Manish Rajoria & His Venture Purple Turtle Is Working Hard To Shape Your Child Future From Early Age
We have all heard the inspirational story of ‘Rabbit and the Turtle’, but we are here to tell you an inspirational story about another Turtle today called ‘Purple Turtle’. It is a new age character for the pre-school kids who are always curious and hyperactive to learn more, see more, read more, hear more and play more.
PurpleTurtle.com offers parents the perfect solution when it comes to telling stories to their kids before bed or to engage them with an engaging tale while playing. Starting with just three books they went to two hundred books in different languages that are bought and read all around the world.
Times are so competitive that even little kids need to stay one step ahead and they need to learn things in a fun and entertaining way that will keep them hooked and their parents happy. PurpleTurtle.com has made this possible by turning stories and rhymes into animated videos which are a treat for the eyes and ears of your little one.
Making Purple Turtle the kids’ mascot was not an easy feat. They took on the challenge and launched games and apps for the franchise by hooking the kids of tech-savvy age. They have become a household name with their unique products like water bottles, lunch boxes and stationery.
They are on the roll with a creative team that keeps inventing new stories to give the kids newer and better books to read, making them smarter and sharper to have a good time while staying up to date with the stiff competition. They have their feet on the ground and eyes on the sky as they one day hope to be as big as Disney.
Today we have with us Mr Manish Rajoria, the man behind PurpleTurtle.com who saw this dream and worked day in and day out without stopping to turn it into a reality that we all are seeing today in the forms of E-Books. Let’s talk to the man who gave birth to our lovable Purple Turtle.
1.What is the Name of Your Venture? Any specific reason for this name?
Name- Purple Turtle – The name is rhyming and defines the Character- A Turtle that is Purple. Easy to remember and fun for kids and parents.
2.Who is your target Audience/clients?
Purple Turtle is a Gender Neutral Pre School Character. It’s target customers are parents of Pre Schoolers and the consumers are Pre School Children.
3.Where is your venture based (city, state, country) & What are your geographical target areas?
Purple Turtle started its journey from Bhopal, M.P., India.
Purple Turtle’s geographical target is the Global Audience.
Purple Turtle books are sold in more than 25 countries including China, Russia, USA, many European Countries, Middle East and multiple languages in India.
E books are sold in more than 90 countries and animated content is available on more than 650 devices/platforms including YouTube, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Roku etc.
4.What problems does your venture resolve? What are your products or services?
Entertains and educates children.
Products:
- More than 200 titles of Books in various languages.
- Animated Videos of Stories and Rhymes.
- Licensing the IP in various categories like Bags, Cushions, Water Bottles, Lunch Boxes, Stationery, Puzzles, Apparels etc.
- Pre School Franchising
- Games and Apps
- News Paper Syndication (Children’s content for News Papers and Magazines like Garfield)
- Story Telling with the Mascot.
5.Share the idea or story behind the venture. How did it came to an existence? What motivated you to start your own venture?
We were licensees for Barbie and Ben -10 for many years and realised we should have a gender neutral character of our own. Purple Turtle which was an imprint of the Children Books was converted to a Character and 3 books were published. Looking at the response of various publishers we created
more than 100 books in 1 year.
Creating an IP which children all of the world love and adore makes us happy. It not only entertains and educates the children but is is great fun for us and we learn every day!
6.Who are your biggest competitors and how do you differentiate yourself from them?
All the Pre School Characters in the world are competing with each other to find a space in the child’s mind and heart.
Biggest is Disney’s characters followed by all others.
We focus on books and are having a clear vision to have a full 360 degree trans media approach for Purple Turtle.
7.How did you identify your co-founder? Tell us some thing about your co-founder/s
It is a family business and my brother is a director in the company. My wife Swati being an artist has contributed the most in the design and development of the books, animated videos and the merchandise.
8.How did you hired your first team members? What skills Do you want in your employees/team?
Team members are the strength behind our success. Skills in their domains and passion for what they do are the two things we look for.
9.What expansion plans are you looking for the next 2 years, next 5 years?
The animated series of 52 episodes of 7 minutes is being Produced by Irish and American Co Producers.
Scripts are being written by Emmy Award Winners who have written for Disney, Nickelodeon, Mattel, Hasbro etc.
So we have great stories coming with very good quality of voice over, music and animation.
The show will be broadcasted in various countries on lenier and OTT platforms.
10.Where do you want to see yourself in next 10 years?
We would like to see Purple Turtle as one of the top pre school IP’s in the world.
11.What are your goals over the next 1, 3, 6 and 12 months?
The goal for the next 12 months is to have the animated series produced and made available of good channels and digital platforms.
12.Have you raised any funding? Or have any plans for the funding?
At present we are bootstrapped. Yes, we have plans to raise funds.
13.What were the problems you faced during the starting days and how did you resolve them?
Getting a feedback- wow Purple Turtle is so cute but no one knows it! We will get back to you. Come back to us with more news.
Let us get popular first.
The only way to resolve this is keep working with the same passion and persistence!
14.What was the most challenging part of your journey till now? How did you overcome those challenges?
There is a challenge every day. We need to stay motivated and focussed, manage funds, think innovative ways to get eyeballs.
We do multiple things like- books, animated rhymes, pre school franchising, licensing, games, apps with a controlled cost.
15.Are you married, single or in a relationship?
Married to Swati who has been the most important person for the venture.
16.What are your hobbies? What do you do in your non-work time?
Hobbies- Sky Diving and Scuba Diving.
I usually work during the non work time also or think about Purple Turtle.
17.Whats your favorite food & holiday destination?
Food – Italian at La Cuchina of Jehanuma Hotel, Bhopal.
Holiday Destination- London.
18.Whom do you consider your idol or biggest motivator?
My father!
19.What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
The entrepreneur thinks the grass is greener at the other side and so does the person who works for someone else.
I feel there is a lot of thrill and action in being an entrepreneur with high aspirations and limited resources.
20.If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
Noting! Purple Turtle is our passion and we are living a dream!
21.How has being an entrepreneur affected your family & Social life?
Yes, wife complains that I always am thinking about work and Purple Turtle. Social life hardly exists.
22.Anything, you would like to say to our readers or upcoming entrepreneurs?
Do what you love- live what you do!
23.Tell us something about your education & family background.
Studied in a boarding school since KG. Hampton Court Mussoorie, then Scindia School, Gwalior.
B.Com, MBA in Marketing and Bachelors of Journalism.
Background- Business of Printing and Publishing!
Parents have been very supportive of our ideas and always motivating.
24.What is your USP which makes it unique & different from other start-ups in similar domains.
Passion, team, cost control, support from family and friends every thing is unique!
25. What do you think is the biggest threat to the success of small businesses & Start-ups today?
Persistance, going to market and finding their 1st customers, finances, focus!
Every day is a new opportunity as well as a challenge.
26. Do you consider yourself successful and by what means do you measure success?
Having the Purple Turtle books in more than 25 countries without TV exposure is what we feel is a good start.
27.Please share complete name, address, phone number, email id & website of Your Business & Contact Person
Manish Rajoria
Aadarsh Pvt. Ltd.,
Shikhar Varta, 4, Press Complex,
Zone-1, M.P. Nagar,
Bhopal- 462011
[email protected]
www.PurpleTurtle.com
+91 9755504005
