Five minutes with.. Cwikwin founder and developer Kishore Chand

What was the inspiration behind Cwikwin?

The two main inspirations really came from the fact that internet connected mobile was becoming centric to human life. Search, research, shopping, selling and advertising, everything seemed to be moving towards mobile. With all the great tools built by industry leaders like Google and Facebook, the importance of digital ads was growing. We saw that the digital ad space would not remain confined to just display, search, social media, etc. but advertisers would push these boundaries. In turn we identified that there was room for better customer engagement and brand awareness. At Cwikwin, we have taken the tried and tested traditional concept of brand sponsored contests and pulled it into the digital world, creating an online-hub for contests.

How has digital media changed brand engagement?

The digital space is not just fast growing but also very dynamic. Digital media has branched out into a variety of possibilities. Social media marketing is a key component in the marketing strategies of brands. These channels allow the brands to have a one-on-one engagement with their customers, be more personal and receive and resolve customer issues faster, thereby passing the message that the brand cares about its customers. We all know that a lot of purchase decisions are now influenced by endorsements and reviews available online.

Mobile marketing offers huge opportunities for brands to advertise, as the attention of the audience is undivided without the barriers of location and time. Most digital media platforms also offer meticulous selection of target groups, which improves the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and the return on investment. One of the most underrated areas is employee branding on select professional networking platforms like LinkedIn which connects brands to thousands of people in their employee’s networks; a possibility that didn’t exist earlier.

Do you think giveaways are a key way to boost consumer interest?

Giveaways are one way to acquire customers. However, to keep them interested and encourage them to use your services you need to have the right value proposition for your target audience. The audience that stays with you only for giveaways are in any case not really loyal by nature and in the context of our business their propensity to make a purchase driven by our campaign is lower.

Is Cwikwin seeking more funding?

We have the support of our existing investors and based on the achievement of milestones we have our ongoing fund infusion arrangements.

Do you intend to expand the app to other countries or provide new services?

We have recently launched operations in Mumbai and now getting close to our launch in Philippines. In 2017, we have some locations in the Middle East and Asia Pacific coming up. We also have some exciting new features in development and we are looking forward to releasing them on our newly designed mobile app soon, giving more reason for users to participate on Cwikwin.

Are you hiring?

Yes, we are hiring, we have been since we started two years ago. Currently, we are hiring developers, web-design experts, digital marketing champs and sales super stars in the UAE, Philippines and India.

What is your leadership style?

I believe in the allocation of responsibility, extended trust for delivery, monitoring milestones and plugging in with support when required. I think the role of the new-age leader is to drive the company’s vision and be a business facilitator.

In my spare time I like to..

Read and sometimes reply on Quora, read INSEAD Knowledge and McKinsey Insights, watch Youtube videos on new technologies and follow kickstarter to see new technology line-ups