Stolen Mangos, a social network currently in development, isn’t a site that either you or I will be using anytime soon. In fact, Stolen Mangos is a site designed to mirror the functionality of Facebook, mix in the micro-blogging and mobile elements of Twitter, but serve an audience solely in India.

The back story starts with Jupiter Labs, a San Diego based online marketing and website development shop, and the company’s Co-Founders, Greg Haase, CEO, and Marc Uhlig, COO, who frequently engage with members of their 20 man team in India. Haase was actually attending a wedding in India when the idea behind Stolen Mangos was born; a friend’s anecdotal telling of a childhood memory and the line, “nothing is sweeter than a stolen mango,” got Haase’s idea engine running. Essentially, the stolen mango cliché evokes a sense of community and nostalgia around common experiences. So Haase combined this concept with the fact that there are projections that estimate over 100 million broadband users in India by 2010 and the knowledge that the US market is saturated with social network startups to take the idea and focus it primarily on the Indian market. Haase and Uhlig aren’t worried about the singular audience; with India becoming an increasingly noticeable player in the ecommerce arena. They’re banking on the notion that Stolen Mangos will tap into an individual’s desire to connect locally (versus globally).

In Marc Uhlig’s own words…

Stolen Mangoes combines the best features of Facebook and Twitter while preserving the confidentiality of its subscribers. Our revenue model is based on sales from targeted, non-obtrusive ad placements.

The website captures the spirit of the cool kids—the ones who stole mangoes from nearby groves when they were young—and lets this spirit of freedom and excitement become a part of their grown-up lives. This time with the new interests and enthusiasms of adults.

Currently, the Stolen Mangos project is being funded by both Co-Founders, but they’re anxious to attract outside funding and keep Stolen Mangos a separate entity from Jupiter Labs. After an initial assessment, they’re looking for around $1 million for the first round of financing. The tentative roll out schedule is to conduct a closed beta in 3 weeks that will last last 1 - 2 months and to build in Twitter-like functionality over the next 3-4 months. A full site launch date is still being determined.

Stolen Mangos Quick Facts

  • Target Audience: Indian consumers ages 15 - 30
  • Closed beta starting in 3 weeks
  • Projected broadband growth for India is 100 million in 2010

To Watch or Not

Since the site is currently unavailable for testing, it’s hard to say whether or not Stolen Mangos will take the social network cake in India. It is important to note, however, that competition is sparse at the moment, with Orkut being the current sonet of choice with Indian users.

Both Haase and Uhlig are hyper-conscious of monetization opportunities. They see Stolen Mangos serving as a great advertising arena for brands to market to Indian consumers, but they also have some super top secret ideas about innovative revenue models that they’re not willing to share at the moment.

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