There are several benefits to being a startup founder. There’s power, money, and a chance to make a dent in the universe. And if you play your cards right, the chance to get free phones.
CommonFloor cofounder Sumit Jain today uploaded a video on Twitter complaining about the battery life of his iPhone. “My iPhone 6 is acting crazy. The battery has stopped at 9% and is always showing that I am charging it,” he said. His attached video showed his iPhone displaying the charging sign while it wasn’t connected to an adapter. “It looks like I’ve discovered wireless charging,” he joked.
My iPhone 6 is acting crazy. The battery has stopped at 9% and is always showing that I am charging it. @Apple @AppleSupport @iPhoneTeam pic.twitter.com/aVSoAk6zkG
— Sumit Jain (@sumjain) May 11, 2017
At this point, Xiaomi India MD Manu Kumar Jain jumped in. “I’ll be happy to send you a Redmi Note 4,” he offered. And he didn’t miss his chance to rub it in to Apple. “(It) has an amazing battery life of 1.5+ days.”
I'll be happy to send you a Redmi Note 4 that has an amazing battery life of 1.5+ days ? India's #1 selling phone! ? @sumjain @XiaomiIndia https://t.co/Ay0neOguMS
— Manu Kumar Jain (@manukumarjain) May 11, 2017
Sumit Jain has since tweeted that he’ll happily take the Note 4 (who’s saying no to a free phone), and Twitter’s been left bemused. LinkedIn India head Akshay Kothari tweeted that it was a testament to Twitter’s power.
@sumjain @manukumarjain @xiaomi @XiaomiIndia tweets can now lead you to free phones! power of twitter!
— Akshay Kothari (@akothari) May 11, 2017
But you don’t just give away free phones and expect matters to end there. WebEngage founder Avlesh Singh too wanted his own Redmi.
I am bored of my pixel. Am I entitled to a Redmi too? Please. Please. Please. https://t.co/LcF4oSbTmi
— Avlesh Singh (@avlesh) May 11, 2017
And Manu Kumar Jain acceded once again.
Why not! Redmi Note 4 beats every other phone in India ? ? @avlesh @XiaomiIndia https://t.co/zrHIfA96yH
— Manu Kumar Jain (@manukumarjain) May 11, 2017
Xiaomi is launching the Mi Home devices in India today, so Jain’s largesse might not be entirely coincidental. But he’s set of a bit off a chain reaction of people wondering how they can get free phones.
@manukumarjain @XiaomiIndia Send me one too #XiaomiRocks
— Archit (@neo_arc18) May 11, 2017
Jain is yet to respond to any of the non celeb users’ requests, which has led to intense speculation on the criteria that the Xiaomi India MD emloys while give away free phones.
@manukumarjain @sumjain @XiaomiIndia Only to verified accounts???
— Pramoth R (@rpramoth) May 11, 2017
@manukumarjain @XiaomiIndia Are You sending me one Redmi Note 4 too Or Shall I first change my Surname to "Jain"? ?
— Mr. Anonymous (@nerdynitin) May 11, 2017
And some are trying to start off public support campaigns, much like #NuggsForCarter.
@manukumarjain @XiaomiIndia How many retweets for a Redmi Note 4?
— Roshan Agarwal (@imroshanagarwal) May 11, 2017
Nothing’s worked so far. It appears that you need to be a famous startup founder to get a free phone. If you needed any more incentive to work hard on your startups, it might just be this.