KDDI Buys 5% Stake In GPS Game Provider Colopl For US$6.2 Million

Launched in Japan as early as 2005, "Colopl", a simulation in which cell phone users manage a virtual colony, is probably one of the earliest geo-aware games out there. The namesake company made "Coloni-na Seikatsu Plus" (Colony-like Life) available to subscribers of NTT Docomo, SoftBank Mobile, and KDDI au.

In the game, players collect a virtual currency dubbed "pura" when traveling from one point in Japan to another. They can then use this money and virtual items collected in those places to create a "colony" on their cell phone (more information in English on how the game works here and here).

The concept took off, Colopl inked a few deals with partner companies, and in November last year (when Colopl had 1.5 million users), KDDI entered a partnership with the company.

And today the Nikkei is reporting that Japan's 2nd largest carrier is ready to buy a 5% stake in Colopl that's worth 500 million Yen ($6.2 million). In other words, the company is now valued at $125 million - a very high sum, as far as the Japanese market is concerned. By way of comparison: last year, Foursquare's valuation at the last round of financing stood at $95 million pre-money.

KDDI is Foursquare's partner in Japan since February. The carrier also invested in Tokyo-based mobile app startup Tonchidot, struck a tie-up with social games maker Rekoo (both last year), and invested in mobile social gaming juggernaut GREE in 2007.

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7 start-ups presented at Shanghai Demo Day

Organized by Techyizu, 7 Shanghai based start-ups practiced their pitches at Wieden and Kennedy Shanghai Office on Saturday with robust attendance.

Here’s a run down of the start-up pitches.

1. MamaZuofan.com (Translation: Mom’s home cooked meal): Passionate for home-cooked meals, mamazuofan helps users discover what is being cooked by your neighbors.  For those who have the cooking skills and don’t want to cook just cook for 1 or 2 people, why not cook for others in your neighborhood at the same make a little profit from it.
2. Aimifan.com (Translation: Lovers of Food): Having restaurant point-of-sale system integration as its competitive advantage, the team at Aimifan is able to partner and aggregate with major food delivery network to give users more restaurant selections when they order out.  Promotions of 30% for brands like Subway are in effect when you order at non-peak times (available in Shanghai inner ring right now)
3. PengYouQuan.com (Translation: Friend Circle): It’s a hybrid of social network and microblog that lets users choose targeted groups to release messages and discover interesting postings from those you trust.  It has a new user experience and helps you share multimedia messages on its fast network.
4. Rudy Bike: Founder Richard Yu’s passionate pursuit of speed and technology lead him to create an intelligence box that substituted the dash board electric scooters with an Android app.  This intelligence box is skillfully integrated to the electrical system and can monitor not only the vital information but also user authentication, cruise control, and dynamically calculate remaining distance by using parallel battery cell calculation.  Richard further suggests he plans to create an api so other apps such as social apps can enhance to rider/driver experience.
5. Tuiping tk is a brand monitoring and management service.  It tracks and analyzes consumer behavior and comments for brands on Sina Weibo and compile these information into analytic and actionable reports for the brands they service.  They also organize the information in such a way that it gives public users product ratings based on brand’s reputation on Sina Weibo.
6. Trader Analytics – Paper trading + HR Recuiting.  Score high on their paper trading platform and get recruited work on trading desks.  Financial institutions pays a fee to contact and recruit talented traders from the site.  Founder used to work as a banker in Hong Kong and may have relationship to leverage there.
7. VXPLO - is a cloud-service provider that turns Adobe Product into SaaS.  The team devoted into R&D for 4 years and owns over 30 IPs. They are already in contact with Shanda Capital and have robust revenue models.

 

Related posts:

1. 10 Start-ups Present at appWorks Demo Day, Taiwan
2. Shanghai Techyizu Announced its Startups Demo Day, June 18–19
3. 30th May, Augmented Reality Coming to Shanghai

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Shanda Invested In Goapk: Aiming at App Distribution Channel

Shanda has invested over million dollars in Chinese Android market Goapk.com which valued the company at more than 10 million dollars. Xue Kai, co-founder of the 3^rd party Android apps distribution service confirmed.

