Meet SleekFlow, the Startup Shaping the Future of Social Commerce

20 years ago, it would’ve been difficult to imagine the number of doors the internet would open for billions of people around the world. From headlines reading “The internet? Bah!” to predictions of the internet dying by 1996, the internet used to be a subject of controversy but today, it is hard to imagine life without it. Unfortunately, brands have failed to keep up with the times, making communication in the social marketing era more difficult than it needs to be. SleekFlow is trying to address this by making omnichannel communications accessible and mainstream.

The online world has always been about convenience and freedom, with variety increasing over the years. Communications used to be limited to email before platforms like AOL, IM, ICQ, and MSN messenger showed up. Now, not only do we have thousands of communication platforms at our disposal but they also offer increasingly powerful features. With Web3 now promising to be the future, the number of options will only continue to increase.

This diversification that comes with the evolution of our online life is why brands’ decision to limit their channels of communication seems so paradoxical. Most people probably have had to deal with the situation of not being able to communicate with a company using their favorite App. Company A might only offer support via Facebook Messenger or Whatsapp, while Company B offers support via Twitter and Instagram. With social marketing also gaining traction, such choices also represent monetary losses in addition to customer satisfaction.

Customers around the world have been growing increasingly frustrated about the lack of options when it comes to interacting with their favorite brands, making the need for omnichannel social commerce solutions higher than ever. This is why Henson Tsai founded SleekFlow back in 2019 with the mission of helping to build a better future for social commerce by improving the experience for users and brands alike.

SleekFlow offers an omnichannel social commerce platform that allows brands to sell, convert, and support their customers using their favorite chat apps. By bringing popular apps like Whatsapp Business API, Telegram, Facebook Messenger, Line, Instagram, WeChat, and Viber, SleekFlow makes it easier for brands and customers to connect. This, in addition to smart routing rules and targeted campaign capabilities, completely changes how brands can sell in the social media and instant messaging space.

The startup has experienced rapid growth after having raised $8 million in Series A funding back in June from names like Tiger Global Partners, Transcend Capital,  and AEF Greater Bay Area Fund. So far, the startup has helped its customers increase their revenue by over 18% by processing over 20 million messages every month. It has more than 5000 enterprise users around the world including names like Shopify, Shangri-La, Lalamove, Carousell, Franc Franc, and Bossini.

With products catered to the specific needs of the retail O2O, E-Commerce, finance, beauty, medical, and education industries, SleekFlow aims to become a major driver for the growth of the social commerce space. So far, its offering includes inbox, automation, social customer relationship management, payment links, campaign, and channels & integrations.

A report by Strategic Market Research forecasts the value of the Social Commerce market at $7.07 trillion by 2023. This prediction is the result of the increasing role of social media in the E-commerce industry, as well as the acceleration of the digital market shift as a result of the COVID19 pandemic. SleekFlow not only seeks to capitalize on this growing trend but also to help shape its future, making social marketing a better experience for everyone involved.