By 2017, the system had matured.

Now it needed scale.

And scale needs capital.

From Team to Startup

200+ members.

Clear structure.

Sharper messaging.

Now it looked like a startup.

Not just a movement.

The First Product

Finally—something tangible.

5IveB Cricket.

A VR cricket experience.

Built under NewYuga.

Positioned as:

• Future of gaming
• World-class Indian innovation

For the first time—

There was something to show.

The Rise of Gen 2

Then came the big leap.

Gen 2 funding.

₹120 Crores.

Not from institutions.

From people.

Again.

The Investment Structure

Structured as:

• CCPS (Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares)
• 4-year lock-in

Presented as:

• Long-term wealth
• Early unicorn entry
• Community-driven investing

The Perfect Pitch

The narrative was refined:

• IITian team
• Massive gaming market
• VR/AR future

And the promise:

Simple.

Memorable.

Effective.

Handling Doubts

Questions came.

Answers were consistent:

Not technical.

Emotional.

Expansion on Ground

Workshops spread across:

• CBIT
• NIT Trichy
• Sastra
• Amrita

The funnel widened.

Students kept entering.

National Presence

Offices expanded:

• Hyderabad
• Mumbai
• Lucknow

Now it looked like a pan-India startup.

Life Inside (Still the Same)

Despite scale:

• Salaries remained ₹5K–₹10K
• Extra income often redirected back

Because:

Mission > Individual.

Always.

The Core Reality

By 2018:

• One product existed
• Many were promised
• Massive funds had come in

But still:

• Many things were unbuilt
• Many answers unclear

What This Phase Really Was

Not just growth.

But:

• Scaling belief
• Scaling money
• Scaling expectations

The dream became bigger.

So did the pressure.