Founded in 2008, Goapk is one of the first companies ventured into Android market area. The market to date has over tens of thousands of Android applications, more than 3,000 active developer accounts, with daily download counts of over 1 million and total download counts of over 100 million since its launch.

With Android smartphone sales skyrocketing in China, and the dilemma that Google hasn’t offered something on a par with Apple’s App Store. There’re lots of 3^rd party Android markets in China, including AppChina (invested by Innovation Works), which also crossed an aggregate of over 100 million downloads, HiApk(by game vendor NetDragon), Aimi8, Eoemarket and Mumayi. Competition in Android apps distribution channel has been intensified after Shanda’s investment in Goapk.

According to people familiar with Chinese 3^rd Android markets, none of those markets have generated positive and consistent revenue yet. On top of ever-lasting losses, those markets also had to pay for bandwidth, servers, and salaries. Because majority of Android apps are offered for free, it’s even harder to make profit from developers or from selling of apps. With competition getting stronger and gloom revenue outlook, it’d be nice if someone offers an acquisition.

Shanda has long been busy plotting a course across application distribution area. The popular online game vendor tried to grab NetDragon’s HiApk in April last year. But the two parties failed to reach a deal because of overpriced offer. Later on, Shanda hired away several founders of HiApk to found Nduoa, which never lived up to Shanda’s expectation. After two failures in seizing the nascent distribution markets, Shanda started to talk to Goapk and eventually made a successful deal lately.

Related posts:

1. Betting on Android! Shanda Announced RMB20Millions Funds for Android Development
2. Tencent invested US$350 million into US game company, Riot
3. Rumour: Shanda is going to list another of its divisions next year

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StartUp Weekend Beijing is On This Weekend!

China entrepreneurship is heating up and events like StartUp Weekend Beijing prove it. The weekend is for aspiring entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas, build a team and build a demo product in an energy charged 54 hours then re-pitch it to investors. It’s a very exciting and intense weekend, similar to iWeekend earlier this year.

Held at boutique hotel The Opposite House in Sanlitun, the event will run like this:

• Friday June 24: Beginning with “open mic” pitches, attendees bring their best ideas and inspire others to join their team.
• Saturday June 25: Teams focus on customer development, validating their ideas, practicing LEAN Startup Methodologies, and building a minimal viable product.
• Sunday June 26: Teams demo their prototypes for a live audience and receive valuable feedback from a panel of expert judges – one winning team is selected before the night is over.

The confirmed guest speakers and mentors are Xiaojun Li, IDG Capital; William Bao Bean, Managing Director, Singtel Innov8; Richard Hsu, Managing Director, Intel Capital.

The event is limited to participation to 40 entrepreneurs and 6 business ideas and costs 500rmb to participate.

Last year, Alex Su, previously an engineer at Huawei working in Qatar at the time, flew to Beijing to participate in Startup Weekend Beijing last November. Su deferred admission to Cambridge University’s MBA program after the event to launch his new venture and soon thereafter he and his co-founder received funding from Innovation Works, Kai-Fu Lee’s incubator and venture capital fund.

James Mi, a speaker at Startup Weekend Beijing 2010 and managing director of Lightspeed Venture Partners, a $2 billion venture capital group noted, “Lightspeed Venture Partners was a supporter of the first Startup Weekend in Beijing and the event was a valuable way to connect with rising-star entrepreneurs with fresh ideas for this rapidly changing market in China.”

“Because speed and guanxi matter much more for startups in China, events like Startup Weekend Beijing can help facilitate key business decisions such as investing and hiring,” says Andy Mok, founder of Red Pagoda Resources, a recruiting firm specializing in finding talent for VC-backed companies in China and organizer of SWBJ.

For those of you in Shanghai, there will be a StartUp Weekend Shanghai from July 22-24th.

