What if you can get paid to create memes? These SRM alums created an app and they 'meme' business 

Don’t we millennials just love watching and sharing memes? However, these two computer engineers from SRM Institute of Science and Technology in Chennai took that idea a notch higher and thought why not have a community for it! Started in the summer of 2019 by two school friends, who later became batchmates at SRM, Taaran Chanana and Kyle Fernandes, both 23 years old now, the MemeChat app enables people to express themselves by sharing memes with their friends and even get paid for it.

The MemeChat app currently caters to at least 5000 users per day. It has everything to do with memes, adds Kyle. Through the app, users can create memes using available paid templates, and get paid upon their approval. There's also something called the MemeChat Stocks like the stock market for memes wherein users can invest in their own memes, where they also fulfil the demands of different categories and get paid accordingly. "There's also a feature/system where our app integrates with the keyboard on your phone with the help of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning technology. You can even put your face into memes before sharing it with your friends. Memes are extremely relatable for the Gen Z currently and our app lets users add a personal touch on the go. More than two lakh memes are shared in a day through our keyboard integration feature," claims Kyle.

Some of the features that the MemeChat app offers:

Meme Social Network: You can register on the app and choose from various categories of your own interests and connect with millions of meme lovers from around the globe.

Try Out the Meme Keyboard: Activate the meme keyboard and start sending cool memes to your friends in a flash. Just search for the relevant meme or template and send it right away in any messaging app.

Meme Maker and Free Meme Templates: MemeChat provides you with an inbuilt meme maker that will not only allow you to use your own images but will also provide you with thousands of famous and trending meme templates that you can crop, add interesting stickers and your own text to create viral memes easily.

Make Money From Memes: Look out for Paid Templates and Requested Memes section. Make memes on various TV shows, products or perform easy tasks to get rewarded with MemeChat Coins which you can later redeem into real money.

Taaran and Kyle had always wanted to become entrepreneurs since they were in school together. "We wanted to do something with social media platforms. In college, we created this meme page called Sarcastic Indian, which has about 4-5 million followers and we were getting quite a few brand deals through this page and I found that to be quite fascinating — brands pouring in money to get memes created. I was a coder and I thought it wouldn't be that difficult to create an app, that's when we made the MemeChat app in college. Now, it has close to a million users and we also won the AatmaNirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge conducted by MyGov," Kyle tells us.

Speaking about the employment opportunities for meme creators/meme content creators in India, Kyle adds that, "The monetary value depends on the amount of effort that goes into making it, how viral it gets, and in the understanding of what drives people. Gen Z like random stuff, there's no singular pattern, so one has to be adept with that and understand the trends to become a successful meme creator in the country."

Another lucrative feature that MemeChat offers is their influencer programme where social media influencers can sign up on the platform or app and get paid a fixed amount of money in order to share memes on their own pages and handles, Kyle tells us.

Finally, speaking to us about their future plans, Kyle notes, "We want to increase the user base and take this on a global platform as there is not yet such a platform for meme creators."