SpeaQin - A Made In India Platform for Hassle-free Online Meetings

Remote working is trending now! Especially with the onset of Covid 19, work from home is no longer a luxury reserved for just the top management level guys, but has become a necessity. To go by expert predictions, chances are that work from home is going to stay even after the pandemic ends, as more and more businesses are realizing that work form home is a win win situation for both the employers and employees. Under this scenario, good and secure video conferencing service is the need of the hour, and while we all have pledged to move towards an 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' what can be better than a home grown video conferencing service. Meet SpeaQin, a video conferencing platform Made in India, that lets you communicate smoothly by offering an easy to use interface, data security and good connectivity even with slow internet speed. We got in touch with SpeaQin  co-founder Pratiek Phand to know more about the startup.

SpeaQin Highlights

About SpeaQin
SpeaQin - Founders & Team
The Idea Behind Starting SpeaQin
SpeaQin - Name & Logo
SpeaQin - Revenue Model
SpeaQin - Funding
SpeaQin - Marketing Strategies
Challenges Faced by the SpeaQin Team
SpeaQin - Growth & Future Plans
SpeaQin's Special Offers for StartupTalky Readers

About SpeaQin

‘SpeaQin' is a Made in India video conferencing solution that allows seamless communication in scheduling a remote video conference between two parties. Using highest form of data security and user privacy as its core strength, SpeaQin provides a robust interface that increases the productivity of the remote workers by helping them collaborate better.

SpeaQin works as a browser to browser communication channel that offers avant-grade data security. The product is designed to solve problems like,

• Data leakage
• Low quality of communication
• Restrictions of only video viewing while video conferencing.

SpeaQin's USPs include-

• It Uses high levels of data security protocols.
• Low bandwidth usage (offering users better quality usage even with low internet capability)
• Tools for sector specific usage (virtual white board for schools etc.)
• No data storage by the platform
• Lowest cost of usage

Verified Leads and Marketing Services Global LLP (SpeaQin's parent company) has two more subsidiaries viz VLMS Global, which is a full service B2B marketing agency, and Verified Market Research, a company that provides research reports and analytical data that businesses can use to make informed decisions. In August 2020, VLMS Global LLP also launched XperTalk, an Online Consulting Marketplace, that connects individuals and institutions to service providers, both at consultants, freelance and organizational levels

"SpeaQin operates in the video conferencing / communications solutions industry, and our target market size is USD 9 Billion. The industry will see an upward and terrific rise in the coming few years as people find it more productive to schedule meetings and work processes online than to spend both money and time to travel places. With more and increased technologies that will provide efficient tools for online productivity, video conferencing is sure to become the need of the hour across all sizes of organizations and individuals." Pratiek says speaking about the video conferencing industry.

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SpeaQin - Founders & Team

SpeaQin founders Amaan Kazi, Nikhil Devar & Pratiek Phand has been close friends since over a decade now.  All the founders being under 30 years old, have built the entire position of the company from a two-seater workspace and meagre finance out of their own pockets to the acclaimed position it is today, all in a matter of 4 years. The team believes in qualities of long-term vision and an unending passion and perseverance to reach that vision.

Amaan Kazi is presently the Chief Marketing Officer at SpeaQin. He is an Electronics and Communication Engineer by education. Amaan handles the role of marketing and sales strategy for the entire company. An expert in SEO skills and marketing strategy, he leads an efficient team that drives high traffic and sales across all the arms of the business

SpeaQin co-founder & COO Nikhil Devar is a Business and Media graduate. Nikhil handles the role of operations and product development. Being a precision worker, Nikhil leads the organization workforce towards efficient execution of the processes and also leads technology development.

SpeaQin's Chief Strategy Officer Pratiek Phand besides having an engineering degree in Electronics and Communication, is also an LLB in Corporate Law. Pratiek handles the role of business and product expansion strategy. Having love for business and product ideation, Pratiek is constantly developing strategies and plans for the organization roadmap and growth goals.

The Founders handle the same responsibility for all arms of Verified Leads and Marketing Services Global LLP (i.e SpeaQin, VLMS Global and Verified Market Research) .

The startup currently has 86 full time employees. The founders having had exposure to various corporate work environments, have made sure to make the work environment favorable on a lot of fronts.  As Pratiek puts in about SpeaQin's work culture,

“We offer flexible time slots for work, work from home options all year round, regular employee extra-curricular activities, trips, regular treats in office and all other cultural celebrations. The work culture is more passion based than target delivery. We also offer the best in class salary structures to our employees and high-performance based incentives. Hiring has always been to seek talent basis with their passion, intention and long-term goal of the candidate.”  