See you there!

 

 

 

Related posts:

1. Startup Weekend Taipei – International 54-hour Startup Event comes to Taiwan
2. iWeekend Coming to Beijing at 19th Nov
3. Factors of Success for Chinese Startup Companies

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Chillin’ With Female Founders & Women 2.0

Singapore – A thriving cosmopolitan country in South-east Asia brims with diversity, as well as a multiplicity of culture, language, arts and architecture. Women 2.0, in partnership with SGEntrepreneurs hosted our first ever mixer in Singapore on June 6 2011. We were curious, were there any female founders on this tiny island – an area just 8 times the size of Manhanttan?

Well, yeap, a roomful of about 40 current and aspiring entrepreneurs attended the event at SmartSpace (venue sponsor). One of the beauties of entrepreneurship is the willingness to help. We kicked off the night by encouraging everyone to share their skill or talent, no matter how big or small, how they can help someone else in the room. It was indeed an awesome night, sharing entrepreneurial challenges, stories and meeting new faces.

The participants of Chillin’ With Women 2.0

You could feel the buzz of excitement as we all mingled, chatted and munched on the food provided by our co-organizers, Audrey and Minxuan of PlayMoolah. Other founders present were Natasha of First Class Tutors, Kristine of Qi-Global.com, Sun from LittleLives.com (on SGE) and many more.

SGEntrepreneurs, PlayMoolah, and Women 2.0 welcome the participants.

From left to right: Gwen (SGE), Audrey (PlayMoolah), Minxuan (PlayMoolah), Aihui (Women 2.0)

It was a productive evening for founders, sharing challenges, encouragements and bouncing ideas off one another. It was also inspiring to those who have longed to launch something of their own. More importantly, it is exciting to see the potential that could result: more females being inspired to start their own companies and to give back and mentor others.

We are glad to have been part of this first mixer in Singapore!

- Aihui (Women 2.0) and Gwen (SGEntrepreneurs)

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Indonesia’s Telco Giant Boosts Digital Creative Industry

Indra Utoyo, the IT and Supply Director of Indonesia’s PT. Telkom, launched the Indigo Fellowship Program on June 16 in Jakarta, Indonesia. The program is a strategic initiative that has been held annually by PT. Telkom since 2007 with the objective of promoting Indonesia’s digital creative industry through a community-based approach.

This year’s theme is “Digital Creativepreneur for Nation Competitiveness” and the program is divided into four categories: Mobile Content and Application; Web-Based Content and Application; Animation; and Digital Comics. There will be 20 judges, all of whom have backgrounds that range from academicians to leaders in their fields. Five hundred entries, either group or individuals, are expected to join the event. The winners of each category are judged on profit/marketability, product originality, positive impact and personality of the people behind them.

At the first round, all participants are required to submit and present their paper in front of the judges. After the winners are selected, they will be qualifying for the technical and business incubation phase named Indigo Venture. At this stage, the winners would be given financing fund to enhance or scale their product or service,  the platform to build the product, and eventually work with or within the Telkom Group.

Last year, the creative industry contributed 7.28% of the country’s GDP, or Rp151 trillion  (US$17billion). Of this sum, the fashion segment contributed 43%, while 25% were from crafts, 8% from advertising, 6% from design and 5% from music.

Santri Indigo, Indigopreneur, Kampung Digital, Pasar Kreasi, Digital Village, Sistem Informasi Pendidikan Online are some of the programs that have been launched and ran sustainably until now.

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Tencent’s QZone to Be Revamped, Looks Like the Tumblr

Tencent today officially announced that, its social network service, QZone was to release its new version (QZone 6.0) this summer. No further details were given yet, but after 6 years operation, it seems that Tencent is going to revamp its QZone service. According to the screenshot revealed on QZone 6.0′s official site, it is just like the Tumblr.

