Many of us
have heard of disruptive technologies, but at least one company proudly calls
its offering destructive as well. No, we’re not talking laser-guided missiles
but messages that disintegrate after being viewed.
Frankly Inc. (TSXV: TLK), which began trading on the TSX
Venture Exchange on January 5, 2015, has created a mobile messaging app,
Frankly Chat, which allows a message to “self-destruct” seconds after being
read as well as allowing the sender to ‘unsend’ any text, picture, video, or
audio message. Frankly Chat has been downloaded more than two million times and
its software is designed to add a customizable chat function to existing apps.
This means rather than trying to get people to switch to their platform, they
want existing apps to license their software to create chats within these apps.
Frankly Chat is designed to be used mobile, on the go, when someone would not
take the time to log in to another site.
All
those game apps could now have the potential for players to chat within the
app, adding another layer of interaction, and content instead of just a comments
section. They also have a premium version of the app, and plan to create
targeted advertising. This gives Frankly multiple potential revenue streams that
can be generated from their one app. The company hopes to license its messaging
technology to companies and then co-sharing on revenue.
Frankly
currently has partnerships agreements with Victoria’s Secret as well as the
NBA’s Sacramento Kings to provide mobile messaging apps but has yet to generate
any actual revenue. The company does have about $30 million in its treasury, though, and a market cap of
approximately C$66 million.
Frankly Inc.’s
decision to list in Canada seemed to have been influenced by a few factors. In
a recent interview with the Cantech Letter, Frankly CEO Steve Chung said it “would allow him to
raise money quickly (less bureaucracy), raise more of it, and not have to add
another Venture Capitalist to its board.” It would also give his company the
ability to stand out in the market as opposed to being one of 800 other tech
startups on a Silicon Valley Venture Capital firm’s desk.
“The TSX V is
really designed for companies like us, who are relatively early but can use the
capital and be in a hyper-growth situation,” Mr. Chung told BNN.
SK Planet, a
subsidiary of South Korea’s third biggest telecom company, owns about 50% of
Frankly while Toronto-based merchant bank JJR Private Capital has a 10% stake.
The Stanford-StartX Fund, which is affiliated with Stanford University, also
made a $1.5-million investment.
If Frankly is
successful in Canada then other U.S.-based technology startups could follow.
This would be a boon for the TSX Venture exchange, which is dominated by
resource juniors struggling to raise cash.
