Students looking for a new way to document last weekend’s crazy party or plan next year’s spring break trip can now use the recently launched social networking site Capsule.
Capsule is an event-planning and group-sharing platform that features group text messaging. When a capsule is created for a trip or event, a unique phone number is created. Members of that capsule can then text the group phone number and their message will be delivered to the entire group via phone. There is also a mobile app called CapsuleCam.
“It gives you the ability to invite, RSVP and share photos from an event in real time,” CEO and Co-Founder Cyrus Farudi said.
Farudi and his Co-Founder Omri Cohen, designed Capsule based on their own experiences planning and attending events.
“Last year Omri and I had about 18 different weddings and bachelor parties to attend,” Farudi said. “We ended up using 10 different services to plan, post photos and organize each event.”
Cohen and Farudi realized that they could do something to solve their own problem.
“We were both unemployed and bumming around, and we found this huge hole in the market,” Cohen said.
Capsule launched in June 2011. So far, the site seems to be a success, according to Farudi and Cohen. “It’s growing pretty virally,” Farudi said.
Both Farudi and Cohen said Capsule is perfect for college students because its default setting is private, unlike other social networking sites like Facebook.
“It’s good for college students who want to keep things private from future employers,” Farudi said.
Everything on Capsule is organized around the experience itself.
“One of the biggest problems we found in our real life experiences was follow up,” Farudi said.
Through its organizational structure, Capsule allows members to revisit old capsules online years after the event and see all the messages and pictures that were associated with it.
“People organize their life this way anyways in their mind,” Cohen said. “It’s cool to go back and see moments around events.”
Although Capsule is growing, its biggest challenge has been getting people to stop relying on their other social networking tools, Cohen said.
“A lot of people instinctively think, ‘Why wouldn’t I just use Facebook?’” he said.
The problem is getting people to try the site, he said. Once they try it, they keep coming back for more, Cohen said.
To promote Capsule on college campuses, Farudi and Cohen are going directly to the students and sponsoring events on college campuses.
“We are also in the process of establishing a brand ambassador program, which will offer [students] the chance to intern with our company, learn the workings of a startup, and help to promote Capsule on campus,” Farudi said.
