Nibletz Staff
The photo-sharing market is pretty full. (And, yes, that’s the understatement of the year.)
But, with billion dollar valuations and acquisition offers on the table, we expect to see quite a few more before the frenzy dies down. The latest hails from Nashville, TN, and is founded by a couple of recent Vanderbilt graduates.
Will Schreiber and McArthur Gill founded Flipbook because they see a huge hole in the messaging/photosharing market. You can either chat with a group (WhatsApp/GroupMe) or post pictures (Instagram/Snapchat), but it’s hard to do both on any one platform. They created Flipbook with the ephemeral nature of Snapchat but the group chatting capabilities of the chat apps.
Does the market really need another photosharing app? Snapchat continues to grow, and Instagram doesn’t seem to be going away. But, who knows? More surprising things have happened.
Check out our Q&A with Flipbook below. Then download the app and let us know what you think.
What is your startup called?
Flipbook
Who are the founders, and what are their backgrounds?
Will Schreiber and I, McArthur Gill, are the two co-founders. We are both developers and have worked together for years. During our last semester at Vanderbilt (Spring 2013), we were accepted into the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, where we created Stadium Stock Exchange presented by Nissan (www.stadiumse.com). Our other notable product is RageChill, a music discovery engine (http://www.ragechill.com).
Where are you based?
Nashville, TN.
What’s the startup scene like where you are based?
The startup scene in Nashville is budding. The Nashville Entrepreneur Center has really helped founders connect with mentors and investors, giving companies a strong foundation on which to grow.
What problem do you solve?
People love to express themselves and connect through the sharing of photos. As of now, Snapchat does not allow for group communication and Instagram publishes photos to all of your followers. Flipbook gives users a way to share photos to a group, while still maintaining the ephemeral nature of Snapchat. By allowing users to copy images posted to their group and overlay their own text and drawings, Flipbook gives users a photo-based conversation platform.
Why now?
Right now, the two biggest players in the photo-sharing space focus on either peer-to-peer sharing or public-sharing. The conversation about photos then happens on a different platform (people revert to texting in order discuss photos they see on these other platforms, sharing these opinions with a group of friends). We have created a communication platform allowing users to both post photos and discuss them within their circle of friends, all on the same platform.
What are some of the milestones your startup has already reached?
We have developed an iPhone app, which was released on Tuesday. In less than a week since our launch, we have created a very active user base and seen a huge growth in both number of users and number of photos shared.
What are your next milestones?
Continue to refine and iterate the product, grow the user base, and develop an Android app.
Photosharing apps are pretty prevalent. Why is Flipbook going to compete with the big SV-based apps?
Flipbook gives people a platform to share and discuss their photos within their groups of friends. As simple as that sounds, right now there is not a good platform on which to do that. WhatsApp and GroupMe are not photo-centric. Snapchat and Instragram do not provide cohesive groups. Flipbook provides both of these and also gives users the ability to capture a photo posted to their group, overlay their own text and drawings, and continue the conversation.
Where can people find out more? Any social media links you want to share?
https://itunes.apple.com/us/
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