Regina entrepreneur co-creates a video dating app with comedian Norm MacDonald
Vivek Jain says entrepreneurial success, acting work comes from just saying yes to opportunities
Vivek Jain has had a career that's seen him bounce from international locales like Bermuda, New York and London. He's bought a football team with Motley Crue's Vince Neal, and his latest venture has seen him come up with a video dating app that he launched with comedian Norm MacDonald.
And through it all, he's come back home to Regina to appreciate the roller-coaster it's all been.
"I think that's what Saskatchewan does to you, when you come back, you can't leave," he said with a chuckle.
Jain graduated from the University of Regina with an accounting degree. He landed what he calls his "dream job" early in his career, based out of Bermuda as a venture capitalist.
One of the things I've learned over the last few years is you just put your head down and say yes to every opportunity.- Vivek Jain, entrepreneur
But going through a divorce forced him to reevaluate his career path, and a desire to go after some entrepreneurial visions as well as film and television acting.
He joined up with some buddies to launch FANchise, "a video game meets real life professional football." The idea burgeoned into buying an actual indoor football team that allowed fans to scout players, interview coaches, and make the calls, a project that eventually saw its way onto the CBC show Dragons' Den.
"You've got this armchair quarterback that thinks he's better than all the professional coaches and everything out there," explained Jain of the idea.
"And we wanted to see if that was you know if that works and if there's a business model attached to it."
Entrepreneurs pitch interactive sports concept to Dragons' Den:
He saw success with the model, with Sports Illustrated live streaming games, and Twitch coming on board for a broadcast deal as well. People from 99 countries joined in, and viewership reached 200,000 people, he said.
So how did he end up meeting a Canadian stand-up comedian and launching a video dating app?
That's another interesting story for Jain, who seems to have a stream of anecdotes up his sleeve.
MacDonald and Jain ended up meeting at a technology conference and hitting it off, followed by meeting again on a plane.
"I realized you know we're actually very compatible and see life in the same light and became really good friends from that point on."
The two stayed in touch, so when Jain told MacDonald about how his kids were telling him he should go out and date more, they began brainstorming ideas for dating apps that were better than those out on the market.
They came up with an idea for a video dating app called LOKO, that would allow people to see each other and talk before meeting.
"We're bridging old-fashioned dating charm with technology and kind of getting the best of both worlds," said Jain, who once again took his concept to Dragons' Den and ended up landing a deal.
Jain makes another appearance on Dragons' Den:
He's also been able to raise private capital from his province, using an incentive administered by innovation Saskatchewan.
In between his entrepreneurial drive, Jain's also found a way to dabble in TV and films, working on commercials, web series, short films, and appearing in a movie set to come out in 2020 called Bloody Romeo.
He says he's driven by a desire to show his two daughters they can achieve whatever they can dream.
"One of the things I've learned over the last few years is you just put your head down and say yes to every opportunity — and don't plan too much."