{"id":335264,"date":"2017-03-08T16:03:28","date_gmt":"2017-03-08T08:03:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/techcrunch.com\/?p=1461754"},"modified":"2017-03-08T16:03:28","modified_gmt":"2017-03-08T08:03:28","slug":"gobi-raises-500k-to-take-on-snapchat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/gobi-raises-500k-to-take-on-snapchat\/","title":{"rendered":"Gobi raises $500K to take on Snapchat"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Norwegian startup Gobi<\/a> raised $500,000 at a $15 million valuation to\u00a0take on\u00a0Snapchat with its \u201cStories\u201d communication tool.\u00a0The platform enables users to create public and private groups where users can share photos and videos that stay around for three days before vanishing into digital pixel-dust.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe originally\u00a0created a Snapchat group for our college,\u201d says Kristoffer Lande, Gobi\u2019s CEO. \u201cAnd the group rapidly grew to 4,000 users. Snapchat wasn\u2019t a big fan, so they shut it down after about 24 hours. Everybody loved the community group, however, so we decided to build our own app.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the uses for the app is to ask for opinions; whether someone thinks your shoes are hot or not, or whether you should buy a particular shade of sunglasses.<\/p>\n

\u201cGobi is designed to put interactivity at your fingertips,\u201d says Lars Erik Fagern\u00e6s, the company\u2019s CTO. \u201cWe learned that our users often ask for each other\u2019s opinions in the app. Gobi now solves this by letting them do it with one simple step. The interactive stickers can be added on top of the snaps, and then the viewers will be able to tap and interact with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

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By placing an interactive sticker on your photo, you can get instant feedback from your followers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The interactions vary from simple up or down votes to links, embedded videos, audio tracks and much more.<\/p>\n

A \u201cgroup\u201d can consist of anything from two people to several hundred thousand members. They are often based around interests, locations, clubs, groups of friends or events.<\/p>\n

The company has several angel investors, including\u00a0Olympic gold medalist Petter Northug<\/a>\u00a0and billionaire\u00a0salmon farming heir Gustav Witz\u00f8e<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe investment is a game changer for us,\u201d says Lande. \u201cThe product is now ready, and the investment will help us\u00a0executing on\u00a0our the launch strategy later this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first version of the app was originally launched in August 2015, and has since grown to around 70,000 users.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"\" Norwegian startup Gobi raised $500,000 at a $15 million valuation to take on Snapchat with its “Stories” communication tool. The platform enables users to create public and private groups where users can share photos and videos that stay around for three days before vanishing into digital pixel-dust. Read More<\/a><\/p>\n

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