It’s been a dream debut for IdeaBaaz, the multilingual startup reality show hosted by actor Pratik Gandhi, from Raj Nayak’s new venture, House of IPs, as it competes head on with Shark Tank.
“IdeaBaaz is not just a show, it’s a platform — a marketplace for investors and startups with a lot of differentiation,” asserts Nayak, former COO of Colours and founder of House of Cheer, who is now back in the content game with the reality show.
The fact that entrepreneurs can pitch in any language, and the focus on Tier 2 and 3 centres are big differentiators for the show.
A still from startup reality show IdeaBaaz
Nayak is chuffed that IdeaBaaz outperformed Shark Tank India Season 1 in launch-week reach. According to BARC data, the show garnered 30.9 million viewers across its first two airings on nine Zee Network channels.
Excerpts from an interview:
How is House of IPs different from, say, Fremantle or Applause Entertainment?
We are not a production house and we do not work on any commissioned show. We build our own IPs (intellectual properties in entertainment, sports, music, and digital formats) — mostly a combination of ‘on ground’ and ‘on air’. In some cases we partner with people who need help to create and curate a go-to-market strategy to make the IP feasible.
The IPL is the biggest IP India has created? Do you think it’s possible to create something as big?
In India, cricket is a religion, so the answer is ‘no’... at least, not in the short term. Having said that, slowly but steadily other sports are gaining traction and, with a bit of help from broadcasters and streaming platforms, there is an opportunity to build reasonably large IPs.
Given the headwinds the ad industry is facing (Trump tariffs, and now the ban on real money gaming), do you think it will be easy to attract sponsorship to new IPs?
It depends on the type of IP — many will get impacted where a large chunk of the revenue came from RMG companies. This was always a threat, but IPs that are not dependent on any one industry will sail through. It’s always the first season which is the most difficult to get past, because people have to believe in your vision; if the product delivers, it will grow year on year.
What about broadcasters? Are they open to new IPs?
Yes, they have all seen the kind of values certain IPs bring to the table, where they are served a readymade product that also helps them bring in new audiences and additional revenue or savings in content cost. The best way for an IP to really scale up would be if the broadcaster or streaming partner picks up a stake in the IP and builds it together.
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Published on November 17, 2025