All of sudden, Tumblr-like service attracts more and more eyeballs in Chinese web. Startups like Kuantu and Innovation Works’ Diandian are working on that; Shanda has launched Tuita, and Sina Weibo’s Tumblr-liker is in test as well. And it’s said that QZone has around 500million active users.

We still need wait for QZone 6.0′s final launch. But it becomes like Tumblr, I would be happy to give it a try. (I’ve never used QZone as it is too complex and messy like MySpace for me.)

Related posts:

1. Tuita, Shanda’s Tumblr and Online Service Aggregator
2. Sina Releasing Tumblr-like, Light-blogging Service Qing
3. Is Tencent Opening Up? Third Party Applications Now Available in QZone

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More About Sina Weibo, Partners With China Telecom and China Unicom

Development of Weibo or Microblog is getting more and more intensive and extensive in China everyday. Besides integrating weibo service into its LBS Weilingdi, group buying aggregator service Weituan etc, Sina is cooperating with multiple parties, including the telecoms, to cover the country with it Weibo services.

Sina Weibo x China Telecom

On 3 June 2011, Sina Weibo and China Telecom officially announced an intention to deepen their cooperation. According to the cooperation agreement, China Telecom users using e-surfing, broadband and fixed phone users could use their China Telecom accounts to log into the Sina Microblog, and Sina can gain identification services from China Telecom in the future.

Besides these, China Telecom would embed the Sina Weibo into 189 mailboxes that would let users apply for Sina Weibo synchronously. As a part of this cooperation, both parties would form the first BREW type mobile terminal. Thereafter, millions of BREW users can use the mobile to access Sina Weibo.

Sina Weibo x China Unicom

China Unicom and Sina reach a strategic cooperation agreement, to co-promote Sina Microblog video on 14 June 2011. Both sides will cooperate on basic telecom service, development and co-marketing areas.

In addition, both sides will co-develop the Sina Weibo derived products and launch new products including a Sina Weibo video.

Sina Weibo  x U.S. market (??)

And Sina is not satisfied with the local market only, Sina Weibo is arranging for an English version, and plans to enter the American market in two-three months, according to some media.

This means it would compete with Twitter directly It was conveyed in the Sina 2011 1Q financial report that registered user number in Sina Weibo has reached 140 mn, while the entire accounts in Twitter are over 300 millions and supported by nine languages including English, French and Japanese. However,compared with the total number of fans following the Top 100 accounts, Sina Microblog would likely exceed Twitter in May or June.

The CEO of Sina states that the main difference between Sina Weibo and Twitter is that Sina Weibo can convey every information to each user and make this product stickier.

Baidu x Sohu Microblog

Sensing it is difficult to compete with Sina Weibo alone, Sina’s competitors are cooperating with each other.  Rumour said Baidu may invest into Sohu Microblog.

Local media revealed that Baidu recently discussed about investment in Sohu Microblog with Sohu. However, this news is still unconfirmed by the two companies. Business insiders hold a positive view about this potential cooperation because it would be complementary to both companies, making some analysts believe this cooperation is possible in the future.

Related posts:

1. Popularity of Sina Weibo will soon exceed Twitter
2. Six Business Models Built On Sina Weibo, Monetizing Microblog in China Sounds Easy
3. Sina Weibo is 50-60% of Sina's valuation – Is it too High ??

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Top 10 Finalists Of The Ultimate Start-up Space

Last Thursday, 16th June, Martell V.S.O.P ‘The Ultimate Start-up Space’ announced its top 10 finalists. Martell V.S.O.P ‘The Ultimate Start-up Space‘, in their second year of running this year, is a campaign which allows a business visionary to take that first crucial leap in propelling his/her business dream into reality with Martell V.S.O.P’s committed support and funding. This year, it received more than 550 entries from local aspiring entrepreneurs nationwide coupled with active participation from the online community on the official Facebook page and microsite.

