{"id":4567,"date":"2025-06-30T10:48:06","date_gmt":"2025-06-30T10:48:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/newsroom\/?p=4567"},"modified":"2025-06-30T10:48:06","modified_gmt":"2025-06-30T10:48:06","slug":"35-entrepreneurs-take-center-stage-at-indias-biggest-cricketing-stage-as-razorpay-launches-brand-campaign-on-jio-hotstar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/newsroom\/35-entrepreneurs-take-center-stage-at-indias-biggest-cricketing-stage-as-razorpay-launches-brand-campaign-on-jio-hotstar\/","title":{"rendered":"35 Entrepreneurs Take Center Stage at India\u2019s Biggest Cricketing Stage as Razorpay Launches Brand Campaign on Jio Hotstar"},"content":{"rendered":"

INDIA, Bengaluru, 6th May 2025:<\/b> In a first-of-its-kind celebration of entrepreneurship, <\/span>Razorpay<\/b><\/a>, India\u2019s Leading Full-Stack Payments and Banking Platform for Businesses, has today launched its most audacious brand campaign yet – <\/span>\u2018<\/b>Backing India\u2019s Boldest<\/b><\/a>\u2019<\/b>. <\/span>The company is using India\u2019s biggest cricketing screen time not to push its product, but to platform 35 homegrown startups and their visionary founders<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a cultural moment where fame is often synonymous with glamour, Razorpay flipped the script. By spotlighting these nation builders, the campaign offers a fresh set of role models beyond the usual glamorous icons. The campaign features <\/span>35 powerful ad films<\/b>, <\/span>airing during 20 cricket matches, till May 25th, on<\/b> Jio Hotstar<\/b>,<\/span> India\u2019s largest digital cricket platform.<\/b> These 15-second ad films will feature <\/span>brands like House of Masaba, MamaEarth,\u00a0 Pixxel, 1mg, Ixigo, Purplle, WholeTruth, Yogabar, Snitch, and more<\/b> –\u00a0 each one a testament to belief, resilience, and India\u2019s unstoppable entrepreneurial energy. <\/span>The campaign was conceptualised and executed in partnership with Talented,<\/b> Razorpay\u2019s creative agency.<\/b><\/p>\n

From launching with little more than a vision to scaling their businesses amidst countless obstacles,<\/span> these founders have one thing in common: Belief!<\/b> Premiering amidst the cricketing frenzy, the campaign is a tribute to the ambition, belief, and relentless pursuit that the founders embody as they build the future of India.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Brief on the Brand Film & Ads:<\/b> In a bold, creative play, the film challenges the traditional idea of advertising by replacing advertisements with powerful content.<\/b> Ditching the celebrity gloss and formulaic storytelling, the campaign puts real founders front and center:<\/span> in the new India, ambition is the new fame.<\/b> At its core is a brand film that <\/span>doesn’t sell a product – it sells the belief of 35 startup founders as the new faces of aspiration<\/span><\/i>. In the ads, each founder steps into the limelight not as an endorser but as a builder – showcasing the audacity, grit, and innovation of disruptors shaping India\u2019s next decade.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As the film says, <\/span>\u201cThese are not ads. This is a movement.\u201d <\/span><\/i>By giving stage time to founders, Razorpay invites the culture to rethink: why must fame equal glamour? <\/span>For a B2B brand to claim space in a D2C arena, and then let its customers take that space to its end-customers, is a bold take on Indian heroism.<\/b><\/p>\n

Links to Founder Ads: <\/b>House of Masaba ft. Masaba Gupta<\/b><\/a>, <\/b>Ixigo ft. Aloke Bajpai<\/b><\/a>, <\/b>Yoga Bar ft. Suhasini Sampath<\/b><\/a> and <\/b>Pixxel ft. Awais Ahmed<\/b><\/a>.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

The campaign is launched across Razorpay\u2019s social channels – <\/span>YouTube<\/b><\/a>, <\/span>LinkedIn<\/b><\/a>, <\/span>Instagram<\/b><\/a>, and <\/span>X<\/b><\/a>. <\/span>This isn\u2019t advertising as usual – it\u2019s a tribute, a rallying cry, and a creative reset all rolled into one.<\/span><\/p>\n

