Network18 Quotes

“Meanwhile, on Raghav’s wish list was a film company. He was a Hindi film buff, but he was not in any way star-struck. He simply thought it was a good business idea, and that the time was right. Vandana, who had a lot of connections in the film industry, was to be a part of the venture. Raghav launched the film company as a personal venture, though TV18 was a minority investor, with a holding of 20 per cent. In June, the Indian Film Company raised Rs 400 crore at London’s Alternative Investment Market, much to Raghav’s amazement. ‘Almost any guy with even half a track record and a gleam of new economy, media or technology in his eye could go to London, float a company which hardly did anything, probably even if revenues were zero, and pick up equity. We did exactly that with our film fund. We had no track record in the film business. Zero.’ But investors were more than willing to throw money around in 2007.”
― Indira Kannan, Network18: The Audacious Story of a Start-up That Became a Media Empire

“For Raghav, the elation came with a side of uneasiness. TV18 had posted a profit of Rs 2–3 crore that year, on revenues of about Rs 15 crore. The market was valuing the company at Rs 1800 crore. ‘When people were congratulating me, I was looking askance at them and saying, “Listen, this is going to crash.” How can you be valued at 600 times profit? You can’t. No company in the world can be valued at 600 times profit. But that was the madness at that time,’ he says.”
― Indira Kannan, Network18: The Audacious Story of a Start-up That Became a Media Empire

“It soon became clear why investors were clamouring to buy a piece of TV18 for Rs 180 a share. The stock market delivered a belated Valentine’s Day squeeze to the company as it listed on the BSE on 16 February 2000. The Financial Express reported that ‘[t]he TV18 stock opened on BSE at Rs 1950, moved to a high of Rs 1990 before closing at Rs 1667.’4 Outlook Money magazine explained what this meant: Last Wednesday’s explosive listing of Television Eighteen’s shares was a spectacular event, even by the standards of a market that has seen plenty of fireworks this past year. Investors who were able to buy shares the company issued in December certainly expected a handsome appreciation from the public offer price of Rs 180. But not a few were stunned when within 15 minutes of commencement of trading in the company’s shares, they were trading at Rs 1990—an astonishing 1006 per cent gain!”
― Indira Kannan, Network18: The Audacious Story of a Start-up That Became a Media Empire

“Radhakishan Raswe was Vandana’s driver in Mumbai, chauffeuring her and cameraman Hemant Chaturvedi around for shoots in a white Maruti Gypsy. In the early days, Vandana and Hemant were the entire ‘crew’; the camera assistants, light men and sound attendants would come much later. One day, Vandana recalls, Hemant snapped and let Raswe have it. ‘Firing him in terrible abusive language, he used all the MCs, BCs and said, “You will always remain a driver because you’ve shown no initiative to say ‘Can I help you?’” You are seeing us carrying stuff, but not even once have you said, ‘Can I become a part of this?’”’ That shook up the driver; today, Raswe is the head cameraman at TV18’s Mumbai office.”
― Indira Kannan, Network18: The Audacious Story of a Start-up That Became a Media Empire