After seeing a funny meme or watching a hilarious Vine, the first thing I do is think of who to send it to…“Paul would love this,” or, “I’ve got to send this to Maria.” The art of link sharing is such a big part of my social life that I have group texts that are based solely on sending and receiving content. Consequently, conversations today feel like a challenge to see who can dig up the best of the best. On social media, everyone competes for likes, shares, favorites, and retweets with the content they share. But, the problem is that the methods of affirmation available today are hollow and impersonal. You don’t actually know how your friends reacted to what you sent them. To combat this, Savannah-based Plexr has developed an app for iOS that records a photo or video of your friend’s reaction and will be showcasing it April 7 – 12 at One Spark in Jacksonville, FL. We recently chatted with one of Plexr’s co-founders to learn more.
Founded by Andre Walker-Upshur, Karthick “KG” Govindaraju, and Prateek Jain, “Plexr lets you share links off the internet via a mobile application and when your friend clicks on the link, Plexr records their reaction from their phone’s front camera and sends it back to you,” explains Jain. “This makes sharing things online as close to sharing them in person than ever before. The surprising thing is how often the reactions are even more entertaining than the link you sent out!”
Andre got the idea for Plexr one day when he’d found a funny video on YouTube the night before. Although he was running late for a doctor’s appointment at the time, he felt compelled to show the video to KG because he knew his reaction would be priceless. “Andre brought out his phone, showed KG this video, and watched him burst out laughing, exclaim with joy and grab a table nearby to prevent himself from falling off,” Prateek recalls. “On the way to the doctor, Andre marveled at how the experience of sharing something in person is so much better than sharing something via social media today.”
Before Plexr, “the best way to see someone’s reaction was to share something with them and then connect on Skype to see their reaction. We’re making online interactions as close to personal physical interactions as possible,” he asserts. Moreover, “there has been no product in history that allows marketers to test the audience’s reaction to ads effectively before they spend huge amounts of money and publish their ads to the public. Brands and marketing companies can launch campaigns to be tested through Plexr technology.”
The Plexr team is composed entirely of engineers who met while working at Gulfstream Aerospace in Savannah, Georgia. “While designing and building airplanes, we began the journey building mobile software that might just change the world,” says Jain. “The Creative Coast in Savannah has been tremendously helpful in helping us find the resources and motivation to keep going.” They are currently bootstrapping Plexr from their salaries at their day-jobs. “We even moved into the same apartment to keep the operation as lean as possible,” he adds. “We are now seeking $370,000 to build Android and web versions of our product to make it more widely available. We’re looking for investors with experience in mobile, marketing and consumer product spaces.”
As previously mentioned, the Plexr team will be at this year’s One Spark in Jacksonville. “We went to One Spark last year for validation. We’re excited about going back this year with the product actually out and functional,” says Jain. “It’s a place for us to go pitch and to refine our understanding of the customer. Although there’s capital up for grabs, the amount of money isn’t as important as meeting 100,000 potential customers.” If you’re planning on attending One Spark, look out for Plexr.
Screenshots of the Plexr App
Download the free Plexr app from the App Store today
Follow Plexr on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TeamPlexr
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TeamPlexr
Google +: https://plus.google.com/+Teamplexr/about