Amongst the entries received, ten business ideas were chosen after intense judging from an esteemed panel made up of Mr. Low Cheong Kee (Managing Director of Home-Fix D.I.Y), Mr. Jimmy Fong (Chief Executive Officer of EpiCentre Holdings), Professor Patrick Turner (Affiliate Professor of Entrepreneurship at INSEAD), and Mr. Paul-Robert-Bouhier (Managing Director of Pernod Ricard Singapore). Here’s a look at the top 10 finalists of Martell V.S.O.P ‘The Ultimate Start-up Space’ in alphabetical order.

Bespoke Leather Shop
Bespoke Leather Shop, as the name suggests, is a bespoke leather craft workshop that customizes in all things leather for working professionals, including leather handbags, laptop bags or even chairs. Using the store front provided by Martell, the workshop will host leather “architects” who will walk the client to understand the needs, design elements and type of material desired. Once the selection has been made, the artisans will finely craft the desired product from scratch and the product will be ready for collection in a matter of weeks. View their featured video here.

Pledge your support for Bespoke Leather Shop here.

BLOW
BLOW is a concept hair salon that offers Singapore’s first blow dry bar, focusing on providing a unique and relaxing place to getting one’s hair styled at a reasonable price. There will be no cuts, no colours, no fuss. For S$32, both men and women will be able to get their hair washed, blown dry and styled in under 30 minutes. BLOW will offer a menu of hair blow-out styles, as well as additional services such as hair treatments, accessories and make-up application. View their featured video here.

Pledge your support for BLOW here.

BLOZ SHOP
BLOZ SHOP will be using the space provided by Martell’s ‘The Ultimate Start-Up Space’ to allow Lego players to exchange and sell individual bricks with other players to complete their creations. The spare parts shop will also act as a hub for Lego players to gather and interact, hosting competitions and workshops for Lego builders. For avid Lego fans, the BLOZ SHOP will be a haven for creativity and design that will complement any Lego work of art. View their featured video here.

Pledge your support for BLOZ SHOP here.

Cereasley
Cereasley seeks to make a range of exclusive in-the-kitchen-style cereals using the best ingredients available. Targeting time-poor consumers who have a preference for high quality and easily accessible wholesome food products, Cereasley will operate under a quick-serve format, allowing consumers to choose and customise their own cereal within minutes. Cereasley’s cereals will be roasted within the retail premise to ensure timely delivery of the freshest cereal blends. The absence of preservatives and almost instantaneous transfer from oven to bowl sets them apart from commercial offerings currently available. View their featured video here.

Pledge your support for Cereasley here.

Perched On A Tree Letterpress
Perched On A Tree Letterpress aims to transform the shop front offered by Martell’s ‘The Ultimate Start-Up Space’ into a craft studio manned by designers and artists. Business owner Fanny Yap will introduce the art of the long-lost printing technique – letterpress printing – to individuals and businesses, while providing a space for other artists to develop and collaborate in the studio. The studio will also feature a cafe for consumers to kick back and relax while browsing through the small crafts offered for sale in the shop. View their featured video here.

Pledge your support for Perched On A Tree Letterpress here.

Preparazzi
Preparazzi is a food preparation service that allows patrons to have delicious and healthy “home-cooked” meals without any fuss. Preparazzi will help to plan, prepare and cook the dishes, acting like a personal sous chef and allowing the customer to have more time for the important things in life. Preparazzi also allows customization of meals, allowing their clients to choose the extent to which they want their meal to be prepared. View their featured video here.

Pledge your support for Preparazzi here.

TeeJunction by TeeDaily
TeeJunction will be using the shop front offered by Martell’s ‘The Ultimate Start-Up Space’ to bring the customized t-shirts sold on their TeeDaily website to the Singaporean masses. The TeeDaily website offers a platform where artists and designers can have their designs printed on limited edition t-shirts which are on sale for 72 hours only. The store front will be providing artists and designers with a place where creative minds meet and network in the shop space. The shop will also provide services not available online, such as providing light meals and art design clinics. View their featured video here.

Pledge your support for TeeJunction here.

