LONDON PRESS SERVICE INFORMS
“Talk-to-Text” CEO is Young Enterepreneur
of the Year
On message: Christina Domecq co-founded SpinVox, the first company in
the world to offer voice message-to-text conversion services. Now, the SpinVox CEO has
been recognised as a Young Entrepreneur of the Year at the annual Ernst & Young
Awards.
One innovative company that is shaping the future of the mobile phone
industry is SpinVox of the United Kingdom. It claims to be the first firm in the world to
offer voice message-to-text conversion services, creating a new class of voice-message
applications. To recognise that achievement, Christina Domecq, the company’s co-founder
and chief executive officer, has been honoured as a Young Entrepreneur of the Year at the
annual Ernst & Young Awards.
“Christina is developing a product that could revolutionise mobile
telephony for both customers and business users,” said Lord Young, chairman of the
judges’ panel. “She is a capable, driven and structured business leader - at a young
age.”
The idea of voice-message application was thought up by Christina
Domecq after she recognised that accessing multiple voicemails was not always convenient
and could be frustrating and time consuming. She reasoned that by converting voicemail to
text, users could see who had called and what they had said.
By using SpinVox, customers can instantly see their voice messages as
text and respond either by text, email or voice. The service works on any handset or
network regardless of the network technology.
After the ceremony, Ms. Domecq said: “I am delighted to receive this
award, as it is further indication that all of us at SpinVox are creating a genuine shift
in voice services today. Voice continues to be the most used service on every phone and
voice is still the biggest revenue generator for operators. SpinVox is rapidly
transforming the telecommunications industry starting with voicemail-to-text and, soon,
spoken SMS (short messaging service). This recognises that a simple innovation in core
communication services creates powerful, sustainable benefits for both subscribers and
operators alike.”
Christina Domecq continued: “SpinVox is currently deploying with
operators internationally, following findings that voicemail-to-text has a dramatic impact
on revenues per user, as voicemail becomes more immediate and users can text or call back
at the push of a button. Aggregated findings from trials with retailers and operators
indicate that SpinVox drives an average uplift of 12 per cent in text and voice
traffic.”
SpinVox unveiled Spanish and French language services earlier in 2006
and has since expanded its operations further into Europe, North and South America with a
German service scheduled to launch later in 2006.
A spokesman added: “Using its innovative, patented technology,
SpinVox’s first voice-to-text service has shown rapid growth since its inception. The
simple-to-use, highly effective service has been an instant hit with customers and
operators alike. The ‘no instructions needed’ service creates a unique user experience
that powers a new way of communicating.”
Over the past 20 years, the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year
Award has developed the reputation as the most prestigious honour for business people and
innovators. The award recognises their “vital contributions of the leaders and creators
who build and sustain world-class business that are testament to vision, leadership,
achievement and social responsibility”.
A SpinVox spokesman explained that Ms. Domecq identified a need to
simplify the process of accessing multiple voicemails and turned this idea into the first
company in the world to offer voice-to-text capabilities.
“The key is that there is really nothing new for users to learn
because leaving a message and receiving a text or email enables customers instantly to see
their messages and respond to them, wherever they are. Moreover, it is able to offer a
solution that works on any handset or network regardless of the underlying technology
(mobile, fixed line, VoIP, IMS).”
SpinVox is working with multiple blue-chip partners in the mobile
industry today, delivering voice-to-text solutions to their customers. Leading retailers,
distributors and operators have chosen to partner with SpinVox including Hutchinson 3G,
The Carphone Warehouse, The Link, and 4u Business. SpinVox is also deploying with mobile
operators internationally to make its voicemail-to-text solution an integral part of their
core network service.
Prior to SpinVox, Christina Domecq developed an impressive track record
in start-up technology-based services. For nearly a decade she has founded and managed her
own IT service businesses that have had a turnover of 14 million US dollars at any one
time.
By Richard Maino
|