This social messaging company is poised to become a major player

By AllBusiness Editors

Los Angeles-based Carrot Group, Inc. recently launched its social messaging app on compatible iOS and Android devices worldwide. The company's platform allows users around the world to send messages to each other with an attached digital currency.

Users send each other "carrots", messages consisting of an image, a question and an amount in coins. Recipients have 24 hours to open the message, then two minutes to respond and collect their coins. It is an incentive communication.

Two trillion text messages are sent every year, or billions every day. None of these items have monetary value.

We sat down with James Tashjian, Founder and CEO of Carrot, and asked him some key questions about the company and market opportunities.

What does Carrot do?

Carrot allows users to connect with friends and family spontaneously, anytime, asking questions they wouldn't have the chance to ask otherwise. Recipients receive "Carrot Coins" for responding, which is a great incentive to participate. Carrots can be used as gifts, rewards or incentives to initiate social engagement.

Once a day, the company sends a question to all users of the Carrot app, offering coins in exchange for answers. It's called "Daily Dig", and the answers are public and engageable, allowing friends and other users to vote with a thumbs-up on the answers they deem worthy. Users receive an additional coin for every thumbs up they receive.

Coins earned by the company for responding to the Daily Dig then fund user engagement with friends and family.

What social messaging problem is Carrot trying to solve?

Social media has become saturated, filled with filters and curated content to garner followers, rather than inspire genuine connection. Some say it has caused relationships more harm than good. Meanwhile, messaging is mostly used for mundane and trivial communications, making it an ineffective catalyst for deeper conversation.

In a post-pandemic world where we are acutely aware of our need for authentic connection, there seem to be few online options that allow for this.

How does Carrot solve this problem?

Unlike the routine of messaging apps and the bad faith of social apps, Carrot takes it a step further. It encourages users to get to know each other better, in a fun and playful way.

By its very nature, the app values ​​originality over conformity, and connection over the accumulation of anonymous followers. It allows users to express themselves through the questions they ask, the answers they give, and the images they choose.

You mentioned "parts". Does Carrot use real money?

Carrot works with "Carrot Coins", which are a digital token that can be used in the app to send carrots to others, redeemed for NFTs, or transferred out of the app and redeemed for other currencies. It's real value that users get for their engagement.

Carrot coins are minted on the Polygon blockchain, a popular layman...