Three tech-savvy Yarraville mates are bringing true tone and character to social media with the launch of their new app.
Jimmy Stojkovski (originally from Point Cook), Ross Horkings (Werribee) and Matt Grisold (Eltham) are the brains behind Stem … think Twitter, but instead of 160 characters to make a statement, it’s done via a 12-second voice clip.
The clips can be sent to all contacts on the app, or to individuals as private chats.
“We got the idea after contacting our mechanic,” Ross said.
“His voice sounded completely different to what he looked like.
“We thought, why isn’t there a social media app where you are who you are? People say they hate their voice, but it’s a massive part of who you are. There is no filtering on this … you can’t misinterpret text because there is none.
“That’s what we wanted to bring back to social media: true tone and meaning.”
Jimmy said the project had been two and a half years in the making, but after launching three weeks ago, the work has already paid off.
The three mates have quit their day jobs to focus on the app full-time.
Five hours after launching, the app hit number 21 on Australia’s most downloaded app charts, with users based across Australia, New Zealand, America and even India.
“Number 21 is great,” Ross said.
“Considering the apps higher in the charts are apps like Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.”
Looking to the future, the boys are aware that there’s a long road ahead.
“We’ll be taking small steps,” Jimmy said.
“We’re not trying to fool ourselves, but we’re very confident.”
The app can be downloaded on smartphones.
