KWAN Acquires Online Entertainment Marketplace Gigstart

– Gigstart launches mobile app to reach business and individual customers –

One of India’s leading entertainment conglomerates, KWAN today announced the acquisition of the rapidly growing entertainment start-up Gigstart. The Company also announced the launch of a highly user-friendly mobile app. Gigstart is an online marketplace that facilitates swift and transparent connections between entertainers and event and party planners.

A first of its kind of booking service, Gigstart verifies and reviews all the artists before listing them on the site. The newly launched mobile app will further provide easy access to the various entertainment options, guiding party planners to the best-suited artists and connecting them – concluding with payment services and contract formalities.

Anirban Blah, Founder and Managing Director, KWAN commented on the partnership, “Today there exists a lacuna in a talent industry skewed in favour of known celebrities but lacking when it comes to capitalizing on creative talent from across the country. This gap is what Gigstart aims to fill with a platform that marries scale with sensible unit economics in a way that no other company does. Kwans acquisition of Gigstart makes it the first platform of its kind to have legitimacy and credibility in the industry.”

Vijay Subramaniam, Founding Partner, Kwan added, “There is a wealth of talent in India today from a singer in Raipur to the biggest Bollywood star but not enough real opportunities for them to reach out to audiences without going through a succession of middle-men. Gigstart is first of its kind dais to address this requirement and we hope to make it a home and community for talent in addition to building a sustainable business.”

Gigstart was conceptualized to fill the gap between a plethora of entertainment talent found across the country and consumers who are looking to curate events themselves. With the experience and vast network of KWAN’s vast experience behind them, Gigstart is poised to take advantage of the growing appetite of consumers in smaller towns and cities. By employing transparency and reliability to hire the best talent the process also eliminates impeding elements like black money and fixers. The launch signals the beginning of a unique process of event planning that empowers consumers to custom-make events as per their specific requirements – from make-up and mehendi artists to sound rentals, stand-up acts and celebrity appearances.

Since its inception, Gigstart has garnered considerable traction with over 4200 verified artists on board and growing. The convenient app interface enables users to browse through artist categories and book talent via their phones.

While Gigstart is a great tool for individual consumers to book talent, its large and varied roster, combined with the strategic alliance with industry leader KWAN makes it instrumental to event agencies, ad agencies, marketing professionals and also corporate bodies to book entertainment for events of any scale, large or small.