Gamified polling app Play2Lead received a warm international reception after being used by over 100 investors at international conference TechCrunch Disrupt last week.
Co-founder and chief executive Theresa Lim says the three minute pitching opportunity was amazing, but she was more thrilled about the fact her app was used for the audience choice award at the AngelHack Global Demo day just prior to the conference.
“I think I was the only product that was used by everyone in the room. The organisers told me that the judges really loved my product, but I’m really clear that even though I can’t ignore the US market because it’s so big, my focus is on the Asia-Pacific region first, especially China, and I want to stay put here,” Lim says.
Just before departing for the US, Lim had signed up as a provider with events company InfoSalons.
“They do 500 major events a year, and that gives me access to Australia, China and the Middle East. So I’m lucky enough to be one of the very few start-ups that has distribution ready to go, before coming out of beta,” Lim says.
The app, which is due to exit beta in late October, was pitched at the global start-up day along with 300 other apps. Lim pitched shortly after two Australian developers, Jethro Clayton and David Boulton, who have since come under fire for pitching a sexist app called ‘Titstare’.
Lim and her co-founder Evgeny Dudin were part of the TechCrunch pre-pitch training program, after coming second to Boulton and Clayton during an Angel Hackathon in May.
Straddling the gamification, engagement and data trends, Lim says she’s developing a range of apps for events and in the next few months she’ll focus on partnering with a high-profile event to launch the app.
Lim says she had a series of very positive conversations with representatives of Fortune 500 companies at the conference, who were keen to use the app for their events.
“I already have some possible customers and I’m looking for a big event launch partner,” Lim says.
The app operates on a monthly subscription model, funded by the event coordinating company so it’s free for users to download.
Lim adds they are also about to start seeking seed capital to ensure they can get the app out to big events and markets quickly.
Rose is the current head of growth at Rampersand Ventures. She was formerly a reporter at StartupSmart.
