Kaliki co-founders, Bruce Hopkins and Tirrell Payton, wanted to create a text-to-speech platform that kept users engaged (Image: Source)
The written word isn’t dead yet. To the contrary, it’s more alive than it’s ever been before thanks to Tirrell Payton and Bruce Hopkins, founders of BT Software and Research. The duo launched Kaliki Audio Newstand, a spoken word platform that allows consumers to access their favorite written content on-demand, anytime — in-car, online and on the go.
Both partners have a technology background, the merging of their skill sets was a match made in auto heaven. While Hopkins worked for three of the top auto manufacturers, Payton was an integral part of Yahoo Media Group and worked as a senior engineer on some of Yahoo’s streaming media properties, including Launchcast Radio and Yahoo Music Jukebox.
Now, with Kaliki, time-crunched drivers who want to read more, but can never find the time, can have a bevy of magazines and local newspapers read to them by live professional narrators. Currently, Kaliki is available in connected vehicles manufactured by Ford Motor Company, but the team is working to add other auto manufacturers. Users can listen to this content when they pair their smartphones to Ford’s Sync AppLink service using a Bluetooth connection. The platform is also available to enjoy online from desktop and laptop computers and on mobile phones.
Kaliki has already begun distributing on-demand content through partnerships with the Los Angeles Times, The Detroit Free Press, TV Guide, Men’s Fitness, Shape, and OK! to name a few, and their Audio Newsstand is free of charge to the one million plus SYNC users, who are currently on the road. Black Enterprise chose Kaliki as Tech Startup of the Week because they used their technology background to bring to life a robust platform with a viable business model.
Read more about Kaliki in the March 2013 issue of Black Enterprise Magazine, where they received our 2013 International CES Best in Show Award for the Smartest Automotive Tech Solution. Watch the video below as Payton, co-founder and CEO of BT Software, discusses how he and Hopkins secured the Ford Motor Company partnership deal.
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Marcia Wade Talbert
Marcia is a multimedia content producer focusing on technology at Black Enterprise Magazine. In this capacity she writes and assigns stories to educate readers about social media; digital integration; gadgets, apps, and software for business and professional development; minority tech startups; and careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). In 2012, she received two Salute to Excellence Awards from the National Association of Black Journalists and was recognized by Blacks in Technology (BiT) as one of the Top 10 Black achievers in the tech arena for 2011 at SXSW in Austin, Texas. She has spoken about technology on panels for New York Social Media Week, at The 2012 Rainbow/PUSH Wall Street Summit, as well as at Black Enterprise’s Entrepreneurs Conference and Women of Power Summit. In 2011, SocialWayne.com chose her as one of 28 People of Color Impacting the Social Web, and through crowdsourcing she was listed as one of BlackWeb2.0's/HP's 50 Most Notable African American Tastemakers in Social Media and Technology for 2010. Since taking on the role of Tech editor in September 2010, she has conceived and produced five cover stories on Technology and/or STEM and countless articles, videos, and slideshows online. Before joining BlackEnterprise.com as an interactive general assignment reporter in 2008, she freelanced with Black Enterprise beginning in 2003 while working as the technical editor at Prepared Foods magazine. There she further honed her writing skills and became an authority on food ingredients, including ingredients used in food fortification and enrichment. Meanwhile, her freelancing with Black Enterprise and BlackEnterprise.com helped her stay current on issues pertaining to the financial and business welfare of African Americans. As a general reporter for Black Enterprise she attended and reported on the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, where she interviewed Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor and assistant to President Barack Obama and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. Marcia has a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture with an emphasis in food science from the University of Minnesota, and a Master of Science degree in journalism from Roosevelt University in Chicago. En route to her secondary degree, she served as the editor-in-chief of the Roosevelt University Torch, a weekly, student-run newspaper. An avid photographer and videographer, Marcia is one of several employees at BLACK ENTERPRISE who interned for the publishing company as a college student. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, a food scientist; her seventeen-month-old daughter; and “The Catâ€, but still considers Chicago home.