Tools of Trade
Tools of Trade will transform the shop front into a garage, offering tools, courses and workshops for people to fix, improve and innovate on everyday products that people have bought to bring a new, unique creation to life. View their featured video here.

Pledge your support for Tools of Trade here.

Victory Concierge
Victory Concierge provides a service catered to people who are too busy to tackle their everyday to-do list. With a membership of SGD$50 per month, members of Victory Concierge are able to engage the basic concierge service to complete activities such as picking up dry-cleaning, paying the bills and buying groceries. By providing concierge services, Victory Concierge aims to allow working professionals to spend more time on facets of life that are more enjoyable. View their featured video here.

Pledge your support for Victory Concierge here.

Zilch – Zero Dollar Shop
Zilch will transform the shop front provided by Martell’s ‘The Ultimate Start-Up Space’ into a space for retailers to promote and test their new products and innovations. Zilch allows members to test product samples for free, satiating consumers’ hunger to try on new, innovative products at zero cost, while allowing retailers and new brands to reach consumers effectively. The number of items a consumer can bring home increases with their contributions on survey and product feedback. View their featured video here.

Pledge your support for Zilch here.

Congrats to all of the top 10 finalists! From now until 15th July you can choose your favorite and show your support by participating in their crowd-funding efforts.

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UnPluggd Ticket – Early Bird Offer Ends Today [Reminder]

Quick reminder to all ye entrepreneurs: UnPluggd 3′s early bird ticket offer ends today.

Normal ticket costs Rs. 650/ and early birds get to grab it for Rs. 500/.

• Here is the link to book your seat right away.
• Early bird discount code is “PI” (without quotes). – Our ticketing partner has added multiple payment gateway options (ccavenue+ebs) , so that we bring down the transaction failure rate.
• If you are on Twitter, do not forget to enter your Twitter handle in the ‘Attendee Detail’ section. We have something really cool planned for UnPluGGd3.

And for the startups who want to demo their product at the event, apply now! [link to the application form]. We have pretty interesting speakers lined up for UnPluggd3.

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India's Largest Startup Event, UnPluggd Is Back (Mindblowing Content + Exiciting Startup Demos » July 9th, Bangalore)

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Social Media Vs. Traditional Media: Vodafone Withdraws The Case Against Customer [Facebook Status]

Couple of weeks back, we covered how Vodafone made a fool of itself by filing a lawsuit against one of its own customer for latter’s Facebook update .

Vodafone has now withdrawn the case “in good faith”.

“Vodafone Essar states that the legal notice served to the customer has been withdrawn in good faith. Vodafone Essar would also like to take this opportunity to inform that as a customer obsessed organisation, we have always welcomed critical feedback and suggestions from both direct and social media customers as it helps us to constantly improve ourselves to serve their discerning needs,” [source]

Social Media Vs. Traditional Media

Tradional Media

Was it really the social media or the traditional media that made this case a landmark of sorts? This was clearly a case of traditional media who picked up the news and helped Dhaval Valia in creating enough awareness about the issue.

And he mentions (ref: screenshot),

“Had it only been social media doubt Vodafone would have reacted in such fashion.”

In short, do you think this is a case study for social media? Just because a Facebook status was involved here, does it really make this as a ‘social media’ case study?. As one of Dhaval’s friend (on his FB wall) aptly puts it – “Networked David takes on standalone Goliath“.

That is, in this case Dhaval had the right network/contact details of Vodafone senior officials and that’s what really worked for him. If not for traditional media coverage, the story would’ve had a very different ending.

What’s your take?

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India's Largest Startup Event, UnPluggd Is Back (Mindblowing Content + Exiciting Startup Demos » July 9th, Bangalore)

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Bangalore Based Startup, DealsNow Brings Deals to Corporate Users

In India, we have more deal sites than unique deals available in these sites and while most of the deal sites are targeting retail consumers, there are very few of them targeting enterprise customers.

Why Enterprise customers?

