The desire to nurture sporting talent led Joseph Ollapally, 29, Hakimuddin S. Habibullah, 30, and Nandan Kamath, 32, to start GoSports, a Bengaluru-based firm that manages and grooms athletes.
What prompted you to set up GoSports?
All of us are passionate about sports (Habibullah is a swimmer and represented India at the Sydney Olympics) and we have seen how lack of funding and infrastructure has destroyed many sportspersons' dreams. We thought that a professional sports management company would be able to help talented athletes build viable careers.
Who was the first sportsperson you represented?
GoSports was established in 2006 in Bengaluru and the first sportsman we signed on was swimmer Virdhawal Khade, who participated in the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
What was your initial investment?
We put in over Rs 10 lakh from our savings to get the infrastructure in place.
How many people do you manage now?
We are currently handling the careers of seven sportspersons. We've also managed to rope in companies such as Coca-Cola, Nike, Yonex and Speedo to sponsor them.
What did all of you do before starting this venture?
I was with an international law firm and still practice law part-time. Habibullah was employed as an IT analyst, whereas Ollapally has worked in the infrastructure development and education sectors.
What is the turnover of your company?
We are hoping to make about Rs 30 lakh annually in another three years, though right now, we're earning around 40% of our targeted revenue.
What are your future plans?
Our focus is on talent identification and we are aiming to represent at least 20 athletes for the London Olympics in 2012.
— As told by Nandan Kamath to Namrata Dadwal
