Sagoon Inc seeks to raise funds
KATHMANDU:
Sagoon Inc, a bootstrap company owned by a US-based Nepali, Govinda Giri, is seeking to raise $3 million to $5 million from Silicon Valley, the home to many of the world’s largest high-tech corporations and numerous tech start-up companies.
The move is targeted at raising investment in Sagoon.com, a global social platform.
Giri, once a system engineer in Pentagon, had started the start-up with $500,000 investment support from Nepali friends, family members and colleagues from Pentagon. Currently, the social media boasts of around 155,000 users from different parts of the world.
Talking to The Himalayan Times over Skype, Giri said that professional investors of Silicon Valley with investment in global giants like Facebook, Google and Twitter have shown interest to invest in Sagoon and discussion is slated to start from first week of May.
“Fourteen different groups investing in Silicon Valley based in New York, seven groups from North Carolina and three groups from Washington DC have confirmed to meet with us,” he said.
Sagoon is targeting to raise minimum $3 million within June this year. Generally, start-ups having financial support of friends and family do not get investment recognition in the Silicon Valley. Giri said that Sagoon had attracted investors owing to the growth achieved so far without any professional support of seed fund and possibility of further growth.
Before opting for a social media, Giri had tried to build a search engine while working in Pentagon in 2009. However, the initiative had failed.
Now, Giri has 10 developers in Noida, India-based office and four friends in Washington DC who work for Sagoon as part-timers. He is also planning to launch a new version of Sagoon from India and Nepal within July and plans to open an office in Nepal too.
What sets Sagoon apart from other social media sites is that it has business model to share revenue as reward with users who spend time with it and applications like ‘secret’ and ‘occasion’ that allow users to tell their story in pictures, reveal secrets and share personal moments. Studies show people spend two hours a day on an average in social media sites like Facebook.
Giri said that the company itself would not be sharing the revenue directly. Instead, it would sign agreements with various local vendors in different countries, holding them responsible to provide incentives to users, who can use it for sending gifts or getting discount while buying certain items.
To be eligible to get the reward deposited in the account, users will be required to get Sagoon’s Social Smart Card, which as per Giri, is in preparation phase. The smart card is a digital card solution designed for users and customised to enhance online shopping, buying and gifting experience.
In Nepal, Sagoon is consulting with e-Sewa, Bhat-Bhateni and Muncha. Recently, Sagoon started providing $5 reward to users’ account who sign up.
Giri is optimistic that with phenomenal growth in internet users globally, Sagoon would continue to expand and in the next phase, he plans to raise fund ranging from $15 million to $25 million for
further investment
Source: THT
