An Irvine-based company that created a customer support software platform has launched a live chat program.
The HappyFox Inc. program includes more than 30 integrations with e-commerce, customer relationship management, marketing and helpdesk applications. It’s evolved from a beta platform, gaining 10,000 customers since mid-2015, according to company data, founder and Chief Executive Shalin Jain said.
HappyFox Chat is now integrated with Facebook Messenger and Hubspot and offers a mobile reporting app, HappyFox Chat Reporting, that lets users view stats from their HappyFox Chat accounts. The live chat feature is not that unusual, but what is rare is a company like HappyFox offering both help desk and chat, Jain said.
The company competes with BoldChat, offered by Boston, Mass.-based LogMeIn Inc., and New York City-based LivePerson. Happy Fox’ technology was developed in such a way that it can provide service at a much lower price point without compromising scalability and performance, Jain said. The software costs 25% to 30% less than rival offerings, and the company passes the cost benefits to its customers, he said.
“We believe live chat will soon become the most preferred channel of customer service and engagement, both for consumers and businesses.”
The company is growing more than 60% year-over-year, Jain said. It was launched in 2011.
Entrepreneur Joins Firm
One of Indonesia’s tech pioneers has joined an Irvine-based company that calls itself “the world’s first social networthing” platform.
Shinta Dhanuwardoyo will join founder Jenny Ta at Sqeeqee as co-founder and president. Sqeeqee is a social media website and app that gives individuals and entities the ability to generate revenue by hosting ads and selling goods on its e-commerce marketplace. The two businesswomen already co-founded Irvine-based VCNetwork.co, a digital platform with a database of independent international venture capitalists. The network acts like a matchmaker, bringing entrepreneurs together with venture capitalists with the means to provide needed funding.
Ta said bringing Dhanuwardoyo to Sqeeqee will allow the company to increase its user base, with a specific focus on the Asia-Pacific region.
“Besides continuing to add user growth and expand the Sqeeqee brand globally, Shinta and I will consider partnerships in new investments, potential acquisitions, and look to retain financial advisers and investment bankers to help with this rapid growth,” Ta said in a statement.
Dhanuwardoyo founded her first company, Bubu.com, in 1996, and serves as its chief executive. Bubu started as a web development company and evolved into a full-service digital agency. She also served as chief executive of Plasa.com, now Blanja.com, a Telkom Indonesia-owned e-commerce marketplace. Plasa.com attracted investments from eBay in 2012 as the two companies forged a joint venture to create a marketplace that connects hundreds of millions of merchants to customers around the world.
Dhanuwardoyo also served as managing partner of Nusantara Ventures, a technology venture capital fund in Indonesia aimed at helping entrepreneurs create and grow digital media companies throughout the region. She co-founded the Silicon Valley Asia Technology Alliance, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to bridge the flow of ideas and collaboration between Indonesian and Silicon Valley tech industries.
Ta is a “serial entrepreneur” and Wall Street veteran who founded two brokerage firms and said she became a self-made millionaire by age 27. She founded and was chief executive of Titan Securities, a full-service investment firm that was acquired in 2005, as well as Vantage Investments, a full-service broker-dealer startup she founded in 1999 and grew to $250 million in assets.
Incubator Opportunity
Irvine technology incubator EvoNexus is accepting applications for its next round of startups. It will host an open house on March 14 to give entrepreneurs an idea of what it’s looking for, benefits of the program, and insight on the application process.
Admitted startups incubate on average from 12 to 18 months. Each is selected by and paired with mentors from the incubator’s selection committee, which is made up of a volunteer group of entrepreneurs, corporate executives, investors and industry experts.
The deadline to apply is April 2. The number of startups selected will depend on their quality, Program Manager Alexa Enlow said. The incubator has taken from one to eight startups in any given round.
EvoNexus is housed at The Vine building in Irvine as part of Irvine Company’s real estate portfolio of startup space in Orange County. The Irvine Co. provides free space to the incubator, which in turn provides free space to startups. EvoNexus doesn’t take equity in the startups.
