My Party Album is a private and secure photo-sharing app that automatically captures pictures and 15-second video from every camera in the room. We provide solutions for special events and everyday photo-sharing that cuts out the noise and insecurity of social media. Originally developed for weddings, we have created the proverbial Swiss army knife of photo-sharing apps. No matter what kind of event you have, there is a use case for the My Party Album app. Whether it is business or leisure, this is the perfect solution if you want to document the event from every possible angle.
Tell us about yourself?
I have been in technology and software development for over 25 years as a project manager and product manager in various industries, including Automotive, Consumer Product Goods, Telecom, Banking, Insurance, and Software Application Development. My wife and I had this idea after our own experiences, and we decided to go forward with this idea as a business.
If you could go back in time a year or two, what piece of advice would you give yourself?
Be patient with your plan and try not to be distracted by the shiny object. Take advice from onlookers and look to understand their perspective.
What problem does your business solve?
Getting people to share photos with you after an event is a nightmare. The best intentions are often followed by dead air. My Party Album solves this problem by automatically collecting every picture and video taken in the app by event guests and storing them in a central repository owned and accessible only by the Party Owner.
My Party Album is really two different solutions. Parties are for any event that has many attendants or guests. A one-time purchase from five to 90 days and for five to an unlimited number of guests. Photographers (and others) can also upload photos to the app. Owners have full control over the guest list and all the photos and can curate albums to share out as they wish. Parties are great for weddings, retirement parties, family reunions, milestone birthdays, corporate events, class trips, etc.
The Mixer is a subscription service for up to 20 trusted people who share pictures and videos instantly in a private and secure group. Albums can be created to organize content, but content cannot be shared outside the group.
Mixers are great for friend groups, gap years, families scattered across the globe, family vacations, keeping tabs on families, etc., sharing all the firsts – first smiles, first steps, first teeth, etc. – with grandparents who can’t be there. Give parents peace of mind with kids who can quickly check in wherever they might be. A fun app for anyone who might want to avoid being bogged down by all the noise of social media.
Ad-free, user content is owned by the Party or Mixer owner – not by Big Tech, and My Party Album does not collect or sell personal data.
What is the inspiration behind your business?
My wife and I were married in Las Vegas before the advent of smartphones. It was the photographer’s first day on a job he was not well suited to, and he was only with us for about 45 minutes. A friend took the best pictures we had of the event, and it took us a long time to get any pictures from the attendees.
Fast forward a few years and I found a disposable camera in my office. It was common at one time to have disposable cameras available for guests at weddings. My wife and I spoke about what happened to all those photos taken at our friends’ weddings and how we never saw any of them. We started talking about wouldn’t it be great to have an app that replaced the disposable camera and made sharing easy? And how we wished we had something like that at our wedding. My Party Album was born.
What is your magic sauce?
When developing the app we tried to give it everything we wanted from an app. The things that we didn’t like about other apps were left out. We wanted it safe for families, it had to be easy, with automatic uploads, ownership of content, control over sharing, full photo quality, unlimited storage, no ads and no collection (or sales) of personal data.
Other apps will limit the photo quality or photo size or amount of storage. They will collect and sell your personal information, and they own your photos and videos. None of that sat well with us. So much of our app is “because we can”.
What is the plan for the next 5 years? What do you want to achieve?
We have created the Swiss army knife of photo-sharing apps. There are so many use cases and so many terrific applications of our solutions that after we become the go-to app for weddings and life’s important events, we want to branch out to solve a few other “wish there was an app for that” problems.
We have at least three other spin-off businesses that will use this great technology, starting off with a solution for colleges and universities to help document events and programs. The Mixer Solution for international student groups to help with being away from friends and family.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?
The biggest challenge has been getting the word out there. Brand awareness is a daunting and expensive endeavour. Everyone who hears about our app thinks it’s the best idea. We call it the best app you don’t know you need…yet.
How can people get involved?
We would love to partner with other apps and solutions where there is a mutual benefit. Party and event planners, photographers, corporate event planners, festivals, sporting events, and franchises are all examples of great partners.
Connect with us to find out how we can work together at information@mypartyalbum.com and visit our website at www.mypartyalbum.com.