Elevating Founders is an investment pitch competition which gathers the year’s most promising early-stage startup companies that the organisers believe have the potential to have a significant impact on their industries.
UK-based SYNKii, a finalist in the 2022 edition of Elevating Founders, launched its virtual online classroom for music education in 2021 in response to the growing use of Zoom for conducting online music lessons.
Its synchronised digital keyboard lets teachers and students play together in real-time at distance and the platform offers a fully customisable classroom environment to enable teachers to select the tools they need to optimise the delivery of their lessons.
Teachers can also use integrations including a notation editor, which runs on Tutteo’s flat.io software, to collaborate on music scores directly in the SYNKii Classroom.
Whereas Zoom was developed primarily for video conferencing and meetings, the founders created SYNKii to meet the specific needs of music educators and their students.
Co-founder Lawrence Jenner said, ‘Over 77% of music teachers are still using Zoom for online music lessons. But Zoom isn’t developing tools for music teachers. It might be great for business meetings, but it doesn’t cut the mustard for music lessons.’
The company is taking part in the London Tech Week competition to pitch for further funding to support the development of AI-driven features, self-paced music lessons and the integration of exam-specific materials.
The eventual goal is to create an all-in-one platform for music teachers and educators working online.
Co-founder Boram Choi said, ‘We’ve worked so hard to make SYNKii what it is, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about pitching to a room full of investors!
‘But I’m also incredibly excited to show them what we’ve been working on. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and we really believe in what we’ve built over the last two years. It’s time to show the world our vision for the future of music education.
‘Imagine a platform where you can teach, practise, analyse, undertake online music exams, and even gain a real-world qualification. That’s what we want to develop.’
SYNKii will be pitching at Elevating Founders on 14 June at the Queen Elizabeth Centre, London. Apply for a free London Tech Week pass to watch the competition live.
