Mayank Sharma, Founder, SmsTweet : Entrepreneur harnessing the power of twitter

“SmsTweet- Harnessing the power of Twitter”

The power of new media needs no introduction to the young and savvy. Sites like Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter have a gargantuan following that begs for an entrepreneur’s attentions. Mayank Sharma is an inspired young entrepreneur who has made the best of an opportunity that others may have not seen. His creation SmsTweet leverages our love for new media to create a unique business idea worth thinking over.

Yourstory learnt more about SmsTweet, and Mayank’s entrepreneurial plans in a stirring conversation with the entrepreneur himself .

What is SmsTweet and how does it work?

SmsTweet is a very simple service that lets anyone with a mobile phone update their twitter status by just sending a SMS. They don't have to install any mobile application or need to have a GPRS connection to be able to tweet. Moreover since this service uses a regular 10 digit mobile number for SMS, it does not cost users a premium to use this service.

Which target demographic are you aiming for with SmsTweet?

Anyone who has a twitter account and feels the need to update their status in real time anywhere will be benefited by this application. Currently about 2500 users have subscribed to this service.

What challenges lie in store for an aspiring (Indian) entrepreneur?

There are multiple challenges for an Indian entrepreneur based on his financial health, his ability to network and essentially to wear multiple hats in different situations.

What is the business idea behind SmsTweet?

There is no business model or differentiation for SmsTweet. Anyone who can host a SIM card or has access to a virtual phone number can create a similar service. This service is free for users and hence there is no business model associated with it. Once I have about 50,000 users subscribed to this service, I plan to use SMS advertisement as a way to make business.What are you future plans for SmsTweet?

I plan to scale the business by adding a lot more VAS around mobile phone. Such as location based searches, restaurant reviews, mobile based loyalty management etc.

I wish to make SmsTweet a consumer brand and make it popular by having at least 1 million customers.

What entrepreneurial ideal led you to start your own venture?

Spirit of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship gives me the flexibility to work on what I really like doing. With this independence I get a chance to think more liberally and create solutions/products which could never be created in regular 9-to-5 job.

What has been the hardest challenge to overcome?

My biggest challenge has been customer acquisitions. I actually got benefited a lot when my customers who were bloggers started writing about my service and it promoted it virally.

What was the first lesson you learnt as an amateur entrepreneur?

I started off solo on entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship requires a lot of focus, reality check and need to be on top of your things. This sometimes becomes difficult when you are alone as you tend to get carried in certain directions without any discussions/brain storming with others.What has been your proudest moment so far?

DNA newspaper carried an article on this service (SmsTweet) in December 2009 and Customer acquisitions at zero cost.

What advice would you give to yourself if you could go back in time?

Try to start with your friends and don't go alone on this if you can.

Yourstory wishes SmsTweet and Mayank Godspeed in getting a million users. We hope he continues his uniquely inspiring work and finds the success that is so rightfully his.