The personalised gift segment which witnessed quadrupled growth in the last five years will be a major contributor to the aforementioned growth. Coming a long way from handmade greeting cards to custom made gadgets, the sector is now open for groundbreaking innovative concepts. Tapping this opportunity of taking personalised gifting beyond the old-fashioned options, MyStarHub brings India’s first platform for booking personalized videos from celebrities. Offering an option to book a personal video message as a gift to someone, MyStarHub is one of its kind platform in India that will bring fans and their chosen stars closer.

Along with short personified videos for fans, the startup will also offer videos for commercial use by businesses such as wedding planning or organizations looking for celebrity personalised video messages. Such video shoutouts when used for commercial purpose will let the brands engage with customers without having the celebrities to travel long distances which would thereby optimize the overall cost for the organizers.

The Inception

Born with an aim to create a platform beyond social following of fans restricted to liking and commenting, MyStarHub was founded in October 2019 by Swapnil Mahajan, Namrata Mahajan, Pranav Chaturvedi, and Anchal Dhawan. In their endeavor is to create the most authentic and memorable fan experiences across the world, the partners came up with the platform where fans can book personalised video shoutouts from their favorite celebrities.

Launched in January 2020, MyStarHub will leave the cliched ideas of gifting far behind by bringing a contemporary choice to fans for making their moments memorable for the lifetime. Be it birthday wishes, anniversary greeting or any other glad tidings, the startup will allow fans to have short video messages from celebs recorded for themselves or their friends and family.

The Business Model

Introducing the first-of-its-kind platform in India, MyStarHub brings popular names across industries and their fans together on a single stage where fans can request their stars to create a short video exclusively for them. Fans can simply register and login to MyStarHub website or app and ask their favorite star for a personalised video by paying for it. They can also download the video to create memorabilia for life and share it on their social media pages.

For celebrities, the platform offers a stage to engage with their fan bases and let them feel more connected. By registering as a star on the app/website, regional, domestic and international celebs can connect and attract fans who often feel left out and unengaged. It will also give them an opportunity to monetize their personal fan interaction, the market for which is huge especially in India.

The Road Ahead

In a country where celebrity worship syndrome is a trend, MyStarHub, with the tagline 'Dreams do come "True"', will make the dream of getting personalised wishes from one’s favorite star come true. The platform will let millennials touch the hearts of their loved ones by surprising them with a personal video message from their celebrity crush. Creating a marketplace for fans to book video shoutouts from athletes, artists, influencers, superstars, and celebrities like Barkha Sengupta, Niti Taylor, the startup has laid the foundation of new-age gifting alternatives for the modern generation.

About Founder

Swapnil Mahajan: Coming from a stellar media background, Swapnil is a seasoned professional who started her corporate journey in the year 2008 with Grohe. Moving ahead she joined Times of India where she took on driving sales and marketing for the TOP clients in India. She has effectively designed & executed the branding strategy for the organization across various platforms. Before venturing into entrepreneurship, Swapnil headed the North-east region for Prime Focus Technologies. With a vision to bring the largest platform that brings the masses and fans closer to their celebrities/talent, Swapnil founded MyStarHub in June of 2019.

About Co-Founders

Namrata Mahajan: Namrata comes with a strong financial & technical background and MystarHub embarks her journey from being a banker to an entrepreneur. Namrata’s financial sector journey began in 2004 with Citibank. Following this, Namrata headed the South Extension branch as the Head of Service and Operations and worked on various critical initiatives.

Anchal Dhawan - Anchal is one of the core founding members who joined hands with the company from the day of its inception. Anchal comes from strategic management and a core leadership background. He has executed and successfully delivered projects across FMCG, Media and technology platforms.

About Founding Member

Pranav Chaturvedi: Bitten by the entrepreneurial bug at an early age, Pranav started his career by founding an event management firm. His media and entertainment journey began in 2008 with Taj Television in the sales and strategy department. Prior to co-founding MystarHub, Pranav was associated with Prime Focus Ltd and spearheaded multiple roles for more than 9 years.


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