Yachts and billboards: Kissimmee startup Yac to embrace new marketing approach

From left to right: Yac co-founders Justin Mitchell, Hunter McKinley and Jordan Walker

Yac Media Inc.

By Alex Soderstrom - OBJ Staff Writer & Orlando Inno Reporter

March 04, 2022, 09:21am EST

Voice messaging platform Yac Inc. last year focused its marketing efforts on “in the trenches work,” like search-engine optimization, co-founder Jordan Walker said.

However, the Kissimmee-based tech firm this year expects to embrace more eye-catching marketing, like renting a yacht, taking out billboards and appearing at big events like Miami Tech Week and South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. Yac will promote YacX the new version of its product launching as a prototype this month, Walker told Orlando Inno.

“The biggest thing for us is getting the new version out the door and then setting the stage for hyper growth. This year, we’re pouring gas on our growth.”

Yac, which allows asynchronous voice messaging between users, is available on iOS, Android, Mac and Windows. Yac’s audio conversations, which can be spread across hours or even days, fill a gap in remote collaboration. The messages are more substantial than email or text, but they don’t require the time commitment of a phone or video call.

When the company launched as Yac in 2019, it targeted remote workers. The following year, the number of remote workers spiked worldwide as many companies sent employees home due the Covid-19 pandemic.

That was a boost for Yac, which reported a 400% increase in users between March 2020-January 2021. The firm also closed a $7.5 million Series A investment round co-led by Menlo Park, California-based GGV Capital and Slack Technologies Inc.'s Slack Fund.

The pandemic not only accelerated the use of asynchronous communication; it also forced more people to use synchronous communication, like video calls. However, as more people become wary of constant video calls, they will look for other tools to collaborate with their co-workers, Walker said.

However, Yac isn’t trying to replace phone calls or Zoom meetings altogether, Walker added. “I can leverage asynchronous to get more out of the day. It’s not a dramatic one-versus-the-other kind of thing.”

While Walker did not share the company’s revenue figures, he did point out a key metric tracked by Yac: the amount of money its platform saves businesses. Based on how much employees earn per hour and the amount of meeting time Yac eliminates, the company calculates it can save firms $7,000 per employee each year.

Plus, Yac can integrate with popular workplace communication platform Slack, so Yac messages pop up in linked Slack channels. Slack is exploding in popularity, adding 14,000 new paying customers in the fourth quarter, according to a Slack earnings report.

The Series A round was the second time the Slack Fund, Slack’s investment fund, put money into Yac after a $500,000 deal in 2020. At the time of the $7.5 million round, Slack Fund Director Jason Spinell said Yac “unlocks the potential of audio-first collaboration.”

“We’re reinvesting in Yac because they align with our mission to make the future of work simpler, more pleasant and more productive, something we’ve already seen through their powerful integrations with the Slack platform.”