On the heels of a successful beta, Lalo's mobile-first platform gives families a safe and private space to remember, celebrate, and preserve memories of loved ones
SEATTLE, May 25, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- With one million Covid-related deaths in the U.S. alone and pandemic years having limited families' abilities to gather and mourn those and others lost, communities everywhere are left grieving loved ones. As time moves forward, irreplaceable family memories, stories and traditions are lost with them.
As the $648 billion care economy flourishes and age-tech innovations take off, Lalo launches today from beta to provide a private, digital space for families to preserve memories, traditions and legacies held sacred to them. The app-based platform offers an intimate place to remember loved ones who have passed away, preserve memories of older family members, and capture meaningful moments in time.
Founded by Juan Medina after an eight-year stint at Amazon, Lalo was inspired by Medina's own experience. After losing his father - nicknamed "Lalo" - when he was young, Medina realized he didn't remember him well enough to pass on stories to his daughter, who will never meet her grandfather. Wishing he had more to share, Medina founded Lalo so meaningful memories of loved ones, like his father's, will never be lost again.
"A photograph alone doesn't capture the essence of who someone is, or who they were," said Medina. "Lalo embodies the true core of a person and allows families to share everything they want to remember about them in an intimate and personalized way. Lalo is something that's incredibly close to my heart, and I can't wait to share it with the world."
On the heels of a 600-person beta, Lalo is already well-loved by its first customers, made up largely of multi-generational families, and even folks who use the app to preserve memories of pets.
"There are people in life who are very important and vibrant, who you center around like a fire to keep you warm and shine light. My dad's memories are that fire – and once it's gone, it's so difficult to bring it back," said Matt Troup, one of Lalo's first beta users. "It was imperative to keep the fire alive, to share with my children who never had the opportunity to meet their grandfather. Lalo presents the opportunity to keep his memory alive, for myself and for my family."
How it Works
Lalo's mobile app guides users to create personalized "journeys" that capture stories for themselves or a loved one, or to create a memorial for someone who has passed away. The app has evolved through its beta period based on user feedback and is:
- Multimedia: With Lalo, users can curate, share, and preserve all types of content – including family recipes, jokes, photos, video clips, voicemails, and much more. The goal is to have the resulting content be as rich and layered as the people it memorializes.
- Invite-Only: Family members and friends curate private networks to share memories and communicate within the app, away from the ads, intrusions, interruptions and distant relations in broad social networks.
- Private and Protected: With user-owned data and an ad-free interface, Lalo ensures users' information is safe and secure.
Lalo is backed by Overlooked Ventures, a venture capital fund focused on early-stage companies with one or more historically ignored founders. Born in Brazil, Medina is the son of parents from Bolivia and Colombia, putting him among the ~two percent of VC-backed Latinx founders in the U.S. Those looking to be part of Lalo's growth can back the company through crowdfunding platform WeFunder, where participants can contribute as little as $100 as part of the company's next fundraising round.
Lalo is available to download on the App Store and Google Play. The app is currently free for users, and will eventually have a paid version for $25 per year, paid once annually by the primary account holder.
To learn more about Lalo, visit http://www.lalo.app.
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About Lalo
Lalo was created to provide a private, digital space for families to preserve memories, traditions and legacies held sacred to them. Founded by Juan Medina after an eight-year stint at Amazon, Lalo's private, ad-free app allows families to remember loved ones who have passed away, preserve memories of older family members, and capture meaningful family moments in time. Lalo is touted as a key startup revamping the $128.8 billion death-tech industry.
Lalo is backed by Overlooked Ventures and headquartered in Seattle, Washington. For more information, please visit http://www.lalo.app.
Media Contact
April Morland, Lalo, 3037209808, [email protected]
SOURCE Lalo
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