Inc42 gets candid with the IIT-KGP startup, Croak.it

Croak.it is an interactive online communication using voice-enabled tools available on the web as well as mobile space. What Croak.it is doing is to give people the chance to use their voice and stamp their own individuality in any online interaction, anywhere on the Internet, at just the click of a button.

The start-up, founded by two IIT Kharagpur graduates, allows users to discover, collect and convey thoughts and expressions on-the-go over voice in 30-second audio snippets (called ‘croaks’) with a single click.

We had covered Croak.it earlier as well on Inc42 here. This time we got in touch with the founders, Srinivasa and Protik (in white below), for a quick chat on their novel idea.

1. When and how did you guys come up with the idea?

We came up with the idea during our college days. We decided to pursue it because the field of sound sharing was relatively untested, and we thought it was a great market to go after.

2. Did you always want to be an entrepreneur or was this just accidental?

We have individually been kind of entrepreneurial during our childhood, each working on things outside our curriculum. Coming to IIT Kharagpur gave us the freedom, time and guidance to go for the big guns and we have never looked back since.

3. How did you go ahead with the idea?

Our Idea has evolved over time, sound sharing and discovery being the central idea all along. We made our MVP and ran initial user interest tests with a wide range of audience. With a very good response from most, we went ahead to create our social platform as you see it today. The development was painstakingly detailed, but we think we nailed what are the core elements of our platform.

4. How has the journey been so far?.

The journey has been enlightening to say the least. It has been filled with challenges on a daily basis. From creating the best back end technology ready to be scaled on a days notice, to conceptualizing the user interface for a world class social network and executing it to perfection; we have seen the ups and downs of an emerging technology startup. These were coupled with the fact that we have started in India, which is by no standard the optimal place for a social startup. But we emerged and learned a lot from all of it.

5. We noticed you were part of IIM’s iAccelerator as well. How was the experience and outcomes from the program?

iAccelerator was very helpful for us in the short and long run. We interacted with some of the like-minded people from the Indian startup scene on a daily basis, watching their moves and working together. The overall work environment was seminal in our companies future actions, propelling it to a fast growth. iAccelerator gave us the kickstart and the backing that we had needed at that point of our start up.

6. How has the angel funding helped you so far? 

GITPx has helped us to survive in a tough market for a good amount of time. We have hired some great talent and operate from Delhi, which wouldn’t have been possible without the funds. I can’t, however, disclose the funding amount right now. You can safely assume that we are quite happy and poised to stay in this for a healthy amount of time.

7. What are your future plans?

The future is going to be quite huge. We plan to introduce verified profiles, which will help both the artists to get relevant traffic to their material as well as the users to  get quality content from talented individuals. We also plan on doing aggressive marketing and take the platform to the next level in terms of user base and content creation. On the side of our Talk Button, we are in talks with quiet a few team collaboration platforms and you will start seeing it’s use soon.

We wish the team at Croak.it the best of luck for their venture. Do share your views and/or experience with using Croak.it.