Projects / Product
Rostrum
I'm in a public-speaking club that runs on a spreadsheet and a WhatsApp group, and most clubs like it run on web tools built before everyone carried a phone that could just handle this. So I designed and built the phone-first version myself, end to end, from the database schema to the UI.
Rostrum is in private testing with real clubs on Android and iOS right now, ahead of a public launch.
What it does
The whole meeting lifecycle, built for a phone rather than a desk.
Agendas & roles
Build a meeting agenda and assign roles like Toastmaster, Timer, Grammarian and Evaluator ahead of time, not five minutes before it starts.
Member roster & approvals
New members request to join with a club code, and officers approve or deny from a queue instead of adding people by hand.
Guest check-in
Visitors register for a specific meeting without creating an account, then convert to a member the moment they're ready.
Live speech timer
Green, yellow and red zones tick over automatically during a speech, the same rule every club already runs by, without a volunteer holding up colored cards.
Achievements
Members submit completed projects and awards, and officers vet them before they land on the record.
Multi-club membership
Members who belong to more than one club, which happens constantly in this world, see every club and every role from one account.
How it compares
Most clubs like this run on one of a handful of tools, several of them older than the smartphone. None of them are bad, they've kept clubs running for years, but almost none of them are built mobile-first. Toggle a tool below to see how it stacks up.
| Feature | Rostrum | easySPEAK | Spreadsheet + WhatsApp |
|---|---|---|---|
| Native phone app | ~Companion app is view-only | ||
| Meeting agendas & role sign-up | ~Manual | ||
| Guest check-in | |||
| Live speech timer | |||
| Progress & achievement tracking | ~Pathways & manual progress | ||
| Meeting-night voting & awards | |||
| Multi-club membership | |||
| Join-request approval queue | |||
| Automated reminders | Push | ~Email, not push | ~Manual messages |
| Dues & expense tracking | ~Manual | ||
| Nearby-meeting discovery | GPS, within 40km | ||
| Price | Free, in testing | Free / club hosting fee | Free |
A dash means the tool doesn't publish enough detail to call it either way. Feature and pricing details for other tools are drawn from each product's own site, current as of September 2026: easySPEAK, Toastmanagers, OurClubHQ, FreeToastHost.
Rostrum is an independent app and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Toastmasters International. Read the privacy policy.