Flimper — Blog — Entrepreneurial Trek

When you enter NXTP Labs Buenos Aires, you’re catapulted into a trendy work share space where entrepreneurs come to hang and talk business. NXTP Labs is one of a handful of accelerators available to start up enterprises in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Specializing in the tech industry, NXTP has invested in 160+ companies since 2011. "We’re looking for the next Latin American Unicorn (1 Billion USD company),” says Ciro Echesortu, program coordinator of NXTP at its Buenos Aires location. Currently, NXTP Labs has invested in 160+ startups they see as truly scalable technologies. In addition to the investments, they provide a network of mentors and fellow entrepreneurs to learn and grow with.

Andrew Bagwell at NXTP Labs Buenos Aires, Argentina.

For Flimper – social media tech start up and recent winner of the Seedstars Competition (click here to read our blog about Seedstars), the real value add to NXTP was the connections they provide. “They’re a very well connected group,” says Lucas Glustman, CEO and Founder of one-year-old Flimper. “Cool things are happening for our business and others because of NXTP.”

Kaity Ersek with Lucas Glustman, CEO & Founder of Flimper. Flimper just won the SeedStars Competition in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Flimper solves a unique problem faced by social media marketers world-wide: the ability to calculate ROI on Twitter. “We let brands turn their Twitter accounts into a powerful sales tool by turning hashtags into sales, leads and behavior analytics.” For example, Samsung (one of their customers) had a recent campaign to spread the word about the launch of Galaxy S6 in Argentina and to receive more than 1,000 pre-ordered forms from the campaign. Together, Flimper and Samsung designed the #PreVentaGalaxyS6 hashtag. When someone tweeted using the hashtag, an instant reply was sent to that person from Samsung with a clear call-to-action. The result? The campaign reached 280,000 Twitter users, had 9,616 clicks onto the pre-order website and more than 5,000 forms were filled out. Watch the video below for additional information on Flimper.

“When Twitter came to Argentina, I fell in love with it, both personally and as a freelance social media manager,” says Lucas. “But as a social media guy, I also understood the pain of trying to dig up an ROI. That’s where Flimper comes in.” Initially, Twitter blocked Flimper from its platform. “We almost went bankrupt!” admitted Lucas. Three weeks later after conversations with the social media mogul, Flimper was back up and running. “But that’s how entrepreneurship works,” says Lucas. “It’s a lot of ups and downs. Entrepreneurship is a way of living.”

Will Flimper be the unicorn NXTP Labs is looking for? We certainly hope so!

On July 23, 2015, dozens of start up enterprises came together to pitch their ideas at Seedstars Buenos Aires. The prize? A ticket to Switzerland to go head to head with entrepreneurs from all over the world for the chance to win a 1.5 million dollar investment. Seedstars World is an organization dedicated to “creating THE network of quality entrepreneurs around the world and helping entrepreneurs, accelerators, co-working spaces and investors interact with one another.”

First place went to social tech company, Flimper which helps businesses increase engagement and brand awareness through the usage of hashtags on Twitter. Flimper places easy to read information directly into the company’s hands, telling them specifics as to how the company is effectively (or not effectively) using Twitter. Second place went to Increase, a tech start up that helps other businesses manage and understand their cash flows and assists with processing tax returns.

However, we had the opportunity to get to know third place winner, Miguel Appellaniz of Sin Rutina best. In spanish “Sin Rutina” means “without routine” which describes the novelty and creativity of his one-year-old start up in the fitness and wellness industry. As a huge sports fanatic, Miguel knows the gym search experience needs innovating and Sin Rutina is his answer to that problem. The start up provides access to 320+ fitness and gym centers throughout Buenos Aires. Members pay a monthly subscription fee based on the number of gyms they want access to. For example, Gold Members have access to 224 gyms in Buenos Aires, and 522 exclusive activities like cross training and swimming classes. While, Platinum Members have access to all gyms and classes and Silver Members can access 121 gyms and 314 classes. This way, users have the ability to select plans based on their workout regimen and can access any gym or fitness activity (yoga, crossfit, dancing, pilates, etc) as opposed to the traditional way of belonging to a single gym. “We believe what is important to the customer is the freedom to change their fitness decisions if they are not satisfied, without a penalty,” states Miguel. In turn, Sin Rutina pays the gyms within their network a fixed amount per visit from a Sin Rutina customer.

Miguel believes the fitness and wellness industry in Buenos Aires looks promising. While only 5% of Buenos Aires’ population attends a fitness or wellness center, Miguel expects that number to grow and so do investors. In fact, Miguel just closed his second round of financing. His angel investors came from Uruguay partially due to the lack of available private or public capital in Argentina.

Seedstars World is just one organization trying to make the lives of entrepreneurs in Argentina easier through their financing and mentorship competitions. After winning third place at Seedstars Buenos Aires, we can't wait to see how Miguel will grow his business in the future.