At the Connecting Ideas With Money session held on 25th March, 2022 founder Pradeep Naithodu pitched Mangalore-based Ziffiy – a mobile app that hosts a marketplace of virtual experiences offered in real-time, that showcases India to the world.
website: https://www.ziffiy.com/
It targets armchair travellers that prefer to experience exotic places from the safety of their homes. “‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ is a well-known Sanskrit term that means ‘Guest is equal to God’ – a practice of welcoming guests from all parts of the world is engraved in India, a country brimming with culture and heritage. One cannot simply visit this country; one has to live it!,” says Pradeep. “But can everyone travel physically to experience India? Can they explore places safely and meet people without hesitation? Could they know about numerous authentic local activities and places in India?”
Ziffiy offers curated virtual events that allow attendees to experience the heritage, architecture, food or festivals of India. These experiences are hosted by professional guides and amateur enthusiasts from India through the App.
“Think of Ziffiy as a marketplace – on one side there are people who want to consume these experiences, and on the other side people who want to showcase their cities or culture. Ziffiy brings them together on a single App,” says Pradeep.
Ziffiy was founded in 2021 by three friends – Pradeep, Rohan and Mandeep – who met in Germany during their MBA at Frankfurt School of Finance & Management.
The founders who are fond of traveling, having traversed 35 unique countries and spoken to thousands of locals. They realized that the people in Europe wanted to travel and experience India, however they were skeptical about issues like safety and lack of local contacts in unexplored tourist destinations. When they met people that had travelled to India, their experience included the famous tourist destinations such as the Taj Mahal. Ziffiy was born just through this insight. The team set out to build the platform that allows people to explore hidden gems and interact with locals, digitally first.
The vision of Ziffiy is that of a product where virtual experiences are the center of attention, and not simply a byproduct. We plan to build an ecosystem and a community around the virtual experiences which can cater to millions in today’s world.
Working on the vision is our experienced Founding team which has years of cross-functional work experience. All the founders have nearly a decade of experience working across continents.
Pradeep focuses on the product side with his technical, product management and people skills. Mandeep, with his corporate experience adds value in Operations and business development. Rohan on the other hand with his experiences with Startups in Sales & Marketing and being a people person, leads the marketing and community building.
The team invites collaborators, partners and investors to become part of our vision to create a world class virtual experiences platform, taking India to the world.
