Video and Q&A platform Frankly.me clinches investment worth $600,000 from Matrix Partners

Frankly.me, a latest Video and Q&A platform that keeps you connected with public figures through video selfies, announced a seed funding of $600,000 from Matrix Partners. The startup at present is in Beta and with a website and apps for Android and iOS.

Targetted at empowering common people with the ability to have one to one conversations with anyone in the limelight- be it celebrities, politicians, entrepreneurs, IAS officers or sports personalities, it is open to users all over the world. The funding will be used to focus on India for the next 15 to 18 months and towards overcoming the challenge of expanding in a market with more than 20 officially recognized languages.

Taking advantage of the country's fast-growing mobile penetration rate, the platform intends to impact the Delhi elections this year to gain more traction. Currently, it boasts of having a cluster of noted public figures including politicians like Arvind Kejriwal, the ex-chief minister of Delhi, to entertainment celebrities, astrologers, and top chefs.

Frankly.me, Co-founder, Nikunj Jain commented, "We are excited about the funding, as it co-incideswith the elections which is a major focus area for our platform currently. Representatives from major parties have already signed up to take questions on our platform and we hope more and more people right now would be interested in connecting with the politicians to get their questions answered. We also intend to market the product strategically and bring in more innovation on the back of this investment by Matrix Partners."

Spokesperson, Matrix Partners commented, "We see a lot of potential in the product in the Indian market considering the ever growing usage of smart phones. Apart from this, at present we see no competition and therefore with Frankly being the sole player in its space, we expect it to pick up fast, bearing in mind the thoughtful strategies adopted by the platform."

Exposure from public figures on the platform has resulted in 1,000 to 2,000 new users each day since Frankly.me launched in beta recently. At present, it competes directly with formidable rivals like Twitter and Youtube. The factor that gives it an edge is that it enables two-way communication easily. 

The Questions submitted are up-voted by other users, so the most popular ones are seen and hopefully answered. Frankly's interface also enables in-depth discussions to take place. The platform is focussed on creating a stage for more meaningful conversations beyond 140 characters and gaining more users to keep the conversations going.