WCRC Inspirational Leaders: Rajesh Dembla, Pacific Gaming
Rajesh Dembla, Founder Pacific Gaming and Serial Entrepreneur
Rajesh Dembla, Pacific Gaming is a serial investor with a portfolio of 26 companies globally.
Earliest Investor in Dunzo, which went on to be Google’s First direct investment in India.
Early Investor in Survaider, also funded by a couple of Founders of Infosys
Was a Key Member of Justdial from a Startup to a Publicly Listed Entity.
Founder Pacific Gaming Pvt Ltd, Founder One World Travel Club, Founder World Trade Bureau
USP & Differentiator of the Brand
Innovation in Technology and Payments. We are the pioneers of Instant Cash out in India. The testimony of this comes from the fact that we have been the fastest growing online gaming company in India in 2018.
Pacific Gaming has been understanding its customers, building products that are a fantastic balance of what is in demand now and futuristic at the same time. It is this attitude that is the real USP. The team believes in each other and has been able to put out the best experience for its users.
Future plans for the brand
To become the most respected brand in the Gaming Sector. Expand into Europe, Africa, South America in 2019. PGPL will be setting up Global Operations through its entities in Europe and USA. Increase the product portfolio organically and through M&As. We are exploring potential acquisitions not just in India, Australia, Europe and South America are interesting options for us. Add Live Casino Online and P2P Betting in 2019.
What according to you are the key traits of a successful leader?
Ability to hire the right Talent, Nurture them, Inspire them, I have always believed that taking care of their Interests will ensure half the job is done.
5 Traits are very critical for a successful Leader
- Discipline – It’s the boring aspects of business that are very critical. They make the brand and Balance sheet look good, a great leader would never ignore or delegate this completely.
- Integrity – It’s impossible to become a successful Leader if you lack Integrity. You have to be some one your Team, Customers and Vendors can trust completely.
- Persistence – Often, people give up before they are just about to make it, you have to be someone who believes and goes after your goals, continuously and always.
- Execution – success majorly depends on quality of execution. A successful leader will never allow this aspect to be compromised even if his life is at stake.
- Vision to build world class Products – Having the vision for the company is as critical as knowing where you are headed, a successful leader has both short and long term goals and plans crystal clear.
I have tried my best to follow the above in my work.
What has been your driving force or philosophy in life?
Hunger, to succeed has been the biggest driving force. Having started my life on the railway Platform at Bangalore, being Homeless and uneducated, made me feel that I would have to keep striving hard to succeed, I could never rest or be second to anyone. I am also deeply Spiritual.
My philosophy has been to be honest to my work at all times. The following points have helped me a lot
- Be original,
- Believe in myself and my work,
- Surround myself with people who are better than me
- Always try to be the world’s best
- Lead from the front
- Don’t care about criticism
- Learn from everyone, what is best in them.
- Nothing is impossible
How do you define success and measure up to your own definition?
When others want to be like you, follow in your footsteps and respect you for being who you are, I think one can feel proud. I think I have been able to inspire thousands of people in life, I know there are hundreds of new ventures in India that are created because of my efforts. I feel good about them. The journey is still on, I am looking forward to many hundreds more. Would like to add,I work towards making today better than yesterday, I feel good when my Peers and competition respect me.
When my team looks up to me but does not depend on me, when I have repeat customers over time, when I sleep well at night and the fact that I am constantly motivated to grow and innovate. I Think I have been able to be all of the above to some extent most of the times.
One thing you have to let go off as an entrepreneur
Looking at faults in my people. Every team member I have worked with has pluses and minuses, I have learnt over a period of time that I am able to get the best from them only when I focus on their strengths. Whenever I have been critical, it has worked against the goals.
People like it best when they are liked or appreciated. I have let go looking at their faults, when I see a fault in a person, I appreciate the other positives in that person and reward them to do the same more often.
It has been tough to make this change, I am a Virgo, criticizing comes naturally to me.
How do you see the market 5 years down the line?
The next 5 years are going to be exciting, The Baby Boomers and Millennials will grow in numbers. Infrastructure will be far ahead of where it is today. Buying power will increase considerably.
Universal basic Income policy may see its birth during this period. The world will be far more conducive for my kind of businesses. I expect Government policy to become favorable too. The online gaming industry will grow more than 120% YOY. Global payment acceptance capabilities will allow players like us to grow exponentially.
Better hardware and Connectivity will make user experience delightful. More of the millennials will use platforms like ours for entertainment.
Would you rather be respected or feared and why?
Respected
In our kinds of domains, it is almost impossible to stay ahead of the curve without constantly innovating. There is no room for monopoly. Competition will breathe down our necks every minute. The only way to stay ahead is to know your customer and innovate to keep him happy. It is easier said than done, if we can keep running at the pace we are running now for the next few years, we will be continuously respected.
One word that describes you the best
Chutzpah
