Snapping a photograph on a smartphone has become second nature and due to increased storage space on phones, people have more photographs than ever. Unfortunately, these photos are just sitting there – forgotten, collecting virtual dust. Thankfully, Tweed Wolf, a personal concierge photo service, fixes this problem. The company uses machine learning to sort through user’s photographs and select the best ones to turn into a physical photo album. Tweed Wolf is a great tool to use if you want to create a photo album from a wedding, birthday, or any sort of celebration.
AlleyWatch sat down with CEO and founder Julie Fajgenbaum to discuss the exciting trajectory of her company and its future plans.
Tell us about the product or service.
Tweed Wolf is a photo concierge service. We use a combination of Machine Learning and talented designers to turn our client’s digital photo libraries into beautiful hardcover albums. We make linen, leather, and layflat wedding albums, baby books, travel, and more.
How is it different?
Unlike the many do-it-yourself album making software out there, Tweed Wolf does all the work for you. Our clients can send us an unlimited number of photos. We sort and cull the Clients photos, choosing the best ones to tell their unique story. We edit every photo so it prints beautifully then we layout a proof. The Client can request unlimited revisions. Once they are thrilled, we print bind and ship.
What market are you attacking and how big is it?
The majority of our customers make wedding albums or family albums. The market for photos albums is about $10B annually
What is the business model?
Our business model is most closely akin to ecommerce. Clients pay up front and we provide our album design services as well as the finished product.
What inspired the business?
Like most people I have thousands of photos on my phone that I never look at. I wanted to provide a way for families, couples, and travelers to enjoy those photos again.
Why would one use your platform rather than just going to Shutterfly or Snapfish where they have similar offerings?
Tweed Wolf is a Do-It-For-You service. Unlike Shutterfly or Snapfish, we do all the work of making a photo album. Users of those DIY software sites tell us it can take them 40 hours to make an album. Our clients choose Tweed Wolf because they don’t have the time, interest, or expertise to make their perfect album themselves. They also choose us because of the exceptional quality of our album materials.
What are the milestones that you plan to achieve within six months?
We doubled our revenue last year and are looking to do the same in 2018.
What is the one piece of startup advice that you never got?
You should bootstrap! As a founder who is bootstrapping, I frequently get advice to raise money – both for the financial benefits as well as the network and advice investors can provide.
If you could be put in touch with anyone in the New York community who would it be and why?
I’m looking to share Tweed Wolf with influencers in the wedding space.
Why did you launch in New York?
I’ve lived in NY most of my life and, for me, NYC has the best of everything – great talent to hire, great schools for my kids, and a supportive community for entrepreneurs.
What’s your favorite restaurant in the city?
Right now I’d say Via Carota because I love a really great restaurant that only takes walk-ins.
