In 2019, experienced entrepreneurs John Muldoon and John Huck had an idea. Huck said that after working for a leadership training company, he realized that “there has been no innovation in the corporate training market since computer-based training was introduced.” To solve this problem, Muldoon and Huck founded Hillsboro-based Interflection, where they currently serve as CEO and chief technology officer, respectively.
The co-founders realized that lower-level staff and middle management were often left behind as management invested primarily in highly paid employees. How middle managers should talk to the people who report to them, how to motivate them to accomplish their work, and how to conduct performance reviews in a way that is meaningful to employees. I didn't even know.
“We wanted to help people become better versions of themselves,” Muldoon said.
“Our vision is to create a more harmonious and productive workplace, and we use a platform of (artificial intelligence)-driven role-playing conversation performance to help people have better conversations. We will achieve this by supporting.”
Huck has been following AI since before 2000 and was involved in several AI-related projects along the way.
“It was clear that natural language processing was moving from the lab to the corporate world. We are committed to delivering applications that use this technology and help people improve their communication and interpersonal skills in the workplace. ” he said.
To address this situation, the two friends and colleagues realized that their domain knowledge and technical skill sets would mesh very well at their new company. It was from the end of 2019 to the beginning of his 2020. Then came the pandemic, “for better or for worse.” And Muldoon pointed out that the need for remote training in the market has increased.
The two founders were brought into the “Innovation Foundry” of a Big Four accounting firm.
“In our first year of existence, we worked with them to uncover the whole experience,” Muldoon said. “They did an evaluation of the entire software on the platform. It included all the elements you would expect from that company: scalability, privacy, security. And, not surprisingly, John (Huck) When we built many of these, we passed with flying colors.”
While the use of AI may be controversial in some cases, Huck and Muldoon insist they are building a secure platform with guardrails. It is a configurable system that allows end users to shape situations for role-playing.
“It doesn't go off track or give us any hallucinations of AI,” Haq said, referring to the erroneous patterns that some large-scale language models recognize.
“Our vision is to create a more harmonious and productive workplace, and we use a platform of (artificial intelligence)-driven role-playing conversation performance to help people have better conversations. We will achieve this by supporting.”
Although the business relationship with the accounting firm did not develop, the two continued to explore the development of Interflexion. One interesting scenario, Huck said, involves his involvement with a professor at the University of North Carolina's business school. Professors are using the app as homework in an undergraduate course on organizational ethics to help students experience what it's like to encounter ethical dilemmas in the workplace. As students encounter several dilemmas during the semester, they use tools to apply course concepts to their conversations. Professors use this to assess which concepts effectively help students practice what they have learned.
“We expected them to do the right thing because students identify ethical issues in ethics class and are very motivated to do the right thing. But at work, we expected them to do the right thing. We can't throw people under the bus. We need to continue to build good relationships with people who may be at odds with us,” Haq said. Professors guide students to build necessary relationships and overcome dilemmas.
Another customer is the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, a global organization that provides professional education to CPAs. The company uses Inflexion's software to help early-career CPAs be more effective in interviews. Additionally, his third group of people using the app is made up of individual companies with learning and development groups aimed at helping their employees become better conversationalists.
“We are currently working with a company that is a major property rental group, and their sales staff is helping them deal with new customers and customers who are currently renting and are looking to renew their leases. ” he said.
Many individual companies that provide extensive training to senior-level managers use this app for entry-level and mid-level management employees to improve their conversational skills.
Asked about funding, Muldoon said Interflection has raised about $900,000 from friends and family and is starting to bring in recurring revenue. The founders are currently raising a seed round of funding. Currently, he has 6 employees, all working 100% remotely. Muldoon and Huck plan to move into office space in the Princeton area once seed financing is completed.
conversation starter
For more information about Interflexion, please visit interflexion.com.
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