This Indian just made Tinder for event goers

Networking at business events is all about aimless prowling. Atul Todi, a business consultant, found that at startup events he attended, he wasn’t getting the results he wanted because too much time was wasted wandering or trying to figure out who to talk to. “You require introductions [far] in advance in order to talk business when you meet,” he felt. To solve that problem, he made an app “just like Tinder” that allows you to get introduced to other attendees beforehand, so when the actual event rolls around, you can do less wandering and more real networking.

It’s called 10Times, and it’s a Tinder-like app for event goers. If you are attending a startup event listed on 10Times, this is what you could be likely doing before the event starts:

Masayoshi Son, CEO, SoftBank
Aaha, swipe right

Rahul Yadav, former CEO, Housing
Ahem, swipe right

Atul Todi, founder, 10Times
Meh, swipe left

10Times launched in January 2014. The startup is a business event discovery and networking platform that has also built other services like accessing speaker information and event agendas, viewing maps and getting directions to the venue, and setting reminders for the event. It aims to improve event-goers’ experience before, during, and after the event.

The app was launched six months ago and has seen exchanges of 250,000 connections across 50,000 downloads. It works similar to Tinder – swipe right to connect and left to pass. Users can decide which industries and events they are interested in and filter professionals on that basis. If a connect request is accepted by the other user, they are able to chat and schedule meetings. It also sends geo-based connection suggestions for event attendees and allows users to invite friends. At the venue, the app provides live updates about the event.

“We want to enable users to optimize their time and improve return on investment from attending an event,” says Todi, who is a economics and psychology grad.

Only business, no dating here

His co-founder Ashwani Gaur, an IIT-Kanpur grad, previously founded PlayCez, a location-based event discovery platform, which raised a seed round from GSF and other angel investors. He was also a part of the core team of enterprise firm Qontext acquired by Autodesk. Gaur shut PlayCez, which was in the consumer events space, to fill the networking gap in business events. Another co-founder Mayank Chowdhary is an alumnus of Institute of Management Technology and was previously working as a product manager at IndiaMart.

10Times claims that 300 million people visit exhibitions and conferences every year across the world with the key purpose of meeting exhibitors, speakers, and fellow visitors. The startup wants to help them plan their visits better and spend their time in meetings and networking with prospective clients and partners.