LyncMe – The Start-Up Built to Help People Keep in Touch

Abdullah Javaid of LyncMe tells us how people can share all their info in one link.

First of all, how are you and your family doing in these COVID-19 times? 

Abdullah Javaid: Thankfully, my family is safe and healthy during this time. We are all taking precautions, especially with our elders. We have adapted as the conditions and requirements change within our home region. 

Tell us about you, your career, how you founded LyncMe.

Abdullah Javaid: My father immigrated to the US (where I was born), and we moved to Toronto, Canada, when I was 5. I was raised in Toronto and attended all my schooling here. 

My full-time career is in Workplace Health & Safety. It’s what I attended school for, and it’s my current day job. 

This start-up has been a project that began with my long-time childhood friend who approached me with his vision to be an entrepreneur. Since then (2016), we have been working together on our entrepreneurial goals. LyncMe began in August of 2018.

How does LyncMe innovate? 

Abdullah Javaid: We want people to stay connected with each other in today’s world of social media and app overload. We built an app called LyncMe (available on Android and iOS) to help people share contact information efficiently and stay up-to-date with their contacts. 

One of the key features of our app is to auto-update contact information as it changes. We believe this is unique in today’s digital space. Many people (unknowingly) have extremely scattered contact information. We offer an app that is simple and effective. 

How does the coronavirus pandemic affect your business finances?

Abdullah Javaid: As a start-up, we always need to be tight with our finances and budget (with or without Coronavirus), so that aspect hasn’t changed. 

However, we feel that with the pandemic, people are being pushed to connect digitally more than ever before. This can serve as an opportunity for our business, given that our key mission is to connect people effectively and help them share contact information more efficiently through their smart devices. 

Did you have to make difficult choices regarding human resources, and what are the lessons learned?

Abdullah Javaid: The most difficult decision this far is having to bring on employees and lose them during the process. This may be either due to availability, finances, difficulty in management, etc. 

What we have learned is to be more clear with regards to our expectations of future employees or members and work towards creating synergy within the whole team so that it does not impact our productivity. With a start-up, we never have the luxury of losing time and effort. 

How did your customer relationship management evolve? Do you use any specific tools to be efficient?

Abdullah Javaid: We are still evolving within customer relationships. Our main focus currently is building a user base and getting feedback on our product (essentially, we are in an MVP phase). We have used a variety of methods (such as social media marketing, beta testing, word-of-mouth, content marketing). We are continuing to learn what is most effective with our users to build engagement and conversion. 

Did you benefit from any government grants, and did that help keep your business afloat?

Abdullah Javaid: We are currently looking towards start-up incubators for additional resources and support with our business; however, we are open to looking at government grants as well. 

Your final thoughts?

Abdullah Javaid: This start-up journey has brought many valuable experiences to our team, and we feel that regardless of our outcome as a business, those experiences and lessons are beyond measure. We wish to continue growing and becoming a platform that everyone uses to connect with others and stay connected. Our vision is for people to keep in touch, no matter where life takes them. 

Your website?

https://www.lyncme.co/