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“Communities create enormous value for the company that they are built around. But from a brand perspective, there are very few tools available to them to manage, engage and grow these communities.” Ashwin Sreenivas is very clear why he started Campfire, the enterprise startup that got him a spot on the prestigious Forbes’ annual 30 Under 30 list.
The 26-year-old from Kochi says understanding the people that are a part of the community is critical for any company today. That’s where Campfire comes in, helping the company understand using artificial intelligence (AI) who these people are.
For example, if you are a company that makes smartphones, the brand would want to know how the community feels about the products, who are tweeting about your device, who are writing blog posts and making YouTube videos on newly launched phones, what are the issues they are facing with a specific product, etc.
“The pandemic has changed the way that customers interact with companies, the way companies behave themselves and learn from their customers,” he says over a call with indianexpress.com, adding that businesses have now realised how important it is to cultivate a strong brand and the role played by the loyal communities around them.
Sreenivas’s product collates all the information and uses the data to build stronger online communities. “We plug in your existing platforms, and give you all these insights. So you have the benefit of all the historical activity that you have probably seen on these platforms like Twitter, Github, Discord, or Subreddit for years,” he explained. “We capture all that previous information and pull everything in real-time.”
“From a brand perspective, everything is seamless. From a member’s perspective, nothing changes, except now the company is a lot more engaged with the actual community,” he adds.
Although Sreenivas did not reveal the name of clients who are using the tool, this does include a two-person startup to a multi-billion-dollar firm, also everything in between. Sreenivas’ startup uses the Saas business model by charging its clients an annual subscription to use the tool.
Born and raised in Kochi, Sreenivas completed his schooling from the Choice School before going on to do his graduation and post-graduation in computer science from Stanford University. From an early age, Sreenivas has been active on the Science and Cyber Olympiad circuits and has even represented India at the International Junior Science Olympiad.
Sreenivas’s first startup, Helia, which worked in the enterprise computer vision space was acquired by Scale AI late last year. Campfire currently has a small but fast-growing team and has got venture funding from the likes of Kevin Hartz, the co-founder of Eventbrite.