Commenting on the launch, Harshil Mathur, CEO & Co-founder of Razorpay said<\/b>,<\/span> \u201cFor years, cricket ad breaks have belonged to celebrities. This year, we flipped the script. We handed the spotlight to 35 bold individuals – not entertainers, but builders. People creating jobs, solving real problems, and shaping India\u2019s future. At Razorpay, we believe bold ambition sparks true transformation, and it deserves the spotlight.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

And instead of asking them to talk about Razorpay, we asked them to talk about something far more powerful – their vision. Because if India has to grow, we need more young people to build. We need ambition to be celebrated. We need founders to be visible. <\/span><\/i>I believe \u2018Backing India\u2019s Boldest\u2019 will be more than a campaign, it\u2019ll be the start of a movement, a cultural reset.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Apuarv Sethi, Senior VP of Marketing at Razorpay, said<\/b>, <\/span>“This campaign is a reflection of what we\u2019ve always believed at Razorpay, that founders are not just business leaders, they are nation builders. And in a world where B2B marketing often defaults to product features, we chose to lead with purpose. <\/span><\/i>We\u2019re making a bold marketing choice here, prioritising storytelling over self-promotion – because building brand love today means standing for something bigger than yourself. <\/i><\/b>We\u2019re not just here to power their payments – we\u2019re here to champion their vision, celebrate their courage, and be their biggest cheerleader as they build what\u2019s next for India.”<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Aarushi Periwal & Pearl Alex, Creatives at Talented said, <\/b>\u201cThis brief had us mind blown, and terrified. In a way, we were working with 35 clients towards one idea. Cheering these founders felt real and magical because they weren\u2019t names on a list, they\u2019re the brands in our kitchens, on our skin, on our phones. These people are building things you and I use every day. That made it personal. <\/span><\/i>This campaign gave many their first IPL ad, a \u2018Look, Ma, I\u2019m on TV\u2019 moment. You rarely get to say an ad changed something – but this one felt like it did<\/i><\/b>.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Shivang Monga, Independent Director said<\/b>, \u201cOur founders weren\u2019t camera-first talents, which meant earning their trust through genuine curiosity, making them feel at ease on set. Some days that meant directing, others it meant being the off-camera jester. <\/span><\/i>Beyond scale, this campaign demanded we function as one team – no production house-agency-client lines, just collective trust and belief in the mission<\/i><\/b>.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

With this campaign, Razorpay becomes <\/span><\/i>the first company in India to feature these many startups in a brand campaign during a single cricketing season<\/i><\/b>, investing significantly to ensure these bold voices are heard <\/span><\/i>out in front of millions – turning entrepreneurs into icons and everyday dreams into a national conversation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This latest campaign is simply the largest stage yet in Razorpay\u2019s ongoing journey of championing India\u2019s entrepreneurial spirit. From creating founder-first payment and business banking tools that quietly power the backend of thousands of businesses, to launching initiatives like Rize, Venture Investment Program, <\/span>Imagined Through AI print ad campaign featuring 45 founders<\/b> and the latest The Next Big Thing campaign, Razorpay has shown that backing founders isn\u2019t a strategy, it\u2019s a commitment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

INDIA, Bengaluru, 6th May 2025: In a first-of-its-kind celebration of entrepreneurship, Razorpay, India\u2019s Leading Full-Stack Payments and Banking Platform for Businesses, has today launched its most audacious brand campaign yet – \u2018Backing India\u2019s Boldest\u2019. The company is using India\u2019s biggest cricketing screen time not to push its product, but to platform 35 homegrown startups and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":4568,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[33,194,192,193],"class_list":{"0":"post-4567","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-featured-stories","8":"tag-razorpay","9":"tag-razorpay-backing-indias-boldest","10":"tag-razorpay-brand-campaign","11":"tag-razorpay-ipl-campaign"},"modified_by":"Anu Saraswat","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4567"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4567\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4569,"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4567\/revisions\/4569"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/razorpay.com\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}