The runaway success of MySpace.com has millions of people logging on and sharing information about themselves all around the world. The same social networking concept that will drive the commercial success of RollStream, a Fairfax-based software startup company, said Jay Jayamohan, its founder and CEO.
RollStream’s product is a “social business network” similar to MySpace.com, Jayamohan said. “We basically took that social space and changed it to a business space.”
The Web-based application streamlines large-scale rollouts of corporate programs by facilitating communication among all the major players.
For example, a national retail chain with thousands of employees and suppliers across the country could use the program to introduce a new pricing system, conduct online training sessions or update personnel on policy changes.
Major retailers are the primary market for RollStream, Jayamohan said, but the company is also targeting other big sectors, such as health care and the automotive industry.
“This is a huge, growing market that is just rolling out,” he said. “And retail is where the problem is most acute. [Our product] is built from the viewpoint of retail and that is our biggest advantage.”
The company launched the pilot phase of its patent-pending technology in March with two clients, who haven’t been named publicly yet, and next week will make its sales pitch at Capital Connection, the annual venture capital fair sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic Venture Association.
The startup was founded last August with an initial investment of between $500,000 and $750,000 from the company’s founders, and then received $100,000 from Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology, a state-chartered nonprofit that funds up-and-coming technology companies.
Two weeks ago, RollStream received $1.5 million from private investors. The company expects to start generating revenues within the next three months.