Given that economy is booming and companies are hiring, it is getting difficult for companies to retain talent. Companies need to come up with incentive based rewards programs to keep employees motivated (beyond the usual compensation levers). And this is the pain point DealsNow, a Bangalore based startup is targeting.

Started by industry veterans (Cofounder, Jagadish was a VP at JP Morgan and Sagar was VP at Ozone Media/Genpact), DealsNow is essentially a deal service that ties up with organizations through their HR function and becomes part of its employee benefits/ engagement program (just the way NextJump does in US).

DealsNow provides special offers on travel, holidays, cars, bikes, mobiles cameras, flowers, gifts, restaurants, spas and other branded products and services through its e-commerce platform (these offers are not available to the general public). Also, DealsNow also provides solutions for employee rewards and recognition through the same platform.

Given that most of the deal sites in India are bleeding and struggling to keep up with customer acquisition cost vis-à-vis margin, enterprise play sounds interesting, but has its own challenges.

Here is a quick QnA with the team on their business model/roadmap:

a. Do you sell Deal service as a SAAS product to enterprise? Many of them have firewalls etc issues and insist that you bring the software in-premise.

DealsNow is hosted on the internet and employees can access it from anywhere. Whenever we sign up with the corporate, we get IT clearance to enable the employees get access to our website and our emails through the corporate network. We already have a basic white-labeled solution as a part of our platform which we activate whenever our corporate partner so requires. For higher levels of customization, we would take it up as a separate project.

b. Why not retail route? Cracking an enterprise deal takes its own sweet time, so why not have a mix of retail+corporate users?

The enterprise route does take a lot of time to crack but it keeps our cost per acquisition very low (as compared to our B2C websites). It enables us to target a high potential audience in a focused way. Also, it keeps our cost per transaction low as our marketing is limited largely to within corporate offices and that too through the corporates – people spend 8-10 hours, 5 days a week in their offices – hence, our platform gets a good exposure.

Plus, the effect of viral marketing amongst employees. Also, a lot of brands are comfortable doing discounts only within a closed user group which is what DealsNow is. The process of tying up with corporates is a relatively slow process but it is an effective entry barrier to competition. Also, with a certain number of marquee clients under the belt this process gets accelerated. We would continue to focus on closed user groups; later on might open up to B2C in a limited way through paid membership model.

c. Future roadmap.

We want DealsNow to emerge as a leading benefits and rewards solution provider. We will target all closed user groups – employees of organizations, members of customer loyalty programs, residents of large apartments, etc. We will be focusing on the employee segment initially. We are planning to tie with 60+ organizations by Mar 2012 giving us access to about 800,000 employees.

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India's Largest Startup Event, UnPluggd Is Back (Mindblowing Content + Exiciting Startup Demos » July 9th, Bangalore)

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Facebook Credits To Be Available In India Starting July 1st

Facebook developers in India can now use Facebook Credits (as an alternate payment mechanism) to charge for their apps.

Facebook Credits is a payment system that offers a safe, easy way to pay for digital and virtual goods in games and apps across Facebook.

Facebook Credits at a store in US

“Starting around July 1, we’re adding alternative payment options for Facebook Credits in 13 countries in Asia and Latin America. Those payment options are supported by Live Gamer. We’re also excited to announce that we now support payouts to developers in all countries globally (excluding a few government-embargoed countries). To do this, we’ve developed a new pay out process for developers in countries where we haven’t previously supported payouts through banks or PayPal.” [FB blog].

In India, Facebook offers payments via Mobile, MOLePoints, Moneybookers and Western Union QuickPay. Important to note that only Airtel supports Boku (for mobile payment) in India.

You can redeem Facebook Credits at the rate of $0.10 per Credit (less a service fee of $0.03 per credit redeemed) and like Google adsense, you will get paid the moment your account reaches $100.

Also see: Zynga Launches Game Cards in India

[Image credit: mwhaling/Flickr]

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India's Largest Startup Event, UnPluggd Is Back (Mindblowing Content + Exiciting Startup Demos » July 9th, Bangalore)

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