Depression Struggles, Spirituality & Small-Town Mindset | STAGE's Vinay Singhal on The Neon Show

Business Summary

Vinay Singhal describes how growing up in a small town shaped his approach to entrepreneurship: resourcefulness, persistence, and a willingness to do hands-on work. His experiences building WittyFeed and later STAGE also illustrate the risks of relying on a single distribution channel—and the importance of adapting a business model when circumstances change.

Strategy, Operations, and Marketing

• Use locally relevant, high-visibility marketing: STAGE branded roadways buses through official channels and placed ads on auto-rickshaws in towns such as Bhiwani, Hisar, Rohtak, and Sonepat. Singhal said repeated exposure on familiar local routes made this one of the company’s most effective marketing tactics.
• Build for the target audience: STAGE’s approach included consumer discovery before deciding what to make. The subtitles suggest an early focus on a specific audience, though the details are unclear.
• Adapt the business model to survive: STAGE initially struggled to attract investment after launch. The founders introduced a subscription model, which Singhal described as giving the company a “second life.”
• Treat distribution risk as a strategic risk: WittyFeed’s business was severely affected when its Facebook-driven distribution collapsed. The episode underscores the danger of relying heavily on a platform the company does not control.
• Play the long game: Singhal argues that entrepreneurship may take decades. Founders need to persist through setbacks rather than assume success will arrive on a fixed schedule.

Leadership and Founder Lessons

• Separate personal identity from company outcomes: Therapy helped Singhal see himself as more than a founder—as a husband, brother, and son. He also describes “founder” as a problem-solving mindset, not just a job title.
• Build a support system: He credits family, co-founders, mentors, and professional support with helping him through business and personal crises.
• Take mental health seriously: Singhal discusses therapy as an ongoing process rather than a quick fix. He says he attended weekly sessions for roughly a year and a half. This is his personal experience, not a general clinical recommendation.
• Make space to recover after a failure: Looking back at STAGE’s early difficulties, he describes low confidence, isolation, and fear that the company would close. The subscription pivot and support from his co-founders helped the team regain momentum.
• Focus on the work and the journey: Singhal says enjoying the day-to-day work is essential for sustaining the effort required to build a company.

Metrics and Timelines Mentioned

• Early-career salary: ₹28,000 per month, cited as context for his decision to return home and start a business.
• WittyFeed: Singhal describes a sudden collapse in revenue after its Facebook distribution was disrupted. The subtitles cite monthly revenue figures of ₹2 crore, ₹5–7 crore, and $1 million, alongside a team of about 150 people. The figures are garbled and may refer to different periods or measures.
• Debt: He says the founders faced more than ₹3 crore in loans after the business downturn.
• STAGE launch: The subtitles give a launch date of 29 November 2020.
• STAGE funding challenge: The founders initially struggled to raise investment. A reference to ₹10–12 crore is unclear and should not be treated as a confirmed funding target.
• Valuation: Singhal refers to a ₹300 crore valuation in connection with STAGE and its Shark Tank appearance. He presents the appearance primarily as personal and team validation, not as a confirmed investment deal.
• Therapy timeline: Weekly sessions for about 1.5 years, according to Singhal.

Presenters and Sources

Siddharth Ahluwalia, host of The Neon Show, interviewed Vinay Singhal, STAGE co-founder. Singhal mentions Aparna Jain as an executive coach who helped connect him with support.