Keepy Brings Families Together–No Matter Where They Are

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keepy

Childhood goes so fast, and with families scattered all over the world, it can be easy for loved ones to miss out on those fleeting years.

That’s the idea behind Keepy, an interactive platform that lets families capture childhood moments in one place and lets grandparents and family members respond with voice messages, videos, or little notes.

Check out our Q&A with Keepy below:

Name of Company/Product:

Keepy

What Is Keepy?

Keepy is an intergenerational platform that is redefining the way families share and save memories by allowing them to create a private Memory Playlist filled with photos, artwork, schoolwork and mementos enhanced with audio and video commentary. Simply put, it helps you capture the precious moments of childhood. 

How does it work?

Keepy is free for iOS and Android. Parents can snap a photo of their kids’ creations, name it, date it, label it with a tag, record their child telling the story behind it with the KeepyCam, and share it privately with “fans” (e.g. grandparents, aunts, uncles and other loved ones). The fans can then admire it on the web, in an email or on their phone, and leave a video, voice or text reaction. The personalization of a child sharing highlights of a daytrip, or grandma’s “gush,” adds a richer, deeper dimension to the moments saved.

What’s the story behind your idea?

As told by Offir Gutelzon, founder of Keepy:

In 2011, my wife and I moved from Israel to New York with our two young sons. After just four months in NYC, our apartment looked like an art tornado had touched down. I had no idea kids could create so many (amazing) paintings and drawings in such a short period of time. We also had a ton of photos since we had arrived: my sons’ first day of school, visits to museums, face painting at a street fair – and my photos were just as disorganized in my Dropbox as the artwork in my apartment! What bothered me most wasn’t the big mess in my home or in the cloud, it was the fact that we weren’t effectively sharing everything in that mess with our family back in Israel. Even when I did manage to share a photo on Facebook or over email, my kids didn’t get to experience the joy it brought to their grandparents, aunts and uncles. In talking with other parents, I realized everyone had this problem. They were overwhelmed by the volume of projects and photos they were saving, they weren’t sharing them with family, and they felt guilty to throw things away. So I assembled a team of tech-savvy parents and we created Keepy – The New Way for Families to Save & Share memories

Who are the founders, and what are their backgrounds?

Offir Gutelzon is the founder of Keepy. He’s a serial entrepreneur whose last venture, PicScout, he sold to Getty Images in 2011. His entrepreneurial background started in 2000 in Israel. While studying at the IDC he joined the Zell entrepreneurship program where he met Eyal Gura who Offir teamed up with to co-found PicScout. At the time they sold PicScout to Getty Images, the company had 60 employees with offices in Israel, and the Bay Area.

Where are you based?

Lower Manhattan – NYC

What’s the startup scene like where you are based?

The New York tech scene is fascinating in many ways. It’s very diverse – companies are bringing a diversity of approaches to design, UX and UI, and of course the people themselves are diverse. What I enjoy most about being in New York is the ability to verify and refine ideas based on meeting with real customers from all walks of life who live right here – from the suburbs to downtown to Chinatown.

Why now?

We knew parents would appreciate the simplicity of Keepy and based on our rapid growth, there is clearly a huge need for a solution like this right now. We looked to build an intergenerational platform and brand, and now that kids parents and grandparents using the same technology which is hard to believe it just didn’t exist 2 years ago.

What are some of the milestones your startup has already reached?

In Mid-September 2013 Keepy launched in the Apple store. In December 2013, the Android version launched along with an in-app partnership with Zazzle that allows users to have their memorable photos printed on keepsake products like mugs, lunchboxes and t-shirts. In January 2014, Keepy was featured in the Google Play store for two weeks, driving significant downloads and visibility for the app across global markets.

Keepy has seen rapid user growth, attracting more than 150,000 users in three months after launching on iOS.

What are your next milestones?

Beyond user adoption milestones that we will celebrate this year, we are looking forward to have many more families around the world enjoying Keepy, we are looking to expand our team in NYC and we’re looking forward to partnering with more brands through API integrations to give our users a range of options for how they can print and share their memories in tangible ways.

Where can people find out more? Any social media links you want to share?

Visit www.keepy.me to download Keepy to iOS and Android.

Youtube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0TkNmHJyEI

Facebook: www.facebook.com/keepyme

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Keepyme

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