Virtual Realty
Kalyan Manyam 32 FOUNDER/CEO Mojostreet, Hyderabad
Kalyan is one of the very few young people I’ve met with strong technical and business skills. We have a potential winner.”
Srini koppolu, CEO, Setu software systems
Want to own prime locations in your city? You don’t have to spend even a rupee. Simply get on to Mojostreet, a phone app-based game that lets you own any place in the city virtually, and is a city guide and friend finder to boot. Created by Kalyan Manyam in January 2011, the app already has 65,000 users and 5.5 million locations listed across India that one can own or buy virtually. It also enables people to share their location with friends on Facebook, Twitter and Blackberry messenger. The next generation of Blackberry phones will have this app preinstalled. “it’s also a way of connecting businesses with consumers. For instance, if you shared with three friends on Mojostreet that you are sitting at Café Coffee Day, you’ll be rewarded with a freebie at Café Coffee Day. So it encourages the user to keep coming back,” explains Manyam. Amaster’s in information systems from Eastern Michigan University in 2004, Manyam launched Mojostreet with his brother Vishnu, a doctor, with an investment of Rs 1.5 crore. Today, at least 350 market players, including Subway and Barista, have tied up with Mojostreet.
What’s Your Mojo
You compete with friends and unknown users on your ‘net worth’ based on how many locations you own. To earn more mojo dollars, you need to keep checking into a place. For instance, if you own Hyderabad Central on Mojostreet, you need to actually—not virtually—keep going back to Hyderabad Central and check into Mojostreet from there to continue owning it.
Find a Friend
The app can tell you if any of your friends (from Mojostreet) are nearby. One also gets information about other users if they happen to check in from the same location as you do.