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Alex Quilici, is the CEO of YouMail. They provide an app with a comprehensive suite of services for handling calls, spam call protection, virtual lines, and advanced visual voicemail features. For many in the TADS community, it will remind them of Voxist.

At TADSummit in 2022 we had Gerry Christensen previously from YouMail presenting on “What Everyone Needs to Know about Protecting the CPaaS Ecosystem from Unlawful Robocalls”. Slides and Video.

Because YouMail have end points across all carriers networks, they have unique insights into the spam and robocalling campaigns running over the carriers’ networks. Potentially calls in violation of the TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act), amongst many other insights. This database helps support their Protective Services to enterprises and other services to carriers.

Johnny was very excited on the potential of this database, you see him pushing for YouMail go public at a $1T valuation. Or selling to a consortium of plaintiff lawyers and litigation financiers. Perhaps a little optimistic on the valuation, but Johnny keeps being proven right on these financial calls.

YouMail is protecting people from robocalling. One the the important learning Alex shared is the speed of execution between monitoring / detection and action, to close the spammer down.

Alex shared many of the current band-aids, such as branded calling and The Campaign Registry, are making the experience worse. We all pay for PSTN services, yet the experience has become far worse over the past decade.

His personal experiences with TCPA lawyers is not positive, from when YouMail was sued for a feature that responded to callers with an SMS. Alex shared his insight that the regulatory framework need to change as its out of date in today’s programmable communications environment.

On identity Alex’s view is for the big brands it works well, but for all the free / low cost telephone numbers that could be a challenge. We discussed this also in Podcast 29: TADSummit Innovators, Noah Rafalko, TNID . With the rise in the use of AI, and the sophistication and personalization of scams, people are starting to fear taking a call. Protecting consumers is essential.

This was a fun, open, frank, and wide ranging discussion. YouMail is in such a sweet position given its protections and all the insights it can generate. It reminded me a little of where Robert Wakeling is with Wadaro.