The Idea Behind Starting SpeaQin

While working on VLMS Global, Aman, Nikhil and Pratiek, came across the idea of creating a video conferencing platform, which they thought would be very supplemental to the work they were doing.

The founders perceived that there are fewer to none tools for video conferencing that offer easy to use interface and user data security in India. Also, user data by western competitors is usually stored beyond Indian jurisdictions. The team wanted to introduce a home bred solution that offers a robust interface and high levels of data security and privacy of the users. Before introducing SpeaQin, they thoroughly researched the market to gauge the demand for video conferencing solutions, and launched the platform on June 2020.

Also Read: 7 Ways To Create Best Ideas For Starting A Business

SpeaQin - Name & Logo

The name came out of modifying the simple term ‘Speaking’. The founders wanted to give it a more modern-day name format and also wanted to fit the criteria of copyright, and the name 'SpeaQin' totally fitted the bill.

SpeaQin's Logo came out of the idea of having a Soundwave.

SpeaQin - Revenue Model

SpeaQin has a subscription based revenue model, and offers flexible pricing structures to organizations. The startup is doing an admirable job  by offering free services to the education sector to promote online education in India.

Also Read: 7 Best Revenue Model for Your Startup in 2020

SpeaQin - Funding

SpeaQin is bootstrapped as the startup is making sufficient revenues from business operations for sustaining growth till now. However, the company is considering options of raising funds and strategic partnerships.

SpeaQin - Marketing Strategies

The SpeaQin team believes in having an organic approach towards targeting the audiences and the main focus is on reaching out to the customers through SEO and News Publication platforms. But, the startup is also considering paid marketing as and when required

"We have realized the beginning is always slow. But patience and perseverance are key. We kept focusing on developing our products and services to the best level possible, knowing that users shall acknowledge the value sooner or later. Almost every week a new company and product launches in the market. In order to scale a business, it is crucial for the entrepreneurs to market their products effectively." Pratiek quotes about the marketing techniques being followed by the startup.

Also Read: Best Low-Cost Marketing Strategies for Startups

Challenges Faced by the SpeaQin Team

Designing the pricing plans is a challenge the startup is facing. Where charging high causes customer attrition, charging low pushes the company into losses. Under this circumstances, the SpeaQin team is paying attention to targeting the right set of audiences to keep up its sales.

SpeaQin - Growth & Future Plans

SpeaQin has launched its product as a globally available service online.  SpeaQin was launched in June 2020, and though the revenue for the first quarter is lean, which is close to INR 22 Lacs, but the growth trajectory has been consistent. The platform is already having more than 5000 visitors on its website every day and simultaneous sign ups too. The SpeaQin team is planning to reach the goal of half a million registered users by the end of the next month. With VLMS Global's total product offerings, which includes its research and analytics arm, the startup made revenues of close to 10 CR in the Financial year 2019-2020.

The startup is also planning to integrate SpeaQin with its newer and bigger service offering called XperTalk, that connects individuals and institutions to service providers, at consultants, freelance and organizational levels. This adds on to the advantage for innumerable experts to provide their services and help grow their business and reach. XperTalk also intends to connect to smaller regional communities and single work seeking professionals to provide their services. This is very supplemental to VLMS Global's data analysis and market research consulting arm 'Verified Market Research' . Speaking about 'XperTalk'  the Online Consulting Marketplace, that the startup launched in August 2020,  Pratiek quotes,

"XperTalk provides a launchpad for our growth in the coming year. We are positioning XperTalk amongst notable competitors in the industry but with an angle to provide social as well as regional assistance to individuals who may seek newer employment avenues due to the losses by the pandemic."

The VLMS Global team is always looking for unique solutions that offer increased work productivity whilst keeping high standards of data security. They offer solutions from conferencing to market research and data analysis online advisory. With having built a minimum viable product and now all arms generating enough revenues, the company is expanding its reach to newer geographies and horizons.

"The vision is to be able to create a highly valuable company offering class leading communication and data analysis offering. We see ourselves reaching our goals sooner than ever as our growth trajectory has been hardly affected by the current market destruction too. Through our future plans, we are thrilled that it will cause a social reaction that will help small and regional businesses and individuals to promote and monetize their services.We are emphasizing the make in India campaign so that Indian technology products get a global positioning and recognition."  Pratiek said speaking of VLMS Global's vision.

SpeaQin's Special Offers for StartupTalky Readers

StartupTalky readers can use the coupon code ‘TALKY25’ to get 25% discount on select services.