Pokemondo is the name of the first Romanian startup to pioneer the recently emerged economy of Pokemon Go. Assuming the role of a marketplace driving foot traffic in local businesses, Pokemondo brings benefits to both small business owners and Pokemon Go players. The first pay to have more Pokemons appear at their location and thus increase visibility and number of visitors, resulting in boosted sales. The latter receive discounts and special offers while also having fun.
The Pokemondo business model adds to the storyline and excitement of the concept of Pokemon Go. Business owners join the game by offering bounties to players that will lure Pokemons to their local store. Pokemondo then sends bounty invitations to nearby players. The first player to complete the task also wins the bounty.
The idea for this business came up a few days after the “pokemania” took over the mostly static everyday activities of millions of people around the globe.
Lorand R. Minyo is the bright mind hiding behind the idea of monetizing on the greatest gaming attraction ever in just a matter of days after Pokemon Go swept the world off its feet. “A couple of days after the game was launched I read about the founders and their history, about the game mechanics and it immediately became obvious that there is an entire economy around it, one that can be only partially managed by Niantic Labs (the creators of the game),” says Minyo, as reported by 150sec.com.
While everyone else was either actively playing or just wondering what caused the big fuzz around Pokemon Go, Minyo dedicated his time and attention to research what he saw as a great business potential:
“Then, the next day I read about Pokemon Go driving sales for local business, which only confirmed my assumptions. So the very same day I asked around for Pokemon Go “experts” on a very serious note, got in touch with some of them and in the next 24 hours Pokemondo was born. My goal is to help local businesses all around the world gain more visibility and customers in a fun and exciting way”.
The birth of Pokemondo happened in a tech hub based in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. However, this new Pokemon marketplace is intended to expand to the US and UK as well. Pokemondo is currently in beta stage and is encouraging registrations of both local businesses and Pokemon players.