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Vocal image: AI-Powered Voice Coaching Startup

With 4 million app ⁢downloads, Estonia-based startup Vocal Image aims to help⁢ people improve their⁤ voice and interaction skills with AI-powered coaching. But out of its 160,000 active users, it may be its CEO, Nick Lakhoika, who best embodies its mission.

Lakhoika was born in Belarus,didn’t speak english until his relocation to‍ Estonia,and once struggled⁢ with speaking anxiety. Yet, he went on to “win a lot of pitch ⁤competitions” on behalf of the voice coaching startup, which was inspired by⁢ his journey, he told TechCrunch.

“When I was at school, I was a little⁢ bit bullied for unclear diction,” Lakhoika said. ⁢In his early twenties, as a young, insecure founder, he met a vocal coach, maryna “Rusia” Shukiurava, who taught him that voice and communication could be trained.

To help others, they started a YouTube channel that eventually morphed into Vocal Image, which positions its subscription-based app ⁤as an affordable choice to one-on-one coaching you can‍ use at home. “You can make strange movements, strange ⁢sounds […] and feel safe,” ⁤lakhoika said.

With ‍an interactive library that includes ⁤tongue⁤ twisters, breathing exercises, and advice on gestures, ‍Vocal ⁣Image⁤ is also leaning ⁤more ⁣and more into AI to give automated feedback and personalized ⁣tips, thanks ⁤in big part⁢ to⁣ the addition of co-founder and CTO Mikalai Karaliou,⁤ Lakhoika ⁣said.

These guided journeys mostly revolve around work-related goals such as enhancing professional or leadership skills, and developing public speaking or presentation abilities. But ⁢Vocal Image also supports people who simply⁢ want to increase their self-confidence, as well as⁢ LGBTQ people, whose rights Shukiurava had ⁢been supporting in ⁤Belarus.

While the trio is ⁤from Belarus, they were among the many Belarusian founders who left their ⁤home country after protests failed to oust President Alexander Lukashenko and were met with brutal repression. Lakhoika picked Estonia for its buisness environment, which has so far proven⁢ favorable for the startup.