Mobile Ad Network Paisa Swipe Raises Funding From US Angels, To Launch Windows App

Paisa Swipe, India’s No.1 mobile lockscreen ad and content discovery network, has raised $350K from US-based angel investors, sources told Business Insider India. The eight-month-old start-up will use the funding to launch its Windows app by March 2014. In October last year, the start-up launched its Android app (http://bit.ly/1cqWVim) in beta and one can download it for free from Google Play.

Last we checked, total downloads at Google Play stood at 35,000 and the rating was 4.2 out of 5. According to co-founder and India head Revanth Mittapalli, the app is currently seeing 1,000 downloads a day, has crossed 20 million ad impressions and is witnessing at least 600,000 ad impressions per day. The company is also eyeing expansion in five more countries in order to grow its user base.

The mobile ad network was founded in May 2013 by a global team of three with expertise in the mobile business. CEO Jian Tam has extensive experience in digital marketing and prior to Paisa Swipe, he had played a key role in setting up two other companies. Director Chris Marshall has studied in London School of Economics and specialises in the wireless space. Earlier, he held leadership roles at three companies and one of them, AePONA, was sold to Intel. Revanth Mittapalli is the India head with focus on digital marketing and four years of industry experience. The start-up has headquarters in Hyderabad and New York.

So what’s unique about this start-up? As mentioned in our earlier coverage, Paisa Swipe not only connects brands, content and consumers, but also pays mobile users for viewing the ads. All you need to do is log in and provide more information about your interest areas. Now every time you turn on your phone, an advertisement appears on your lockscreen, related to your interests. The ‘earning’ part is also easy. If you like the content, simply ‘swipe’ it to learn more and you will get paid by the Paisa Swipe advertisers.

As of now, each member gets up to 60 paise per ad display, but the monthly earning cannot exceed Rs 300. But people can earn even more and win referral prizes if their friends sign up. These include cool prizes such as movie tickets, electronics, vacation packages and more. When the ‘encashment’ point (Rs 50) is reached, one can use the amount to cash out at Freecharge.in, which offers recharge services for mobile, DTH and data cards. You can also donate to charity with the money you earn here.

In spite of overall positive response, Paisa Swipe has also drawn flak for copycating South Korea’s Cash Slide that runs a similar app. However, we must not forget two things in this context.

Blindly cloning a successful business does not guarantee success. Instead, much depends on the contextualisation of the concept and finally, the execution. Berlin-based Rocket Internet GmbH, a venture arm of the Samwer brothers and known for cloning several successful online business models of the US in other markets, could be a case in point here. Although Rocket-backed start-ups at home and abroad are famous for their fast and furious cash burn, none is close to profitability yet and some ventures like Gurgaon-based 21Diamonds had been shut down. In contrast, Paisa Swipe has kept a close tab on the market pulse and is evolving accordingly – crucial factors that lead to success. Much of it will also depend on growing the user base and tying up with big brands. Once that is done, it will be interesting to watch if the US angels-backed Indian start-up can make successful foray into global markets.