As Leiden’s main StartUp hub, PLNT is full of creativity, innovation, and, of course, some of the Netherlands’ most promising startups and scale-ups. One exciting member of this group is Smartnotation.
Founded in 2017, Smartnotation aims to help make meetings as efficient and productive as possible. How? What is it? And why? We talked to Ken Ramroochsingh, CEO of Smartnotation, to learn all about his product.
What is Smartnotation?
Smartnotation is a collaboration application (cloud and mobile app) that helps people structure their meeting workflow more simply and efficiently.
It allows users to prepare meetings, and to collect meeting notes, actions and decisions. The best part? It’s available on desktop and mobile devices, and even controllable with just one’s voice.
Ken has always envisioned a “keyboardless future,” and to make this voice-to-text tool a reality, Smartnotation has been standing ready at the forefront of AI tools since before they rose in popularity.
It’s easy: “As you speak during meetings, Smartnotation transcribes your words into notes,” Ken explains. “The power of Smartnotation lies in its simplicity. It doesn’t contain features you wouldn’t use,” he says.
Another great feature of Smartnotation is that it lets you share notes, meeting minutes, and follow-up tasks with your team instantly. It also has the option to invite external attendees (such as suppliers, customers, partners) in a restricted, secure way.
Need some information from that one meeting five weeks back? No problem; Smartnotation lets you search through all your meeting minutes.
How did Smartnotation get started?
Smartnotation started by going back to the basics. Many of our daily software applications are overwhelming, and only a fraction of their functions are truly useful to the average user.
As a result, Ken asked himself: “What does an application really need in order to help us be more efficient?”
The answer is as simple as it is smart (literally!) — because Smartnotation rests on the SMART principle: Simplicity, Mindset, Action, Right-to-the-point and Tooling. According to Ken, these five aspects are needed for successful business meetings and follow-ups.
Once Ken had the idea, he needed help coding the application. Along with the software developers of Leiderdorp-based Emerald-IT, Smartnotation eventually became a reality. “We share the pleasures — but also the challenges,” Ken says.
What role does PLNT play in Smartnotation’s StartUp story?
After starting his business in the Leiden Bio Science Park, Ken eventually moved Smartnotation to PLNT. Why? “To face a new challenge and gain some new inspiration … oh, and the rent was cheaper,” Ken laughs.
PLNT’s welcoming character did not disappoint. Mingling with similar-minded people helped Smartnotation to stay focused on its move from StartUp to Scale-Up. “It can get chaotic here at times — but the chaos is great; the interaction with other people is what fuels us,” says Ken.
Inspired by the dynamic crowds of PLNT, Smartnotation continues to do what it does best: develop better tools and technologies, and simplify the workflows of its clients across the world.
How does Smartnotation help people?
When asked how Smartnotation can help others, Ken immediately has an answer: “By increasing their productivity, one hundred per cent!”
By simplifying tasks such as note-sharing and meeting minutes, Smartnotation eliminates unnecessary overhead. This allows companies to focus on what really matters: their business.
“Smartnotation allows people to go about these routine meetings efficiently,” Ken explains. The result? “You can save at least 30% of your time — just by using Smartnotation. That’s what our clients tell us!”
What’s in store for Smartnotation’s future?
It’s not an exaggeration when we say that Smartnotation has already seen some great success — and their billboards on New York’s Times Square and in Silicon Valley prove it!
However, fuelled with ambition, Ken tells us that Smartnotation’s ultimate goal is to expand to the point where it could become the Dutch market leader in meeting organisation software solutions.
To get there, Smartnotation plans to keep improving its product by listening to the feedback of its clients — big companies, small companies, and everything in between.
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