Do you love posting online challenges on social media? Or participating in ones that friends put you up to? In either case, you’ll love YouClap.TECH! In this interview, we speak to José Rocha, CEO, YouClap.TECH, to shed light on how they are breaking the conventions and making online challenges a part of every brand’s social media strategy! 

Tell us about YouClap.TECH. How did you come up with the unique idea of posting online challenges and voting with a clap? 

I constantly noticed how online challenges were becoming an eminent part of on social media but I felt that none of the existing platforms were giving challenge creators and participants a dedicated ecosystem built from the ground up. As the idea started taking shape, I gathered our team and we began asking ourselves how a platform like this should work, which led us to define our core features.

It was only after having a solid grasp on how the core app would work that the name and, consequently, the branding for YouClap came about. The sea lion worked as the perfect mascot for us, as people recognize their ability to clap, an action that we, as people, tend to do whenever we see an impressive feat. This is why we decided to use ‘claps’ as the voting currency rather than likes or hearts. We felt it would work. And it has!

How can brands use YouClap.TECH to include online challenges in their social media strategy?

Online challenges are a fantastic way to interact with people on social media. Brands should absolutely leverage them as a way to engage with their customers. Prominent brands have already started to incorporate online challenges into their social media strategy.  As a platform, YouClap will ensure a far more effective and efficient way for them to reach their audience through online challenges.

How was your experience of participating in Go Youth and Web Summit last year in Lisbon? 

Both the events were great for us. Go Youth in 2016 was the first startup event we ever went to and we were terrible as entrepreneurs, I mean, we had zero experience but we still felt super welcomed, everyone was open to advise us, share their tips, give us feedback, all of which was crucial in those early days. We went again this year and it was great to look back on how we’d evolved in a year’s time.

Web Summit was obviously a different beast, being one of the biggest startup events in the world. By that point, we had grown as a team, we’d released our Android Beta and were in the process of fundraising. And so that was definitely an ideal opportunity to evolve, be it through the talks, meetings with investors and getting feedback from everyone that passed by our booth. We’re eagerly looking forward to going this year and, once more, look back on how we’ve grown over the past year.

How did you form the team? What is the YouClap.TECH team motto?

I first reached out to my good friend, Hugo Silva, currently our Financial Manager. Similarly, I reached out to my friends that I knew were experts in their respective areas and who I trusted and would be willing to go on this crazy startup adventure with me. Joana Ramos, our terrific Design Manager, as well as Luís Portela and Renato Almeida, our incredible programmers made five of us as founders. We’ve continued growing as a team, and through our networks, we find amazing people that that love what YouClap is doing and they are willing to come on board!

I wouldn’t say we have an established team motto but the cliché “Work Hard, Play Hard” does apply to us. After work, we make it a point to hang out and have a good time together.  

Tell us about your experience of being part of the Startup League.

The Startup League has been amazing to us! We simply wouldn’t have been able to attend so many events if they hadn’t supported us but it goes beyond that. They’re always eager to help, be it virtually or whenever we’re able to meet, the experience has always been extremely positive.

What is the future looking like for YouClap.TECH? Tell us about your plans.

We’re now gearing up to launch the YouClap app on Android and iOS, it’s something we’ve been working on for over a year now. So, the stakes are high but we’re proud of the app and thanks to the partnerships we’ve been able to establish, alongside the marketing campaigns that we’ve set in motion, we’re aiming for an impactful launch.

The real grind will start after the app launch. To ensure the best user experience possible, we’ll need to meet our users’ requirements and desires, and focus entirely on their retention. We want to make sure it’s truly the app we’ve envisioned and that it allows creators of online challenges to express themselves effectively.