Introduction

Take your memory back to the stormy events of the recent past, did you predict if Russia will invade Ukraine? Roger Federer will retire this year? Or if Donald Trump will lose the Presidential Elections? If you had answered ‘yes’ to one of these questions, you could have possibly monetised the prediction on these events. 

The financial universe is expanding rapidly. Markets for digital assets and information are getting more valuable day by day, and with the information age, the underlying asset value definition is moving towards the value of information. Investing is all about putting money on information about stocks, coins or different asset classes. Yet it is difficult to directly correlate the impact of crucial events on these assets. Hence, investors still having the information are unable to double down on their investments. 

Founded by Praveen, Plug is solving this exact problem and creating a platform that lets people take direct exposure to a future event and earn on every correct prediction. The behaviour of predicting and competition runs in the veins of humans. This is where the platform fills the void and rewards users for the same. It is as simple as answering Yes/No and earning profits when it is correct. 

Plug application works in a 3 step seamless process; It lets users explore new and exciting events of their interest and take either of the most popular sides; Yes/No. Once the user has chosen sides at the suggested price point and selected the quantity, the algorithm matches the bid with the user having an opposing opinion. More the educated opinion it was, more are the chances of winning the trade. With every correct position, the user gets 10 INR and with the incorrect position, investment becomes 0. However, they can exit anytime to mitigate losses or book profit until the expiry of the event. 

What sets Plug apart from its competitors is its innovative approach to user engagement. The company has designed its app as a daily challenge, with the goal of making it a habit for users. To encourage this, Plug sends a notification every day at 12 PM, reminding users to check the app for new events and trade on at least five of them. This approach not only helps users stay on top of their trades, but also creates a sense of accomplishment and motivation to maintain their daily streak.

Praveen is a 3rd time entrepreneur. With his previous venture ‘Moving’, he built India's First Crypto Social Investing platform (also a 100X funded company). Driven by zeal for coding, Praveen has won more than 30 global hackathons and has built over 100 web applications. He has sold one of his Blockchain-based product’s IPR to P&G India in 2020. He also holds a patent of a wearable glove for the visually impaired. He brings in-depth knowledge of product, design and business and handles all the core operations of Plug.

Market Opportunity

Previously, opinions on real-life events did not have a marketplace of their own, the landscape is changing today with new-age trading platforms. The universe of what has monetary value has gone beyond physical assets. Now, one can put a price on almost everything, starting from geopolitical events, the latest OTT shows to the sports tournaments.

Similarly, the option to invest in almost every opinion unlocks massive potential for opinion based trading apps. Plug plans to tap into 100 million+ smartphone users by simplifying the process further and enhancing the user experience of the application. 

100X.VC Thesis

The team comes with a sound technical & design background, and have built out a promising MVP. There are only a few players at seed stage, but no one player at late stage, hence, a clear gap of category leader. The lower wait time and ability to withdraw to customers bank account or UPI within a few clicks and other features creates good stickiness. Praveen and his team are building what 100X believes will be a game changer.

Conclusion

With the team and the product, Plug can prove to be an excellent platform for consumers. Its honest attempt towards simplifying the process of investment and allowing investors to have a direct exposure to the event outcomes can help it unlock massive potential for opinion based trading. The team’s commitment and drive to scale the venture to greater heights is why we, at 100X.VC, believe that Plug is headed for great things. We are excited to play a part in achieving this dream!