The startup that’ll crowdsource your wishes and New Year’s resolutions

Cocociti and Mickey Mouse have quite a bit in common. Photo credit: skyseeker.

Around five months ago, when co-founders and former secondary school classmates Jithin Raj and Dheeraj T realized their P2P lending startup wasn’t working out, they decided to pivot into the business of granting wishes.

They decided to pivot into the business of granting wishes.

Their then-rental-company Cocociti sprung out of the co-founders’ mutual love of collaboration – collaboration between people, and collaboration between people and their computers. Their problem was developing trust among their users.

“People were not willing to share products to a stranger,” Jithin, who used to work with JP Morgan and Rhythm of Nation, tells Tech in Asia. Unlike Airbnb, which offers Host Protection Insurance for up to US$1 million in 26 countries, Cocociti just didn’t have those kinds of resources.

They didn’t own any of the items being rented, either. “[That’s] not really P2P,” Jithin explains, pointing to companies like car rental business Zoomcar that own part or all of their inventory.

Three months later, he and Dheeraj ventured into the wish economy.

Here’s to the dreamers

Jithin Raj, co-founder and CEO of Cocociti. Photo credit: Cocociti.

Cocociti – a name created from the phrase “Collaborative Consumption for Cities & Citizens” – is a social network through which people can post their wishes and grant them through their connections. A glance at the site’s homepage shows wishes as concrete as an iPhone 7 and as abstract as “being a morning person.”

People are supposed to leverage their networks to help them reach their goals. For example, a person who wants an iPhone 7 can ask her networks if they know anyone selling a phone for a good price. Their networks can also help her start and keep on a saving plan so that she can get her hands on enough money to buy one from a store. A person struggling with an early morning alarm clock can join groups of early risers and get tips on easing into an up-with-the-sun lifestyle.

Cocociti will also offer suggestions to “add value” to a wish.

Cocociti will also offer suggestions to “add value” to a wish. If a person wants a bike, for example, the startup will offer rental suggestions as well as different payment or saving plans to help a user finance the two-wheeler.

Advertisement-based help offers may later may be introduced to help the startup monetize. Right now, though, they’re testing the waters – the new site hasn’t officially launched but is open for use.

Active wishing