Soujanya Bhumkar, Coolris CEO, will speak at this years beLAUNCH conference, Korea's premier start up and tech event.
The explosion of the selfie has become part of creating a new type of human experience and Cooliris believes in augmenting the impact of these snaps, through personal media which is shared privately.
Coolris was founded on the core principal of improving the user experience when browsing media and information on the web. From this ambition it evolved to a native app media experience on a person's smartphone, and incorporated a Gallery application. Going beyond the Gallery , Coolris has become a complete media hub on both and iOS and now Android.
Coolris boasts 40 million users in the US and the iOS version has over 4B photos connected from over 15 media sources. The new andriod app is localized in Japanese, as well as simplified and traditional Chinese.
Recently Cooliris launched their new app on Android in China and are looking to expand into other Asian markets. Most importantly, Cooliris is going to be announcing a brand new app for visual messaging where expression and conversational sharing join together seamlessly.
Coolris and the Korean market
Coolris' launch in China signifies the company's strategy in Asia, with further integration into the regional app ecosystem planned for the near future. Soujanya himself has spent considerable time in Korea in the past year, recognising a huge opportunity for Cooliris in the domestic market. Strategic partnerships with Korea's major tech brands has also clearly been a factor in the copany's interest in Korea.
"We love the Korean market because users in Korea are early adopters and have a high bar for user experience. So indeed we intend to grow more in korean markets both organically and through partnerships. When you operate in a hot space, competition is inevitable which means we need to execute more efficiently than others."
Korean business
Cooliris' WIT (Whatever it takes) team philosophy fits the app economy and the app culture perfectly. The team orients itself towards a singular business goal and rapidly executes independent of their title or function within the company. The team's passion is closely aligned with the goals of a successful release, with metrics defined upfront. "Everything else is a distraction," according to a company spokesperson.
Soujanya also believes that Korean startups could benefit from the company philosophy he has nurtured in Cooliris. By setting aside hierarchy in order to promote better business, he believe that Korean startups will be able to foster better, and faster growth.