Building a successful business from scratch is a monumental task especially with limited funding however Saumya Singh Rathore the co-founder of WinZO games Indias largest vernacular social gaming platform is one of the select few who managed to turn a small venture into a company worth over Rs 2500 crore in a span of just over five years. Who is Saumya Singh Rathore? Born in 1988 in a small town in Uttar Pradesh Saumya Singh Rathore stepped into the corporate world after earning a Post-Graduate degree in psychology from the University of Manchester in UK. Saumya started her career as an associate for the Big Four company KPMG in London and later worked for  Bennet & Coleman and Times Group in India in various roles before transitioning to entrepreneurship. Birth and rise of WinZO Games. In 2018 following a nearly decade-long career in the corporate world Saumya Singh decided to take a leap of faith and co-founded WinZO games with Paavan Nanda a fellow colleague who she worked with when he previously co-founded backpacker travel startup ZO Rooms. However ZO Rooms was shuttered in 2016 following the Oyo-ZO controversy. Saumya and Paavan started WinZO games in 2018 after raising Rs 3.3 crore in funding and by 2019 the platform had over 2 crore users and recorded over 200 crore monthly transactions. Rs 3.3 crore in funding. By 2019 it had 2 crore users and 200 crore monthly transactions. WinZO partnered with indie game developers to host their games on the platform. The gaming platform targeted tier-2 and tier-3 cities which at the time was uncharted territory and idea was an instant success as its user base surged exponentially within a few years. In 2020 WinZO roped in Indian cricket legend MS Dhoni to become the companys brand ambassador and also inked a multi-year sponsorship deal with Shah Rukh Khan-owned IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Rider (KKR) in the same year. Additionally WinZO also partnered with famous influencers like Carry Minati and Bhuvan Bam who sponsored the brand. WinZOs business model WinZO uses micro-transactions the leading revenue model used in mobile games to generate revenue. The idea is simple the platform allows users to play real-time multiplayer games against other players and win prizes by paying as little as Rs 2 to Rs 25. WinZO focusses on tier-2 and tier-3 cities which forms the majority of its user base and to make the platform more engaging for Indian masses games which also include cricket and carrom are available in 25 Indian languages. The success of WinZOs model can be gauged from the fact that the platform amassed a user base of over 50 lakhs within a year. Today the platform has over 100 games including cricket carrom and ludo available in six formats and 12 languages. Apart from being highly profitable for its owners WinZO also generates massive income for micro influencers and translators with the company claiming that around 1 lakh influencers were raking in anywhere between Rs 75000 to Rs 1 lakh even Rs 5-10 lakh in some cases each month by 2022. Saumya Singh had revealed that her company plans to increase the platforms increase the influencer base to 2 lakh over the next year. Indias largest social gaming platform From a small venture WinZO has today grown into the largest social gaming platform in India boasting a market valuation of Rs 254o crore according to latest figures. The platform has over 175 million users 5 billion monthly transactions and hosts over 100 games. Saumya and Paavans company has raised $100 million from investors like Kalaari Capital Griffin Gaming Partners Makers Fund Courtside Ventures and Pags Group since its founding and its revenue grew from Rs 242 crore in 2022 to Rs 687 crore in 2023.