TranscriptsHQ

Jan 21, 2014

Transcription service startup GetNotes raises $100K Jan 20, 2014, 11:12am EST Updated Jan 21, 2014, 9:58am EST //= $authorImg ?> GetNotes co-founder Eugene Yukin Eugene Yukin wants to turn drudgery into profit. The former journalist got tired of having to transcribe interviews, so he launched GetNotes , a web-based transcription service to avoid hitting the rewind button. “Spending hours transcribing (interviews) was the biggest pain point I had,” Yukin said. “(GetNotes) was a solution to a very personal, painful problem I had.” GetNotes, an Atlanta Ventures Accelerator company , offers basic transcription of classroom lectures, audio interviews and conference calls. But the real value is the in service’s editing and summarization service. Users upload audio calls to to GetNotes website and receive the transcribed notes in up to 48 hours. The service charges on a per audio-minute basis — which varies from $1.50/min. to $2.50/min. depending on the transcription package . A subscription model is being considered, where users receive a bucket of audio minutes for a monthly fee. This week GetNotes (formerly TranscriptsHQ) is expected to close on a $100,000 investment from Atlanta Ventures Fund, Athens Angel Investment Fund , Jamie Hamilton and Robert Jetmundsen . Unlike some transcription services that use voice-recognition software, GetNotes relies on humans to transcribe and edit the conversations. The startup uses a crowdsourced approach to do the transcription, with a network of 45 vetted contractors, who sign non-disclosure agreements, and receive a percentage of revenues. The contractors choose what recording they want to transcribe and editors review the transcript. GetNotes offers four services: word-for-word transcription, basic editing, full editing, and summarization. Basic editing reduces the transcript by about 30 percent, stripping out repetitive sentences and false starts. Full-editing cuts down the transcript by about 50 percent, delivering an edited Q&A. The summary version is more a discussion overview than a transcript. It includes a list of action items committed to during the call. I had GetNotes transcribe my interview with Yukin, and was impressed. The fully edited version of the interview revealed details and quotes I had missed in my transcription. Then again, I spent about 25 minutes transcribing the 18-minute call; GetNotes took 27 hours to get it to me. That extended turnaround could limit GetNotes market for the service to those with the luxury of time. GetNotes initially targeted the education market — it completed two paid trials with students at The University of Georgia and Kennesaw State University . The real money, however, is in Corporate America, where GetNotes can boost productivity and ensure more of the information discussed in the meeting is captured. “When it comes to meetings and online conference calls, the pain point is so much larger,” Yukin said. “People are willing to pay for anything that will allow them to get to key information faster.” GetNotes is targeting consultants, executive coaches and project managers. The startup hopes to integrate its product with conference call technology providers, such as Cisco Systems , who could offer the transcription and summarization service to their customers as a value-add. “There's a huge information overload," Yukin said. "Anything we can do to get (people) key information faster, is helpful. " Want Atlanta Technology news in your inbox? Sign up for our free email newsletters. Industries