In 2018, when Derrick Reives told colleagues and family that he was leaving his stable position at AutoZone to launch a startup, they were skeptical.
“When you leave a company like that, they assume you have a job somewhere else,” Reives explained. “And I said, 'No, I don’t. … I think I want to do a startup; I want to be an entrepreneur.' It sounded crazy at the time.”
These days, however, Reives’ decision doesn’t sound quite so crazy. He’s the cofounder and CEO of UpSquad: a virtual community and engagement platform that seeks to use tools offered by a variety of other digital communication and social media companies and blend them together in one package for organizations.
So far, UpSquad has raised $1 million in seed funding, and it’s gearing up to raise that amount again.
“Imagine LinkedIn, plus Zoom, plus Eventbrite, plus Mailchimp, all combined together for your organization,” said Venki Mandapati, UpSquad cofounder and CTO. “We’ve made it very easy and efficient for [businesses].”
Organizations that use UpSquad have their own internal group on the site, which provides multiple ways for employees to communicate and collaborate. There is instant messaging and the ability to schedule and create events. Members have LinkedIn-like profiles, and they can schedule virtual meetings with predetermined topics. UpSquad has a partnership with Zoom, whose video software is integrated into the platform. And companies have social pages, similar to Facebook, where they can share events, announcements, and resources. They can also track data and analytics on their page.
While staffers of organizations can use it to communicate privately and internally, they also have the option to network and meet with people from other businesses on the UpSquad Community page.
The startup has clients’ across the country. Locally, they include organizations such as the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, KIPP Memphis Collegiate Schools, and Leadership Memphis. Clients tend to use the platform for different purposes. KIPP, for example, has it to keep students, alumni, and teachers connected.
UpSquad originated from Reives’ and Mandapati’s time at AutoZone together. Reives mentored Mandapati, who was an intern. Mandapati had a vision for the business.
“He would come up with these great ideas, and I told him that this could work,” Reives remembered. “It hit my spirit that it was a great concept.”
Initially, the plan was to focus on tailoring the platform for colleges, but when the COVID-19 pandemic rapidly shifted the world into a remote setting, they saw a larger opportunity.
“It all turned upside down overnight for us,” Mandapati said.
They expanded their target audience, and, along with cofounder and CFO Khaled Selman, set big goals. They play to release the platform on an app this fall — currently it works on cellphones, but you must use the website. And in the next five years, they hope to have an international presence and become a public company.
They also want to keep the company headquartered in Memphis, though Reives asserts they’ve been able to find more support, and clientele, in other cities. He'd like for this to change.
“What we have seen is greater support from organizations outside of Memphis and Tennessee,” Reives said. “We want Memphis to be the center of it … so we can all rise together."
