This startup wants to get you paid
as a Pokémon Go expert
You could make some serious Pokémon dough.
July 14, 2016
After Pokémon Go become a veritable cultural phenomenon, some enterprising souls took to Craiglist to cash in on it, peddling their success with the mobile game.
Now a Silicon Valley unicorn wants in on that trend. Thumbtack, (co-founded by Marco Zappacosta ’07CC) is a company that provides an online marketplace for expert services (a Craigslist with more of a tech focus, if you will), just added listings for Pokémon Go experts.
So someone can sign up to lend their services — guiding people through the game, driving them around town or whatever. And people can sign up to find them. There’s not a set price, but Thumbtack suggests experts set their own rate or even charge in “drinks and snacks.”
The idea came from Thumbtack employees who are addicted to the game, I’m told. It’s cute. But Thumbtack has raised some serious money ($273 million to date) and plans to build out a serious business around the professional services market.
And Pokémon Go is seriously not going away anytime soon.