This Messaging App Is Powering Pageants Around the World

The advent of sophisticated mobile messaging platforms has made it possible to order groceries, make a dentist appointment, and make a dinner reservation through your smartphone. So, it makes sense that the same should apply for voting on a widely-viewed event, like an international pageant.

Vodi is an all-in-one messaging app that integrates messaging, calling, video, and additional features like financial transactions and mobile commerce applications (friends can send each other e-Gift cards, for example). The app has users in over 160 countries.

And this year, Vodi has been powering voting for the international pageant scene, starting with the MISS UNIVERSE® pageant held in January in Manila, Philippines. Following that, Vodi continued to serve as the global fan vote sponsor for the 2017 MISS USA® competition held this month in Las Vegas.

For two weeks leading up to each competition, fans could log into Vodi, select the Voting option from the app interface, and choose a contestant each day to vote for. During the competition users could also interact and vote in real-time.

“Voting for live events via a mobile app is a natural evolution for audience participation, considering there are more than 2.3 billion smartphone users around the world and they spend almost 2 hours on their phones every day,” says Vodi’s founder and CEO Darren Lu. What’s more, as an all-in-one platform built on a messaging app core, Vodi is uniquely suited to serve not only this purpose, but also provide several other necessary functions. Lastly, our multiple redundant servers around the world ensure that we can provide real-time data to event organizers reliably and quickly.”

Hype caught up with Lu to hear more about the many in-app features Vodi offers, their funding status, and what international events the app will feature next.

What sets Vodi apart from other messaging apps?

Vodi includes the communication features users have come to expect from over-the-top messaging apps – free texts, calls and video calls – but so much more. Our mission is to give back to users with our rewards program: users earn “V-Coins” for just about everything they do in the app, and they can use these V-Coins like cash towards purchases on Vodi. We’ve evolved beyond the basics to include U.S. and international eGift cards, prepaid mobile plan recharges, a global voting platform and Stars for Charity – which lets influencers of all kinds earn for a charity of their choice. We’ve also recently introduced a user monetization feature, which lets users earn more in-app rewards when they browse third-party ad content. And soon, we’ll be introducing international bill payment and peer-to-peer money transfer, making our all-in-one app even more powerful and convenient.

What is your revenue model?

Vodi’s popular products and services (U.S. and international eGift cards, prepaid mobile plan recharges, international calling, the user monetization feature, and – in the near future – international bill payment and peer-to-peer money transfer) drive revenue for the company. The profit margins and discounts on these products and services adds to our bottom line.

What's your funding status?

Vodi was built to this point with both self-funding and investor funds. We’ll be wrapping up a crowdfunding round shortly and are seeking further bridge funding this summer.

What partnerships like this do you have coming up in the future or would like to pursue?

We’re set to serve as the voting sponsor for Miss Panama, Miss Honduras and Miss Guatemala this summer, and we’re in talks with several other international national pageant directors as well as U.S. states pageant directors. Outside of the voting platform, we’re also going to introduce international bill payment and peer-to-peer money transfer on the app soon, making the app even more indispensable for users around the globe.

How has being headquartered in the southeast affected your business?

As a metro Atlanta company, we enjoy taking part in the community and attending local events like GSMA Mobility Live, which the Vodi team enjoyed last fall. We’re also proud of the fact that the members of our team and their families are an active, involved and diverse group that represent both a variety of backgrounds as well as a number of the great neighborhoods around town.