iWorld
Trendspotters.tv’s $2mn online gamble with OG content
If you think you are the stylish, fashion-forward type, then this may well be the destination for you.
Welcome to Trendspotters.tv, India’s first online digital channel engaged in spotting trends across genres. Launched on 23 August by Smartube Entertainment, Trendspotters promises to guide you about what’s hot and what’s not on a screen near you – be it a tablet, laptop or cell phone.
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We will be aggressively investing more on creating independent video platforms and creating a lot of content for the internet audience, says Kunal Kishore Sinha
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About the venture, Trendspotters.tv founder Kunal Kishore Sinha says: “We are glad to launch India’s first digital TV, which promises to be an exciting platform for next generation consumers whose lives are driven by upcoming trends- be it fashion, music, sports or entertainment. It is a medium for bringing the next generation trends and talents to light, especially for an upwardly mobile audience. It brings out a cluster of micro trends every day for the new age audience, which takes inspiration from out-of-the-ordinary discoveries.”
So where and how did it all start? Sinha explains that the team went through the paces; from research to coming up with a suitable name to setting up the platform. “The idea started some six months back when I realised that maximum consumption over a smart phone is on YouTube. It is more than Facebook, Twitter or any other social media platform. There are audiences that are right now looking out for comprehensible video content on the Internet and consuming it. With those facts, we started working on the platform,” he elaborates.
Starting from the word go
The first challenge was to get the right resources across categories including fashion and lifestyle, music, and entertainment and sub-categories such as trendsetters, discoveries, trend spotting and seasonal buzz.
A senior content person from CNN-IBN was roped in for each category and he/she came on board as content director/head based on qualifications and relevant experience. For example, a lady who’d completed her fashion graduation from London and was working with Adidas in Dubai was hired for the fashion category. Ditto for music, where six to seven senior people were brought in, not to mention an RJ who would be associated with them.
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The offical website creates content specifically for the web audience; which is not be of long duration
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Next, was what should they name the initiative. “From the very beginning, we wanted to have content which is more futuristic, also keeping in mind what is outdated and what is in. We started off saying we wanted to have something around the word ‘trend’. After brainstorming, we came up with multiple options. Somebody suggested it should be trendstocker, trendstop, but when we decided on Trendspotter, it felt apt, considering we are into the business of spotting trends across verticals,” explains Sinha.
But what’s in it for consumers? In every category, there’s a section ‘Discoveries’, which focuses on new talent, points out Sinha, giving the example of a boy called Rameshwar, who has a small shop in Nizamuddin, Delhi, and though he isn’t very popular, still has clients like Gulzar. “Not many mainstream media would cover or discover somebody like that. Eventually, what will happen is our ‘Discovery’ section will get further populated,” says Sinha.
Is that the broad plan, we ask, and Sinha provides: “We are spotting new trends and creating more content which can be interesting for the audience. So, the idea is to get them what is not available right now in the mainstream, maybe TV is not giving them that.”
Wouldn’t audiences find a likeness with say YouTube? “We will be creating content specifically for the web audience; which will not be of long duration. The idea behind such content is it will cater to the web audience looking for a quick break from work,” shoots back Sinha.
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The website has various categories that spots new trends and creates more content which can be interesting for the audience
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And has the response been worth mentioning? Sinha feels it’s very positive considering the entertainment industry is waking up to the potential of internet media. “When you start a new media company, what happens is getting across to the right people, getting them to come on your platform takes a lot of effort. That challenge we have not faced yet, because we have shot with designers like Troy Costa,” he says.
Coming to the most critical question – how does the team spot trends across genres on a day-to-day basis? Sinha says presently, content creation is happening in house. The plan is to get into crowd-sourcing, where creators from across the world would be contributing. Yet, the overall control of the content would lie with the company itself.
Sinha gives the example of how somebody sitting in Chandigarh would become a trendspotter. Also, contests on social media and on-ground to identify trend spotters across the country are on the schedule, and these in turn would help the channel identify trends there. Additionally, an internal research team would help everyone figure out what is new and interesting and worth talking about.
Does Trendspotters trend on social media? Well, at the time of penning this article, Trendspotters.tv had managed to garner over 30,000 likes on Facebook. Whereas, the channel’s Twitter presence is being worked upon. Says Sinha: “We were thinking that we would invest just in building up the channel and once it was ready, we would then look for revenue. But what happened is we realised that brands are already ready to partner and invest in the content we are creating. As we speak, we have already started getting revenue by having brands integrated into our shows. Our revenue-stream has already started.”
Roadmap for future
For an endeavor so novel, what does the future entail? Plans are afoot to expand the channel’s reach into areas of general interest like automobiles, consumer technology and so on. A section called Club Review is on the anvil, where the channel would be doing video reviews of clubs across the country. The focus is on parameters like music, ambiance, crowd and drinks served etc. Sinha claims they already have sponsors for this section in an international liquor company named Premium and a music equipment company.
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In a month‘s time, the official Facebook page has achieved applaudable 30,000 likes
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That said, where does Sinha see Trendspotters.tv in the general scheme of things? “We know that even brands are realising they have to go beyond platforms like Facebook and Twitter to engage with consumers. And I think that is where we are filling in the gap by creating a new platform that will give brands a new way of connecting with their consumers,” replies Sinha.
