SMINQ, a Pune-based start-up, backed by Blume Ventures and Saama Capital, announced the launch of its new global consumer app Sminq – World’s Places. Live Now , available for iOS and Android users. The start-up raised $1 million in May 2016 and is in the market to raise $5-$10 million from new and existing investors.
Targeted at millennials, Sminq is a community- driven platform that broadcasts real time information from places that are trending around the world.
The information could be in the form of text, photos and even short 15-second video updates, which can be shared with friends, family and peers. However, the content expires 24 hours from the time it was posted, keeping the feed updated. There are no ratings on the app, no selfies allowed, and neither can you follow a person. Sminq is powered by users and managed by its community.
Better content
“Fake news posts is the biggest problem today. We take the onus of curating content and ensuring that no fake content makes its way to the platform. We do this by verifying the location of each post. The community can also down vote a post or mark it fake or irrelevant. The idea is to help users decide better before they head out” Shachin Bharadwaj, co-founder Sminq, told BusinessLine.
Initial cities that are currently vibrant with the app are Bengaluru and Pune as the app was beta- tested in these two cities over the last two months but, it is built to accept users from anywhere around the globe.
The company has currently opened up (limited numbers) entries for local champions across cities globally, who are early adopters and who make their city go live on the platform. They will enjoy certain privileges and rights.
“The internet today offers us information that is static in the form of reviews, ratings, or addresses and phone numbers, but we live in the now and make impulsive decisions on where to go. Real time information of what is happening now at the place you want to go is a critical piece of information that is missing on the internet, and that’s where Sminq steps in,” said Bharadwaj.
The app currently has 1000 users, including those from the US, Germany, Middle East and Hong Kong. SMINQ was founded in 2015 by Shachin Bharadwaj, Santhosh Nagarajan and Sheldon D’Souza.