Cybercafe Ad Platform Ideacts Gets $5 Million From Sequoia
Mumbai-based Ideacts Innovations, a web-based advertising platform, has recieved $5 million funding from Sequoia Capital India. Sequoia Capital India’s senior advisor R.Ramaraj and operating partner Mohit Bhatnagar have joined the board. The startup also has backing from Alok Kejriwal of Contests2win.
Ideacts has a desktop interface application called Clinck which is targeted at cybercafe users, providing shortcuts to internet browsers, messengers, search, news, entertainment and online storage, as well as advertisements from various companies.
Ideacts has tied up with cybercafes (especially white labeled ones, and not the Sifys or Reliance WebWorlds) and the latter will be paid for installing the Clinck application on the desktops. It’s an offline way to reach out to the cybercafe users. Ideacts will make money from advertisements. Some of the companies advertising with Ideacts are ICICI Bank, Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO), Naukri, Radio Mirchi, Dell, MSN, White Mischief and Makemytrip.
The company was formed in March 2007 by CEO Rudrajeet Desai, Maninder Gill and Saurabh Khullar. Desai has previously worked with BPL Mobile and Cadbury (I) Ltd before moving to brand integration on the mobile platform with Mobile2win and Group M. The company is hoping to ride on the growth of the cybercafe market, projected to grow at least eight percent annually. The firm is currently operational in eight cities, with 32 employees - Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahemdabad, Chandigarh, Pune and Bangalore, and it plans to go to B- and C- tier cities as well in 2009.
Rudrajeet Desai said the company’s focus is white-labeled cybercafes: “We pay these cybercafes on a monthly basis, which vary according to their size. At present, we have this arrangement with 625 cybercafes, which come to more than 5,000 computers.” Desai further said that they plan expand to around 3,000-3,500 cybercafes.
“This year we plan to expand our operations in cities where we have already established a presence. India has a 120 crore plus population and cybercafes are the fastest, easiest and cheapest way of internet access. So I don’t consider increasing PC penetration as a threat to us.”
Posted In: Money, M&A & Venture Capital, Venture Capital
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Comments (1)
Jul 23, 2008 12:29 PM
The worst problem that anyone can guess is that.. this Clinck totally removes the conventional desktop. Such a new interface, which is not in the usual habit of users, would make them really uncomfortable. You can’t even refresh this new ‘desktop’ or even click on it, otherwise it will unintentionally open some link of an advertisement.
The cafe owners just go for it because of some ‘extra’ money but they don’t understand that this will seriously affect their own service.
I DOwnloaded this interface…
It eats a lot of RAM, more than internet explorer, slowing down the system..
The desktop itself is very unfamiliar.. and a lot of mess with Ads. I cant directly access my desktop files and other icons.. which is the very first purpose of a windows desktop.
Unless they improve the application.. cafe owners will have to think twice. They can give an option to minimize/maximize this new destop with an attractive icon on the desktop.