WittyFeed

The company's journey began as WittyFeed in 2014, founded by Vinay Singhal, Parveen Singhal, and Shashank Vaishnav in Indore. It originated from their earlier explorations in social media, evolving from a Facebook page into what became one of India's largest viral content platforms, with a significant global audience. The founders, who studied engineering together, aimed to create a platform for undiscovered stories. At its peak, WittyFeed achieved substantial traffic and revenue.

A pivotal moment occurred in November 2018 when Facebook de-platformed WittyFeed, effectively cutting off its primary traffic source and revenue overnight. This event, linked to broader changes on the platform following the Cambridge Analytica scandal, forced the company into a severe crisis. Showing resilience, the founders retained their team and pivoted the business. In 2019, they launched STAGE, an over-the-top (OTT) platform focused on providing professionally generated content in the local dialects of India.

STAGE operates as a subscription-based, dialect-focused OTT service, moving away from the advertising-driven model of its predecessor. The platform provides content such as web series, films, and comedy in dialects like Haryanvi and Rajasthani, with plans to expand into others. This strategy targets the underserved 'Bharat' audience, which seeks culturally and linguistically relatable content. The business also operates "Nukkad by STAGE," which is the rebranded form of WittyFeed, offering infotainment through short-form, character-driven videos in Hindi. The company generates revenue from paid subscriptions to its STAGE platform. It has successfully raised capital, including a significant Series B funding round in March 2025, to fuel its content expansion and enhance platform capabilities.

Keywords: WittyFeed, STAGE OTT, Nukkad by Stage, Vinay Singhal, Parveen Singhal, Shashank Vaishnav, dialect-based content, regional OTT platform, Indian content startup, Haryanvi content, Rajasthani content, hyperlocal entertainment, video streaming service, content platform pivot, Shark Tank India, media and entertainment, subscription video on demand (SVOD), digital content, vernacular content, professionally-generated content, web series, Indian dialects, local language content, Bharat audience, content monetization