January 23, 2017

Imagine the audience in their underwear. Go ahead, try.

It's uncertain if this strategy has ever been applied. This idea may expand beyond the movies and into real life; however, public speaking doesn't have to be so daunting.

At the culmination of most Drexel classes, students find themselves presenting a final project in front of their classmates. This can be a breeze for an extrovert, but an introvert may view an oral presentation as an impending traumatizing experience. With their class finals in mind, Close School students, Danish Dhamani and Paritosh Gupta founded Orai, a public speaking company with its sights set on helping students and professionals become better presenters, speech-givers, and orators.

Orai's product is an application that analyzes everything the user says, including speech patterns and grammar usage. The mobile app tracks your "umms", "uhhs", "likes", and "ya-knows", and can also further analyze your pace, clarity, and even volume over time. With the recent inclusion of a new COO, Asher Breverman of WindiGo Turbines, and the $12,500 win in the 2016 Drexel Startup Day Business Plan Competition, Orai has the runway and drive to get the app in front of the masses.

In addition to their recent accomplishments in the competitive sphere, Orai has been selected to be part of the Close School's Entrepreneurship Co-op program. Through this, the company is able to use Orai as their co-op and will receive $15,000 in funding, a workspace, mentorship, and a slew of business resources and mentorship. The startup will have 20 weeks of co-op to set the pace to be the next big app to come out of Baiada since Scholly.

Now offering an exclusive beta on their website, users can download the app today and master the art of rhetoric.

Logan Levenson, Communications, Charles D. Close School of Entrepreneurship