Investors Backed StoryMirror Startup - The Creative, Digital Library Portal for Storytellers

The Innovative Way of StoryMirror Startup - Telling Stories That Need To Be Told

StoryMirror is a tech start-up founded in 2015 by Bibhu Datta Raut, Manisa Sahu, Hitesh Jain, and Devendra Vishal Jaiswal. It is a digital repository and library for writers to share their literary creations and for readers to access them. Anyone can upload and introduce their stories, poems, audiobooks, and quotes. The start-up provides an end-end service to their customers, especially the writers. A writer can self-publish their book if they choose to, through different packages ranging from Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 195,000. From quick five-minute reads to hours-long novels, the platform caters to all types of readers with various genres.

StoryMirror Startup : Founder(s) & Core Team

• Bibhu Datta Rout The current CEO and co-founder of StoryMirror is an alumnus of the Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology. His debut novel “Wheels of Wish” ranked #1 Amazon India Bestseller and a national best-seller four months after its launch.
• Manisa Sahu A co-founder of StoryMirror, she completed her Masters in Psychology at Utkal University.
• Hitesh Jain The current COO and co-founder of StoryMirror, he is an alumnus of the Institute of Rural Management, Anand; and worked in various corporate sectors before becoming an entrepreneur.
• Devendra Jaiswal A co-founder of StoryMirror, he worked with the start-up until 2019. He is an alumnus of Utkal University and co-founded KidsChaupal and BloggersAlliance in 2019, where he presently works.

StoryMirror : Key Points

• Legal Name - StoryMirror InfoTech Pvt. Ltd.
• CIN - U72200MH2015PTC331821
• Incorporation/ Founded - January 28, 2015
• Founders - Bibhu Datta Rout, Manisa Sahu, Hitesh Jain, Devendra Vishal Jaiswal
• Company size - 11 to 50 employees
• Headquarters - Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• Industry - Technology, Education, Content, Publishing
• Last Funding Type - Angel investment
• Products/ Services - Repository platform, publishing, marketing
• Company Type - Privately Held, Non-Govt; For-Profit
• Website - www.storymirror.com

Fun Fact: StoryMirror has published over 500 paperbacks and 3000 eBooks, 20 of which became best-sellers!

StoryMirror : Features

• Upload stories, poems, audiobooks
• Read daily inspirational quotes
• Personal library : add and remove literary works to a personal account
• Competition portal : Participate in contests against other writers globally
• Stories, poems, and quotes published in magazines and e-magazines for NGOs, schools, websites, colleges, cafes, etc.
• Purchase books and e-books.
• Mobile application
• Free website
• Publishing services : book creation, editing, cover design, distribution, and marketing of books, eBooks, magazines, e-magazines, poems, quotes, audiobooks, etc.
• Multi-lingual : English, Hindi, Bengali, Odia, Gujarati, Marathi, etc. (10 languages)

StoryMirror : Competitors

• Wattpad
• Publiseer
• Medium
• Inkitt
• Mytha
• Pratilipi
• Matrubharti

Fun Fact : The website has over six million readers and 100,000+ writers.

StoryMirror : Business Model

StoryMirror seems to be pre-revenue. Theoretically, once they build an audience base, they could allow writers to charge readers and receive a commission. Alternatively, they could advertise on their platform and pursue a freemium type of revenue model. A start-up like StoryMirror would realistically have low expenditure costs aside from a few employees, a headquarters, and bandwidth. As a publisher, the company would receive revenue from best-sellers — or any profitable book — and they note on their website that at least one book becomes a best-seller every month.

This business model is an excellent way to seek talent without the relatively high expenditure costs of the rest of the publishing industry. They are brand partners with Pedigree, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), collegedunia, Kidzania, Sunfeast, YesBank, and Oven Story.

Note : StoryMirror was the 1st runner up at the IIMCAA-M Clarion Call 4.0 Event.

StoryMirror Startup : Top Authors & Writers at the Website

• Dr. Paramita Mukherjee Mullick : Her books, “The sun through my wine glass” (and four others), have received many commendations, and she has received awards like Sahitya Shree, Sahitya Samman, and Sahitya Bhusan.
• Shrikant Murthy : He is the author of “Stories Waiting to be Told”, which several USA and UK universities use as source material. He won the Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA) Greater Chicago award for his Eulogy on iconic writing.
• Sapan Kumar Bardhan : He is said to be one of the best transformational coaches of this generation. His book “Unfolding Success” has received appreciation from the Ministry of Home Affairs, India and several CXOs of various companies.
• Prabhat Ranjan Praneet : An engineer by profession, he created history when his debut novel “With you without you” became a national best-seller within a few months of release.
• Connie Larkin : A Photo Reading expert who can read twenty-four thousand words per minute, she hails from Romania and is among the global top ten in her occupation. Her book, “You, Asshole, YOU caused it!” is a recollection and reflection of her life.

StoryMirror : Funding & Investors

StoryMirror raised $330K in funding over 1 round. This was an Angel round raised on May 1, 2016.

Source : www.crunchbase.com/organization/e9f89954-fda2-f76a-7e0e-8601b0ffe14d

StoryMirror : Challenges and Solutions

Every start-up faces challenges, and StoryMirror is no exception. Initially, very few writers were willing to trust StoryMirror with their artistic works. The firm also struggled to arrange distributors for printed books and e-commerce platforms for digital e-books. The company then decided to keep as much of the work in-house as possible and tied up with thousands of stores and distributors as budding writers made their mark on the creative community through StroyMirror.

StoryMirror : Virtual Treasure of Authors & Books

With a community of over six million, the StoryMirror repository has a virtual treasure trove of opinions, ideologies, and memories. While being a story-telling platform, it’s not all fiction! Writers don’t shy away from telling stories that need to be told, whether about mental health, LGBTQIO+ stories, flaws in society, and so on. In addition to complete access to a treasure trove come opportunities to connect with like-minded people and people with different perspectives. All in all, the platform provides a sense of community and the freedom to learn. What more can you ask for?