How Backtrack's AI tool for conferences is supercharging sales conversations

The idea for Backtrack started after a business conversation that didn't go well. Now the startup has built an AI tool that captures every conversation at conferences and trade shows, helping exhibitors summarize important sales leads and follow up with precision.

Credit: Rawpixel Backtrack is building an AI tool to help capture every conversation you have at conferences or trade shows, making a better way to summarize the important talks exhibitors have with sales leads. The idea began after a business conversation that didn't go well. The startup's co-founders, Hunter McKinley and Jordan Walker, were pitching Yac, a voice messaging tool for remote teams. Investors during the Silicon Valley trip weren't biting, and the duo left defeated. "Wouldn't it be great if that meeting was recorded," McKinley recalled, noting that if they could play the meeting back they'd be able to apply lessons learned to their next pitch meeting. From there, the team began to build Backtrack, a tool for recording meetings. The product eventually evolved into a recording app for exhibitors to use at their trade show booths. Its mission is to help you better capture the conversations that take place at conferences, and use those conversations to close deals and drive more sales. How it works Backtrack's app runs in the background. An exhibitor just needs to launch the app, set their phone down, and start making connections at the show. After a noteworthy conversation, the user opens up the app and scans a business card or types in an email address of the person they talked to. After pressing "Go," Backtrack creates a full transcript and summary of the conversation up to 20 minutes. Anything that's not worth saving, Backtrack auto deletes. The result is a detailed look back at an important business conversation, eliminating the need to scribble notes or send yourself voice memos after a meeting ends, McKinley explained. Backtrack seamlessly uploads information to your company's CRM, automating the follow-up process. By eliminating the manual process of note taking, organizing sales leads and inputting data to your CRM, Backtrack is creating time for more conversations and connections, which can be "worth millions of dollars" for companies at trade sho

By Jim Dallke at TechNexus Venture Collaborative