Time runs swiftly, especially if you’re running late for a meeting. With more industries turning to online spheres as their key profit source, online meetings have become imperative for every e-commerce. Since the majority moved online, there came a need for simplifying the way employers connect with their employees.

That’s why Susanne Klepsch, Jozef Kitka, and Tali Mandelzweig launched a platform to ensure that no independent worker won’t go without work. By launching MeetFox, the three creators created a platform where experts and businesses of all sizes can never miss out on job opportunities.

With Meetfox, any business or unemployed individual can schedule appointments, charge for meetings, make video calls, process instant payments, and bill clients with an automatic invoice. Meetfox is a SaaS app that makes the boredom of all meetings disappear - it is a necessary tool to manage client interactions better.

If you want to know the fascinating story of how three New Yorker inventors created the number one platform for online work meetings, there’s more on that below.

Humble Beginnings

Susanne Klepsch was born in Vienna, Austria, in the late 1980s. Growing up, Susanne had no trouble making friends just because of her communicative nature. Many were drawn to her, which wasn’t just because of her looks. She was considered the golden child of her family, always creative and assertive about the things she was passionate about. The girl-boss character feature was evident even during childhood, and that’s why she would continue to choose business management and administration as her career path.

Jozef Kutka was born in Bratislava, Slovakia in the mid-90s. Growing up, Jozef was always pictured glued to the computer. There was nothing more exciting than those flickering lights and button controls to pump up the adrenaline, and it seemed like Jozef had found his passion. Being extremely intelligent, mastering languages quickly, and grasping the concept of computers, Jozef continued his journey to study computer engineering. He believed that computers made life easier, but they weren’t making it better.

Tali Mandelzweig was born in Tel Aviv, Israel in the late 1980s. Her childhood wasn’t all that easy, as she and her family moved a lot, searching for a better life and career. By the time Tali was seven, she had experienced a completely new lifestyle when they moved to Canada. Because she was exposed to rough periods early in her lifetime, Tali developed true talents for consulting, as well as communicative skills. This would drive her to imagine her own business, and the best way to accomplish that was to study business and finance.

Upward Spiral

2012 was a year of changes for Susanne Klepsh. It was during this time she graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from the Modul University of Vienna. Meeting a lot of new people in college inspired Susanne to travel and explore the world, and she did it when she signed up for an Erasmus Exchange Program to complete her Master’s studies in Berlin, Germany. During this exchange semester, Susanne earned a Master’s in International Management. This opened many doors, including many thrilling job offers. Susanne was put to the ultimate test when her father asked to return to Vienna and take over their plastic production company in rural Austria. Susanne said that this period was no peach, and her lack of experience in the business field contributed to her making irrational and rushed mistakes. Like Susanne, Jozef too was keen on exploring and traveling, and once he graduated in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in computer science, the world was his oyster. Jozef chose to enrich his portfolio and transferred to Vienna to earn his Master’s Degree in Business Informatics. This was his way of branching out from the engineering sphere into a more start-up-friendly mood.

Tali Mandelzweig didn’t take a break career-wise either, as she graduated with a Commerce degree in Finance and Human Resources, with honors. She began working as an HR manager, moving across oceans to India. This is where Tali grew her fascination with start-ups and making people’s dreams come true.

Crossing Paths

Running her father’s plastic business was no piece of cake for Sussane, and being in her mid-twenties didn’t make it easier either. Her lack of experience was noticeable, and it seemed like she was incapable of helping. She tried to seek a coach to ease her entrepreneurship journey, but the search was unsuccessful for five whole weeks. This is what provoked a lightbulb moment with Susane - a platform that would allow meetings and video conversations with professionals and have them monetize from it. Because if she couldn’t find necessary help within five weeks, no one could.

In the meantime, during his studies, Jozef had met Susanne in Vienna in a similar work environment. Both experts in their business field communicated her idea and thought about a platform that could offer business enthusiasts a place to chat freely, as well as make payments and invoices.

The duo met Tali a little later down the road, when they heard of her unique skill-set. Being a sales executive with an extensive background in business development, she was welcome onto the team. Once Tali heard of the idea, she developed specific strategic solutions that would fit the needs of a start-up company. Susanne and Jozef’s dream now appeared much clearer on the horizon.

Meet the Meeting-Platform

In late 2019, Susanne, Jozef, and Tali decided to launch MeetFox, an online appointment-scheduling platform. The headquarters were first established in Vienna, but Susanne was open-minded about expansion.

With MeetFox, every professional and individual can schedule a meeting for which they can charge. It is similar to Zoom, but it offers payment options as well, all in a single place. MeetFox helps experts combine online schedules with video calls, payment processing, bookings, and much more. Susanne’s goal with MeetFox was to allow expertise at a single push of a button. It also aims at helping providers offer their services - hassle-free.

On December 16, 2019, MeetFox experienced its first success when it raised $180K in a grant. A little later, in july 2020, MeetFox raised another €100K in a seed round. This is when Susanne and Jozef moved MeetFox’s offices to New York, in search of greater prosperity. July was a special month for MeetFox in 2020, as a little later, the company raised $114K from TechVenture City. This meant that the good word and practicality of MeetFox was spreading, and more individuals were starting to use it.

Managing MeetFox from New York was stressful for the three inventors, but the popularity kept rising once the pandemic hit, and everyone was asked to move their meetings online and practice social distancing. In 2020, MeetFox gathered over 16,000 freelancers, coaches, and consultants on its platform.

MeetFox, Today

MeetFox’s headquarters today are located in New York, US, and the team involves 13 members. The platform numbers more than 16,000 self-made experts, freelancers, coaches, and consultants with whom you can book a meeting. Over the years, MeetFox successfully raised over $573.8K in funding in five whole rounds and one grant. MeetFox has four recurring investors, including Techstars and Techstars New York City Accelerator.

Susanne’s risky journey, Jozef’s determination, and Tali’s skills managed to establish the biggest and best meeting platform that overshadows Zoom with its functionality. Even though the trio jumped into this start-up journey almost totally unprepared, it turned out extremely rewarding, with or without the risk. Their fulfilled goal teaches the value of each step in a startup journey, no matter how difficult. Honestly, If the whole process was easy, everyone would have thought of a meeting platform on which you can monetize!