Is it looking good hereon? “We are getting good traction from both the brand side and the consumer side. We are happy with the way things are going and going forward, we will be aggressively investing more on creating independent video platforms and creating a lot of content for the internet audience. We would ensure that in the next one year, we actually become a household name,” Sinha rounds off.
Sinha has drawn up a warchest of $ 2million to fund his dream project. That should suffice to fund his growth needs for the next two years, he says. Basically, he has a two year window to drive trendspotters.tv into a profitable business model.
This year at the WEF conference in Davos, Binance led a discussion forum event at Goals House, an event series and meeting space, to discuss how crypto can be used to improve financial inclusion. That means providing financial services and market access to the still over one billion people that lack access to such services. The discussion also covered pressing issues facing the developing world that crypto has shown serious promise in being able to improve, if not resolve outright. The session brought several Binance thought leaders to meet face-to-face with government and civil leaders to discuss real solutions.
The discussion was split into three goal-oriented topics, each one aimed at targeting a specific, concrete need that crypto can address.
Remittances and Cross-Border Payments
Traditional remittance fees function, in practice, as a tax on the world’s poorest families. Every year, billions of dollars are siphoned away through intermediaries simply for moving money across borders. By contrast, Binance’s payment and settlement technology has already returned nearly $2 billion directly to families by reducing fees and friction in cross-border transfers; an outcome that represents not just financial efficiency, but a tangible social victory.
As Binance CMO Rachel Conlan commented, “Between 2022 and 2024, Binance helped users save $1.75 billion in remittance fees by enabling $26 billion in instant crypto remittances. A significant proportion of this was done in stablecoins due to their speed, low cost, and cross-border efficiency. That’s not just a statistic; it’s a lifeline for families and small businesses relying on affordable, fast cross-border payments.”
In 2023, the World Bank estimated remittance flows to lower and middle income countries at $656 billion, with the number expected to grow annually. Traditionally, banks and money transfer operators (think Western Union, Wise, etc) were the only choices for quickly moving money. While these services get the job done, they come with a cost that can often be steep.
During the Goals House conference with Binance, participants identified how crypto could level the playing field between those sending remittances, and those moving the money. Specifically, they discussed the idea that blockchain payment rails can significantly shorten settlement times and enhance the transparency of fee structures.
In short, blockchain payments can make remittances faster, cheaper, and more transparent. This could prove to be a significant win for remittance senders as the fees they paid in 2023 almost exceeded US foreign aid itself at $51 billion.
The same cost, speed and transparency benefits would apply to cross-border payments as well, drastically reducing the costs of cooperative global trade and helping small business players to compete more effectively.
Better Settlement, Bolstering Flexibility for Emerging Market Businesses
The second topic of discussion at the Goals House forum was all about how to “reduce frictions, expand access to credit, and make working capital more available to businesses that are underserved by traditional channels”.
In business terms, friction can be thought of as anything that slows or interferes with the normal process of business. For example, it may be difficult in some parts of the world to get a business bank account that is able to receive cross-border payments or handle foreign currencies. Or perhaps banks may not be interested in investing the time in setting up an account for a business that they consider as being too small or just not worth it.
Settlement, on the other hand, is the concept of defining when the movement of money is complete. For example, buying something with a credit card typically means the selling business won’t actually get the funds you paid to them until at least several days later, when the funds finally “settle”.
At the Binance forum, participants discussed how crypto infrastructure can help or even bypass many of these frictions entirely. For example, cryptocurrencies can allow for near-instant cross border business payments with similarly fast and transparent settlement. Smaller businesses can be included in the global economy without fear of a bank acting as a gate keeper. The group also discussed how “on-chain financing mechanisms” can help SMEs get investments that are sourced globally.
A New Model for Foreign Aid
The issue of foreign aid has been a prickly one for ages. Lack of transparency, slow speed and unaligned goals have raised complaints since the concept began. However, the idea of what Binance calls “programmable assistance and targeted grants” changes the game entirely.
Instead of the black box process that foreign aid money handling can feel like, the idea proposed here is that aid money can be distributed through smart contracts that are tied to specific goals and outcomes. Such a system could mean increased accountability, transparency, and effectiveness of funds.
Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/02/06/what-the-data-says-about-us-foreign-aid/sr_25-02-06_foreign-aid_4/
Rather than operating as a black box, foreign aid could function on a transparent, programmable ledger. In the United States alone, annual foreign aid totals $71.9 billion, with 22.3% allocated to Health, 21.7% to Humanitarian Assistance, and 14.7% specifically directed toward HIV/AIDS programs. Today, those funds are largely “disbursed” through layers of intermediaries, reporting requirements, and delayed oversight.
Under a programmable aid model enabled by blockchain infrastructure, that funding would instead be coded with conditions. Resources earmarked for HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, or medication delivery would be released automatically as predefined milestones are met. Every dollar committed would be traceable, every release auditable, and every outcome visible ensuring that public funds are not only spent, but spent exactly as intended.
This approach does not change the mission of foreign or humanitarian aid. It changes the mechanism by replacing opacity with accountability, and trust-based disbursement with verifiable execution.
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