On the 28th August, Softbank Ventures announced its US$1.7m investment into Converse who have developed the anonymous communication app called Around.

Around is a SNS app that allows users to freely share their feelings about life, workplace, emotions, love affairs and family. Being an anonymous SNS platform, there is no need to cloak any of these feeling for social acceptance. Users of around have given the app a score of 4.9 out of 5.0.

The app has taken inspiration from ‘Dalcom Changgo’ (means storeroom of sweets) whereby people communicate with each other by writing on paper and placing this into a locker accompanies with a piece of chocolate for another person to read. Two people will share the same locker and passwords and they will reciprocate their experiences.  In a similar way users of ‘Dalcom Changgo’ and Around are able to observe a sense of healing.

Lee Eun Woo, from Softbank Ventures who led this investment quoted ‘the members of Converse have the technical skills in building SNS, but most importantly they have created a cultural platform in which people can sympathise and care for one another’. In a fast paced world where people have less time to communicate their feelings, a market for Around is expected to grow.

Ryu Shin Sang, representative of Converse, revealed their objective was to share a truthful cultural communication experience with its users.  Through this investment, Converse will concentrate on enhancing user services and to create a better feeling of friendliness for the app.

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