With Facebook taking up most of our time post work or even during the weekends, Treetle comes as a saviour for those who enjoy hanging out and having some ‘real’ fun rather than just sitting at home and socialising virtually. Founded by Bangalore-based Pankaj Dugar, a Harvard Business School graduate, this interest-based networking site helps people connect with those who share similar hobbies. “There are at least 10 people in your neighbourhood who enjoy, for example, biking, just the way you do. But there’s no way for you to find this out. The efficient Treetle search and recommendation engine generates a list of clubs and events happening in the area of the user,” said Pankaj, who was in the city recently to promote the site. That apart, a special feature allows attendees of a particular event to appreciate efforts of the event organiser. “In the form of credit and points, attendees can give the event organiser up to 10 credits per event. In turn, the organiser can use these credits to buy e-vouchers and shop on the sites of Treetle’s merchant partners. Flipkart happens to be the site’s one of the most popular merchants,” he informed.
Now, Treetle is free. There isn’t any registration fee for the users. So the question then is – how do they make money? “Any ‘for-profit’ business module will have to pay a subscription charge in order to be featured on the site,” said Pankaj.
So, if you are one of those who is bored out of your skull and itching to do something adventurous this weekend with like-minded people, then you know which site to log on to.