Speek

Speek, founded in June 2012 by John Bracken, Andy Powers, and Danny Boice, was a communications technology company that aimed to simplify the conference call experience. The company was established to address the common frustrations of joining conference calls, such as the need to remember and dial phone numbers and PINs. Speek's core product was a visual conference calling platform that used a personalized, permanent web link (e.g., speek.com/YourName) for initiating and joining calls. This allowed users to connect from a web browser, phone, or mobile app without requiring software downloads.

The platform's business model operated on a freemium basis, targeting a wide range of clients from individuals and small businesses to larger enterprises. A free version was offered, while a paid "Speek for Business" plan provided additional features like custom branding and unlimited callers. Revenue was generated from these subscription plans, which were priced per user per month. The service provided a visual interface where participants could see who had joined the call, identify who was speaking, share files, and manage the meeting with various call controls. This approach was recognized in the market, earning accolades such as being named one of the Wall Street Journal's "Top 20 Startups of the Year in 2013".

The company's trajectory included securing $1.2 million in seed funding in late 2012 and participating in accelerator programs like 500 Startups and AOL's Fishbowl Labs. This early success culminated in its acquisition by Jive Communications, a cloud communications provider, on June 29, 2015. Jive sought to integrate Speek's user-friendly conferencing technology into its broader suite of business communication services. Subsequently, the journey continued when LogMeIn, Inc. announced its acquisition of Jive Communications in February 2018 for approximately $342 million, a deal that was completed in April 2018. This series of acquisitions placed Speek's foundational technology within the portfolio of a major player in the Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) market.

Keywords: conference calls, visual conferencing, web conferencing, Speek, Jive Communications, LogMeIn, John Bracken, Danny Boice, UCaaS, unified communications, VoIP, business communication, freemium, SaaS, meeting platform, collaboration tool, startup acquisition, teleconferencing, simple conference calls