The Times Group Invests in Ponder — A Blockchain Based Referral Platform
Strategic Partnership Will Grow the Gamified Referral Platform
The Times Group has acquired a stake in Ponder, a maker of blockchain-based game-like apps for generating referrals, through their strategic investment arm Brand Capital. Ponder’s apps aim to make it enjoyable to make referrals for jobs, business, and even romance — anywhere where a friend’s judgement can be valuable. Where a referral leads to success, the person making the referral is financially rewarded. Brand Capital’s investment in Ponder will help the startup launch into the Indian market and leverage the group’s media assets in order to build a robust community of users, increasing engagement on the Ponder platform for different verticals of referrals: recruitment, new customers & romance.
“This exciting alliance represents a unique opportunity to rapidly scale the Ponder referrals platform” said Manshu Agarwal, Co-Founder and CEO of Ponder. This investment will assist and accelerate Ponder’s growth, both in the Indian market and overseas.”
“We constantly strive to identify innovation that will impact key vertical sectors and new categories of businesses besides backing new entrepreneurs and their ideas. We see the Ponder platform as a means for ‘scalable human intervention’ on a truly global scale!” said Mr. Sam Subramaniam, CEO, Brand Capital.
About Brand Capital:
Brand Capital is the strategic investment arm of BCCL, India’s largest media group also known as the Times Group and is the publisher of leading newspapers such as The Times of India, The Economic Times & Navbharat Times.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/
About Ponder:
Ponder is the easiest way to make and find referrals. Using an intuitive game-like interface, Ponder lets users make referrals and be paid for doing so. People and companies get to cut through the noise to make quality connections suggested by friends and contacts, unlike existing matching applications that use algorithms alone.
Their current app targets romantic referrals and has been downloaded over 120k times. The next app is for recruitment purposes, providing employers a way to source more high-quality referred candidates. Ponder uses blockchain technology to create secure matchmaking communities and ensure data and identity are protected.
