YOUS is an app for audio/video meetings, phone calls, and chats with a built-in AI translator
Please introduce yourself and the Startup YOUS to our readers!
Hello, everyone! I am CEO and cofounder at YOUS. We create the future of online communication without language barriers. YOUS is an app for audio/video meetings, phone calls, and chats with a built-in AI translator.
Why did you decide to start a business?
I am a serial entrepreneur and an innovator at heart. I have been doing business for over fifteen years (from offline to online startups).
YOUS was born from personal pain. I was looking for a tool that could help me in international communication since I do not speak English very well, and by the nature of my work, I often need to communicate with international partners. The only option was to hire a human translator who was present during online meetings and would help translate our dialogue, but this is expensive, not convenient, and not safe.
What is the vision behind YOUS?
The mission of YOUS is to help millions of people communicate in different languages and, most importantly, understand each other.
From the idea to the start, what have been the biggest challenges so far and how did you finance yourself?
The biggest challenge for me was to realize my idea and show the world the finished product. The whole difficulty lay in the technical implementation since it is very important that AI qualitatively recognize people’s speech and speak in a near-human voice. Thanks to YOUS, we teach people the ability to listen to each other, which has become scarce in our time.
Until now, we have funded ourselves through passive income from past businesses. But in the near future, we will start attracting venture investments.
Who is the target group of YOUS?
We are at the stage of forming a target group of people, but as practice now shows, these are people from the B2B sector who solve their business issues, as well as people from the B2C sector who communicate on personal topics. At the moment, we are testing promotional channels for different target groups to find and form key users.
How do YOUS work? What are the advantages? What makes you different from other providers?
YOUS works on iOS/Android smartphones and desktop devices through any web browser. You go through a quick registration and are taken to an app where you can hold audio/video meetings, make phone calls and chat with YOUS users, all with a built-in AI-based translator.
Every month we give five minutes of audio/video meetings for free, so you can try YOUS and buy a premium subscription if necessary.
You can make phone calls to any number and YOUS will also help you understand the interlocutor and voice your speech to him in the selected language.
In addition to meetings and phone calls, there is a free messenger that translates text messages into the language of the interlocutor. All you have to do is simply invite your friend to YOUS.
There are currently sixteen languages available.
YOUS, where does the road go? Where do you see yourself in five years?
After five years, YOUS will be a unicorn company whose product is used by tens of millions of users.
At the end: What three tips would you give to future founders?
Dream.
Everything that you see around you was once someone’s dream and is the first step.
Take action.
Be decisive, take the first decisive step and get closer to your success.
Love.
It is very important to love what you do; it must come from your heart and soul—do what you love and enjoy the results.
Do not be afraid to make mistakes; any defeat only makes you stronger. Believe in yourself and you will succeed!
Thank you Petr Malyukov for the Interview
Statements of the author and the interviewee do not necessarily represent the editors and the publisher opinion again.
