FlipNpik, a blockchain project has been talking about their social media platform that’s going to help users monetize their online activity by promoting businesses. It sounded interesting, which made us send across a set of questions to know more about what they are trying to achieve and how they are going to do it?
The CEO of FlipNpik, Henri Harland had the following responses to our questions.
Q: FlipNpik, the description states that it is a social media ecosystem. Can you please explain how it works? How is FlipNpik different from other social media platforms, like Facebook for example?
A. FlipNpik is a collaborative social media, connected to the blockchain and built by the community to reveal the best local businesses in their neighborhoods. On FlipNpik, users can inscribe their favorite shops, post content for a business or discover new ones shared by the community. Hence on FlipNpik, every user becomes an influencer, sharing his or her experience and encouraging local consumption.
FlipNpik is also the first social media to allow users to monetize their social media engagements and not the other way around. Every action executed on FlipNpik is rewarded. Other social media such as Facebook don’t offer this advantage. Unlike centralized social media whose sole beneficiaries are the shareholders, the value created on FlipNpik is shared amongst all the key participants of the ecosystem, offering a unique value proposition for all.
We believe that FlipNpik is a disruptive platform set to revolutionise digital marketing and e-commerce. The self-explanatory video we have created can give an idea of how the platform works.
Q: There are many social media influencers on mainstream social media sites at the moment. How are they going to benefit from the new platform? Do they have to start from scratch to build their clout on FlipNpik?
A: Today, on existing social media, influencers have to continuously chase new mandates and contracts. With FlipNpik, they get to decide what and when they want to promote. Indeed they can just create content and share it on the business’s page and get paid for it, no need to wait for offers from brands or shops!
No, influencers don’t need to start from scratch as they can always leverage their existing community to promote their social media engagements and earn more. Besides, when they share from the FlipNpik platform to other social media, they still get rewarded for it on FlipNpik.
Q: While FlipNpik claims to be a user and business-friendly social media platform, has it garnered interest from commercial establishments?
A: From beginning to end, FlipNpik was conceived and built with the contribution of all the different stakeholders to qualify as a user-friendly social media.
Prior to the conception of the product, a market study was led in Canada amongst 300 small businesses and the results revealed, amongst others, that small businesses are struggling to survive, that existing solutions are not performing and that digital marketing tools should be adapted to allow small businesses to increase their visibility and attract new customers. Following this study, the conception and development of the platform were conducted under the Agile methodologies, based on adaptive planning, early delivery and continuous improvement and ability to adapt to change. All throughout the development, the App was tested and reviewed with the contribution and feedback of small local businesses, continuously evolving to respond to their needs.
To date we have over 7,000 businesses on the platform from Singapore, Dublin, London, Paris, Montreal, Geneva and many more to come. We have signed strategic partnerships and are in the process of helping over half a million merchants register on the platform.
Q: How will FlipNpik benefit casual social network users who generally don’t promote businesses but rather wish to connect with their friends and family online over social media/network sites?
FlipNpik is a social media platform where you can connect with your friends and family but around the subject of local consumption. Users will earn points and be able to share their discoveries and invite friends or family to visit the next great local shop in town. Even if they don’t want to promote, they will still be rewarded when they share content. It is then totally up to the users if they wish to use their points (Flip Social) to benefit from instantaneous promotions, to discover and obtain products or simply to be entertained by the games available on the Platform. They can also change their Flip Social into the FNP token, a utility token on the FlipNpik ecosystem and tradable on various exchanges.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAXf18rUbuA
Q: Where does the project stand right now? Any collaborations or partnerships that our readers should know about?
A: As of today, we have signed three major partnerships with Vexanium, iFashion group and Atayen, the makers of the well-known iFrames Apps, and we are targeting over 1M users and 500K merchants on the FlipNpik app. You can already discover and post for local businesses in Geneva, Montreal, Paris, London, Singapore, Seoul, Dublin, and China.
Q: Tell us more about your team and how they are contributing towards this new Social Media?
A: FlipNpik is truly the first of its kind and, as a result, our team is distinctly different too. The nature of building a global community, in a way that has never been done before, means that FlipNpik demands an experienced, agile team, with unique technical capability, a pioneering, questioning mindset, and an ambition to change the status quo.
Henri Harland – CEO Worldwide
Henri has an extensive entrepreneurial background. He’s the former CEO of several listed companies, which he built from the ground up, giving him the commercial and operational acumen needed to lead FlipNpik in its trailblazing mission. His previous achievements have focused on creating and sharing value, an ethos that’s reflected in the FlipNpik ecosystem.
Ian Lin – CEO Asia
Ian Lin is a serial entrepreneur who has started many successful companies in Singapore. As a business owner, he understands the needs and challenges faced by local businesses. His rich experience allows him to enhance the FlipNpik ecosystem to offer more value to our business partners. Ian Lin is also heavily involved in blockchain startups. He graduated from Wharton University and Stanford University and was formerly a submarine officer with the Republic of Singapore Navy.
Richard Marganne – President Europe
Richard held a number of senior roles prior to taking up his position as President of FlipNpik. These include COO of the Oleosea Company and CEO of Gobert Rutschi, the Geneva based organisation that first realised the potential of tram dressing in ecological matters throughout Switzerland. His experience in street marketing has also been deployed at FlipNpik.
Serge Helou – CTO
As FlipNpik’s CTO, Serge has a wealth of technology experience in a diverse range of IT teams. From working as a software developer at Ericsson Canada and a business analyst at L’Oréal to launching several e-commerce sites, Serge has the retail commerce and project management skills vital to the success of FlipNpik. His day-to-day focus is on ensuring all aspects of our IT functions run smoothly for all parties.
Jessica Nguyen-Hoang – Business Developer Manager
A holder of both a Swiss federal diploma and a diploma in operational sales and marketing from the SAWI, Jessica has sharply owned business and entrepreneurship skill sets. In previous roles, she has been responsible for the development of activity across a spectrum of areas.
Q: User acquisition, how do you plan to go about it?
A: First, we have built an engaged crypto community of 20,000 members who will help us continue to build our Ecosystem. We have prepared a user acquisition program dedicated to rewarding and motivating the community to be active on FlipNpik.
Second, in addition to our partnerships, we have conducted extensive PR and marketing initiatives to promote FlipNpik and build brand awareness, you can check our press book here: bit.ly/pressbookfnp
And finally, part of our successful commercialization is our business model: Monetizing social media posts for all users helps to attract a lot of organic users, along with our worldwide marketing plan.
Q: Anything else you wish to inform our readers?
A: Download the FlipNpik app and start monetizing your posts today 🙂