Delhi-based Frankly.me Bags $600,000 Funding From Matrix Partners

A Delhi-based startup called Frankly.me, which developed a video Q&A platform, just like VYou, has bagged a an investment of $600,000 from Matrix Partners, that would aid the company to carry its on going development and mark its presence in the Indian market.

Currently in beta, the app and website, Frankly.me, is a video Q&A platform that serves the purpose of connecting common people with public figures and eliminates the communication gap between them. The platform is compared to VYou which saw more than million  answers posted and raised $3 million in funding before shutting its consumer site down in March 2013 due to lack of user engagement.

However, according to the founder Nikunj Jain and Abhishek Gupta, Farankly.me will not meet the same fate as there is a drastic difference between the social demographic of India and US. The startup  hopes to take advantage of the country’s fast-growing mobile penetration rate with this week’s launch of its mobile app.

There is no similar platform in India for people to connect with public figures, such as government officials. Delhi’s assembly elections are expected to take place next month, and representatives from all major parties have already signed up to take questions on Frankly.

The founders hope the election scenario will help the startup to gain user base and users will stick around on the platform to communicate with other people even after elections. The people engaged with the startup, range from politicians like Arvind Kejriwal, the ex-chief minister of Delhi, to entertainment celebrities, astrologists, and top chefs.

Exposure from public figures on the platform has resulted in 1,000 to 2,000 new users each day since Frankly launched its beta last week, the company claims. Frankly is still considering different business models, but the company is focused on gaining users for now and founders believe that “if you have a good conversation going on, monetization should not be a problem.”