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Lalo, a Seattle startup that helped households create digital memorials for family members by storing digital content material, is shutting down after two years.
Lalo founder Juan Medina instructed GeekWire that the corporate attracted hundreds of customers and thousands and thousands of TikTok views however finally wasn’t in a position to persuade clients to pay for its product or increase sufficient enterprise capital.
“It felt like we had been near a breakthrough,” Medina mentioned. “Apple needed to make us the ‘App of the Day,’ visitors was rising, media reaching out, all good indicators. The cruel reality nevertheless was nobody needed to pay for this, so I needed to make the decision.”
The Seattle tech vet first thought of the thought for the startup again in 2003 after the dying of his father, when his spouse requested him to inform a narrative about his dad and he realized he hadn’t identified him all that properly. Tales, jokes, recipes and extra had been both misplaced or scattered throughout varied family and friends.
Lalo — named after Medina’s father — facilitated the gathering of digital content material similar to pictures, video, voice, textual content and extra. Digital profiles had been restricted to a small group of shut family and friends, sustaining belief and privateness for customers. Lalo customers didn’t should deal with a current or impending lack of a cherished one, however the app may very well be a useful instrument within the grieving course of, Medina beforehand instructed GeekWire.
The concept was amongst a wave of innovation falling into the “dying tech” class, the place startups are reimagining all the pieces round conventional end-of-life and funeral trade practices with concepts involving physique composting, cremation companies and casket purchases.
“I needed to deal with an area the place tech had not damaged by way of,” Medina mentioned. “Finish of life was an apparent place to begin.”
The corporate struggled to lift enterprise capital. Medina mentioned the one institutional funding the corporate acquired was from traders that focused “ignored founders,” together with Columbus, Ohio-based VC agency Neglected Ventures.
“In the end, we solely had a couple of pictures to get the product proper and we weren’t profitable,” he mentioned. “With out established VCs with deep pockets, we couldn’t get sufficient money within the financial institution to pivot or rent the extent of expertise we would have liked to compete.”
Medina mentioned he poured two years of his life and a “great amount” of his personal cash into the corporate.
“I didn’t see a paycheck for 2 years,” he mentioned. “I might pray to the Virgin of Guadalupe each time I went by way of the drive-thru that my debit card wouldn’t be declined.”
From his expertise, Medina mentioned he would advise early-stage founders: “Leap in, check so much, don’t give up your day job.”
Medina was the corporate’s solely worker; he labored with a gaggle of contractors to develop and preserve the app.
The corporate is within the means of contacting its customers, alerting them concerning the closure and sharing directions on how they’ll obtain their posts and recollections.
Earlier than making an attempt his hand at his personal startup, Medina spent greater than eight years at Amazon. He’s now again on the tech large as a technical advisor.