Today's Entrepreneur: Anthony Kelani
No. 1 Mistake: Not having a focus.
Today's Entrepreneur is Anthony Kelani, Co-Founder and CEO of Showkit with 10+ years of software development experience. ShowKit is a cloud-based communication platform that adds real-time screen sharing, co-navigation and video chat to any mobile app with a few lines of code.
Kelani is previously Head of Mobile R&D, Northrop Grumman and Head of Engineering, Curious Minds Incubator. He earned his BS in Computer Engineering and Computer Science at University of Southern Califoria last 2006.
ShowKit was a top eight finalist in the Vator Splash Oakland 2015 startup competition.
Showkit self-categorizes itself in these areas: Enterprise software, Mobile, Video conferencing, Collaboration, and Video chat.
The top 8 finalist will compete and present live on stage in front of several hundred tech influencers (CEOs, media and investors).
Here's a little about Kelani:
Companies I've founded or co-founded: FixUp
Companies I work or worked for: Northrop Grumman Corp., CuriousMinds
Achievements (products built, personal awards won):
- Various award winning mobile solutions for the armed forces - Northrop Grumman
- 2014 TechCrunch Disrupt NY Finalist - ShowKit
My favorite startups: Uber, Nest, Product Hunt
What's most frustrating and rewarding about entrepreneurship/innovation?
It's rewarding waking up everyday knowing you're working on a product you are passionate about and believe will change the world.
The responsibilities involved with being a CEO is pretty challenging, but I like challenge and I'm able to adapt and learn.
What's the No. 1 mistake entrepreneurs make? Not having a focus. I'm guilty of this, but I've learned quickly.
What are the top three lessons you've learned as an entrepreneur?
- Hire people who are smarter than you.
- Be decisive. Execute!
- Listen but take advice with a grain of salt. Not all advice is good advice.
Full bio:
I'm a hacker, developer and a leader. I am passionate about mobile technology and it's applications to real-world problems.
At Northrop-Grumman, I founded and led the research and development initiative to bring mobile solutions to the Armed Forces. I designed and developed mobile situational awareness and collaboration technology that is used by soldiers on the battlefield today.
Currently, I am CEO & Co-Founder of a hot new startup, ShowKit. We've invented technology to bring real-time communication and interaction to mobile devices. With our SDK and a few lines of code you can implement real-time video, screen sharing and gesture sharing into any of your apps. This technology can applied to various industries including mobile customer support, mobile customer engagement/up-selling, medical services, gaming, etc.
*Want to be included in our Today's Entrepreneur series? Email me: mitos@vator.tv
Mitos Suson
I produce Vator Events and enjoy the challenge. I am learning and growing a lot, being involved with Vator and loving every moment of it!
All author postsRelated Companies, Investors, and Entrepreneurs
ShowKit
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
ShowKit is the next generation of mobile customer support and engagement. We’ve developed a platform and mobile sdk that enables customer care agents to tap, swipe, draw and view the screen of a mobile user in real-time while communicating with them via video/audio chat right inside the app. ShowKit’s goal is to reduce resolution times and repeat calls for technical defects, and increase customer loyalty and conversions by providing a more efficient and effective mobile support experience.
Problem
The world is going mobile and apps have become a great way to perform different tasks until you run into a problem and need to speak to a live person. In most apps today your only options to connect with a live person are to leave the app and call an 800 number or send an email. Companies are spending millions of dollars on their mobile initiative yet still rely on outdated and ineffective channels to support and engage their mobile customers. According to analysts from Greenfield Online, Datamonitor/Ovum and Genesys, enterprises in the U.S. lose an estimated $83 billion each year due to defections and abandoned purchases as a direct result of a poor experience.
Market Opportunity
The total mobile app market is huge, $77 billion by 2017. Mobile use is rapidly becoming integrated into every business sector in every industry, which means these mobile users will need support.
ShowKit provides technology for real-time interaction in any mobile app ranging from shopping to entertainment to productivity. Offering ShowKit as an platform and sdk allows for wide adoption and keeps us flexible and cost effective.
Our initial target markets will be telecommunications, concierge and the mobile workforce. Customer support in these markets are traditionally high-touch, and they are feeling the biggest pain and are some of the biggest losers when it comes to supporting their mobile customers. We also have received the most interest and traction with enterprises in these markets.
Why invest now?
We’re an experienced team of mobile, real-time video and VoIP experts. With limited funding and a small team we’ve executed on building a great product and have attracted some of the largest companies in the world. We were finalists at TechCrunch Disrupt NY, which has given us a lot of exposure. We currently have paying customers ranging from startups to enterprise, and almost $500k in sales. We’ve done all of this with under $500k in total funding.
Anthony Kelani
Joined Vator on
CEO and Co-Founder of ShowKit. 10+ years of software development experience. Previously Head of Mobile R&D, Northrop Grumman and Head of Engineering, Curious Minds Incubator. BS Computer Engineering and Computer Science from USC.