The Startup Brings in Capital to Fulfill Its Vision of Reimagining Social Interactions for GenZ
Bengaluru, NFAPost: Slick App, the social networking platform for GenZ, is disrupting the market and revolutionising how young people connect and engage online.
Slick was founded by IIT Bombay graduates Archit Nanda and Rachit Bansal, on the belief in the positive impact of social networks.
“One of the fundamental problems seen with today’s social networks is their business model of ads, which dilutes networking and shifts users’ focus to consuming content. These platforms ultimately want more timeshare from their users, in ways that are not networking, which defies the very idea of a social network,” said Slick CEO, Archit Nanda.
Slick seeks to bridge this gap by creating a platform that prioritises networking. Their goal is to become GenZ’s ultimate platform to discover social connections through multiple innovative features. Slick aims to eliminate the frustrations with the current social media landscape and bring back the true essence of social networking.
Since launching in December, with a small team of 15 members, Slick has amassed over 1 million users spread across 5000+ schools and colleges in India which is a testament to the demand for a more authentic and engaging social networking experience.
Slick has raised $1.6M in this funding round led by WEH Ventures with participation from iSeed, Titan Capital (an existing investor), and All In VC. The Round also saw participation from a clutch of renowned Angel Investors – Sumit Gupta (Founder, CoinDCX), and others.
The funding will be used to enhance Slick’s user experience, drive innovation, and develop cutting-edge features to attract more users.
Last year, Slick raised $500k in a pre-seed round led by Unacademy’s founders (Gaurav Munjal, Roman Saini, and Hemesh Singh) and other renowned angel investors – Kunal Shah, Sujeet Kumar, and early-stage VCs, Titan Capital, and Blume Founders Fund.
Unlike existing tech giants, Slick does not aim to offer the same old digital ecosystem that has been saturated by the rise of passive media, and diluted social interactions among their users to the point of pretense.
Current Two Features:
Anonymous Compliments: Their current product offers youngsters the opportunity to anonymously exchange compliments with their peers. By eliminating hesitations and inhibitions, every poll prompt is a positive and flattering compliment, boosting the confidence of its users.Candid Profiles: Currently live exclusively in select institutions, Slick’s profile system is curated by friends, allowing for more authentic moments. The feature is unique in that your profile is curated by your friends rather than yourself. Your friends can snap pictures and tag you in them. If you find it worthy, it can be added to your profile after your acceptance. The vision is to create a positive feedback loop of memorable moments and experiences.
Redefining
Social Networking for GenZ
Slick’s aim is to redefine social networking for GenZ by providing an innovative platform where users can connect, engage, and discover content tailored to their interests. “Today’s generation hasn’t seen that side of social networks where Insta used to be more about photo sharing with friends and you could ‘poke’ friends on Facebook. We believe in eliminating the frustrations with the current social networking landscape and creating a platform that prioritizes networking,” said Slick CTO, Rachit Bansal.
WEH Ventures Rohit Krishna said driven by TikTok, all other major platforms have prioritised algorithmic feeds over social/chronological feeds.
“Now with the advancement in GenAI, we think soon even content would be created algorithmically. However, there’s a still a strong innate need to keep in touch with people & that’s why we believe this is the right time to build new social products, where the paradigm for monetisation could be very different from when Snap/Facebook started,” said WEH Ventures Rohit Krishna
