Here's How This Startup Aims To Spread the Common Man's Voice "Tomorrow when our app is big, Narendra Modi could take insight from our data while deciding on an issue"
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When celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan or Sachin Tendulkar tweet, their voices are heard across the globe. However, this is not the case with the common man, who sinks his teeth into daily rigorous challenges of life, and yet his opinion on regular issues remains unheard!
This startup, founded by two tech-veterans and friends Anuj Goel and Akshat Jain, aims to bundle the opinion of the common man and help it reach the right authority; even to the Prime Minster of India.
Founded two months back, Swipe is a social platform and app that can be used for voicing one's opinion. It enables sharing views and voting on social issues. The app aims at brining in awareness of pertinent issues.
How does the app work?
In a tête-à-tête with Entrepreneur Media, co-founder Akshat Jain spoke about how has the two-month company garnered more than 10K users and crossed more than a lakh of votes. Swipe draws inspiration from Narendra Modi's view on solving social issues via technology.
Akshat said that a platform like Facebook really doesn't help in fixing the real issues. "Data is the answer to so many things. If we can quantify the opinion it will help us get a clear view on what people really want than having several number of threads on social media," he said.
In its pilot program, the startup asked 50 women in Bangalore whether or not they should be changing their surnames post marriage. The app saw 47 of them saying that they should not be changing their surnames with detailed quantification of their answers.
How does the platform help?
Developed by Finest Minds Infotech Pvt Ltd, Swipe intends to build a centralized community interested in devising solutions to various societal issues. The users can have real-time experience via the app. The startup is working towards leveraging this data via partnering with government authorities, NGOs and media outlets.
"Tomorrow when our platform is big, if Narendra Modi wants to take a decision he can take insight from our platform as to what people think about an issue," Akshat said.
The startup is currently in talks with a leading newspaper in Bangalore for collaboration, wherein the organization could incorporate their data into their stories adding more context. The company claims to effectively filter out unwanted users who are found using bad language and misusing the app.
Dealing with similar platforms
Social platforms have been a phenomenal source of hearing out voice of the masses. Apart from social media mammoths like Facebook and Twitter, which also enables conducting polls, companies like My Vote Today and Change.org also helps the common man to voice his views on issues pertaining to them. Akshat believes what sets his company apart is the quality of questions and the fact that it caters across different age groups .
The company is currently funded by friends and family and a couple of U.S. angel investors and is hoping to raise another round of funds soon.