The 2018 Innovation Fund, our annual crowdfunding competition, has officially launched! You can find all of the Innovation Fund participants here. Read on for the story of Lookalu A smartphone gadget that helps parents easily snap insta-worthy baby photos anytime, anywhere, created by 2012 Fellow Mike Mayer.
A Car Ride to Remember: Lookalu’s Story
We rented a car and started the four hour drive upstate to a campground, where our friends were having their wedding. I had been working at a tech company in NYC for almost two years at that point. Although I loved the company and the team, I was not completely happy and felt stuck in my role. I had been seriously considering leaving the business world altogether to pursue a career in medicine. As a doctor, you help people for a living and are assured a good, secure income (best of both worlds!). I was grasping for something with real meaning.
My friends of eight years were skeptical as I pitched the ‘doctor decision’ pretty hard while pulling over to get gas. As most of the car spilled out to raid the rural convenience store of its beef jerky and sunflower seeds, Jaime stayed behind in the car. She leaned forward toward the front seat, where I was sitting, and just said “you know, you should start a kids media company or something that’s a natural extension of your positive, bouncy personality – I don’t really see you being a serious doctor everyday.”
I don’t think Jaime knows this, but what she said in the car that day is a huge reason I am writing this blog post right now (and not studying organic chemistry). So, did I find my calling? I don’t know. But I do know that, for now, this feels authentic, playful, and right up my alley. It’s not quite a kids media company yet, but, Jaime, you got pretty close!
Ladies and gents, I want to introduce you to my first company and passion project, Lookalu, the smartphone gadget that helps parents easily snap the cutest baby (and dog) photos:
You may be thinking, “But Mike, you’re not a parent. What do you know about baby products?” This is true – but my friends and cousins are parents, and they’ve shared with me the problem of taking dozens of photos trying to get that perfect shot. I did the research, talked to 40+ moms experiencing the same issue, and developed Lookalu to make things a little easier.
And, easier it is. You just clip Lookalu onto your smartphone, rattle it so your baby looks up, and snap your shot. It’s small and portable, easy to clip on and off, and fits all phones and cases without scratching. Lookalu is also great for family selfies and video chatting. Lookalu works perfectly for babies 3 months to 2 years, but I’ve also found it can be effective in generating smiles for older children as well. It even works great on fur babies too! Don’t have a baby or a dog? No problem; Lookalu makes for a unique, cute gift for your friends and family members who are expecting.
It’s also really important to me that we do more than just produce a cute, fun product for people to buy and use. I’m so inspired by Blake Mycoskie and what he did with Tom’s. In the “Buy one, Get one” spirit, we created our own giving framework, aligned with our mission to spread smiles around the world. With our “Get a smile, Give a smile” business model, each Lookalu purchased helps provide comprehensive cleft care for children in need worldwide through our giving partner, Smile Train. Through training local doctors and empowering partner hospitals around the world, Smile Train advances a sustainable solution and scalable model to treat clefts, drastically improving children’s lives, including their ability to eat, breathe, and speak over time.
I am so thankful for everyone who helped us reach our initial funding goal on Indiegogo in less than 12 hours. But we aren’t done. I hope you will take some time to check out our Indiegogo page and support our campaign.
And for the record, not once in the last several months while launching Lookalu did I think, “Man, I wish I were studying to become a doctor.” Thank you, Jaime.