Pricing tracking and alerts service Nifti is testing the waters with a new
application called Cinch (no, not Klout’s advice-giving app also called
Cinch, but very close.) In fact, Nifti’s new app is practically a variation
on Klout’s earlier arrival, as Klout’s Cinch is about asking for
recommendations and Nifti’s Cinch is about asking for opinions. That is, it
’s meant to be a quick way to poll your friends and get their feedback by
posting photos and asking friends to choose which is best.
The company envisions it being used for a range of quick questions, like
which selfie looks better, where to have dinner, what to wear, and more.
Explains Nifti co-founder Nathan Sharp, the idea to spin out the new app
actually came from observations of how people were using the company’s
alerts service. But the move was mainly prompted by a general slowing-down
in the broader “price tracking” space itself, which had seen rivals like
Hukkster going bankrupt, and Decide.com having an un-bragworthy exit to eBay.
Meanwhile, though Nifti was performing well, Sharp admits growth was “
promising, but linear.”
Nifti’s direct competitor Wantworthy was going through struggles of its own
, too. Following Nifti’s raise of $1.2 million in additional seed funding
in December, the company brought on the CTO and the Creative Director of
Wantworthy, Ryan Fitzgerald and Julian Zarate, to rethink Nifti’s approach
to the price-tracking space.
After examining Nifti’s analytics and talking with its users, the team
found that much of Nifti’s organic growth occurred when users received a
price alert then sent it to friends to get their opinions.
Cinch_Home_thumb“The more we talked to people, the more we realized that
this wasn’t social sharing – it was private polling,” says Sharp. “
Neither Nifti, nor other messaging apps, were doing a great job of allowing
people to quickly gather opinions around a photo-based decision. So we set
out to build a visual polling service to drive Nifti’s organic growth to
the next level.”
Initially, the polling feature was tested within Nifti’s main application,
leading some to believe the company had entirely pivoted away from price
tracking. But Sharp says that’s not entirely true – Nifti’s move to
social polling was a test. Shortly afterwards, the team decided to spin
polling out into a new app called Cinch.
Today, Nifti.com remains online, but the company’s mobile presence is
represented by Cinch.
The new app is simple to use – you just snap a few photos and send them to
anyone in your phone’s contacts. Recipients can then vote in just a tap,
and they don’t even need to download the app to do so. Friends can’t see
others’ votes until they vote themselves, allowing you to receive unbiased
feedback.
The polls can also be shared on social media, including Facebook, Twitter
and Whatsapp.
In addition to personal or casual use, Sharp notes that Cinch could be handy
for those in creative professions, too. “It’s also an ideal app for
professionals in visual-oriented fields like designers and interior
decorators that are in constant need of feedback,” he says.
Nifti’s $1.2 million round of funding included Otto Capital, Dan Edelman (
recently retired CEO of Macy’s West), and Timothy Kasbe (COO Gloria Jeans;
former CIO of Sears). With this additional investment, the 6-person team at
Nifti now has more than a year before it will need to pursue its Series A.
However, even a successful polling app can’t necessarily find enough
sustainable growth to make it on its own either, especially after VC
investment – as popular social polling app Polar recently found. (The
company exited to Google this month in what appears to be largely a talent
acquisition.)
The new Cinch app is live on the iTunes App Store now, as a free download.
