Meet Jennifer Simchowitz | Founder & CEO

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jennifer Simchowitz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jennifer, every day, we about how much execution matters, but we think ideas matter as well. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
Several years ago I had an idea for a Valentine’s gift for my significant other: a year’s worth of our text messages as we were falling in love, turned into a book.

After Googling around for an easy tool to create the book, I discovered that it simply did not exist!
I couldn’t believe it – texting is such an important form of communication. Our texts were our love letters! Surely others would want to create something like this? What if you somehow lost those special texts? Then what?

The only solution was for me to go ahead and make the book by hand by printing up pages and pages of our messages, cutting them and pasting them into a journal. It turned out it was worth it!

I’ll never forget the look on my guy’s face when he opened the book, realized what it was and started reading it. So many moments which could easily have been forgotten, sprang right back to life.
“A gift of a lifetime!” he said. The book still lives on his desk – always close for him (and me) to leaf through. Forever a joy.

A few months later, at an exhibition of Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s letters I couldn’t help but notice how crammed the galleries were, with people elbowing each other to read their letters. Typed on yellowing pages with comments penciled, in the margins, the pages crackled with brilliance, repartee and dazzling wit.
It got me thinking. In these days of digital communication, with letter writing a thing of the past, what will remain for future generations to study?

Six months later, my closest childhood friend suddenly passed away. We had literally grown up side by side since the day we were born. Losing her was incomprehensible. It dawned on me that though we were often too busy to get together, we’d maintained our closeness by our constant texting. Our texts were the repository of our life stories – about our kids, their milestones big and small, our families, marriages, work, or even planning what we were going to cook to make our shared Thanksgiving even better than the year before. Now those texts meant so much more. The idea of ever losing them was unthinkable.

I realized our texts are snapshots in time. They can capture precious and everyday moments, plus our true voices in authentic and private conversations. There is much there that deserves to be preserved. That is why I created Keepster.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Keepster is an app that allows you to backup your messages to your computer, search and organize them in folders, so that they are always safe and easily accessible. The main focus of our business is helping users turn the messages that are meaningful to them into printed keepsake books.

What sets us apart from the get-go is that we are still considered a ‘new idea’ for a product, with little competition. In fact frequently, when people discover us they cannot believe that something like this has not existed before, and are thrilled to discover that Keepster exists!

Our mission reaches well beyond the unique technology that we’ve developed. Our company is about humanity: about recognizing the conversations that weave stories of kinship, friendship and caring. We believe in making heirlooms out of our private, unvarnished texting conversations. Our books are precious repositories of everyday memories that otherwise might slip away.

Having a startup, like any business, is incredibly arduous but what I am most proud of and excited about is that I still completely believe in our product. As time passes certain changes naturally occur, but no matter what, my commitment to preserving messaging conversations remains fervent.

Though clearly many texts are mundane, of the 27 trillion texts that are sent every year, Keepster exists to preserve the ones that matter. On a more basic level, I’m proud of the quality of our customer service and the books themselves, which our customers continue to express in their reviews. We also have several new features in the works that I’m excited about. Stay tuned to hear more!

Has it been easy to bring Keepster to life and grow it? Absolutely not!
The biggest myth is that a startup just takes off. We all know there are no shortcuts to success.
The most important lesson I’ve had to learn has been to practice patience. In my mind’s eye I keep that picture of Jeff Bezos, sitting at his desk in a dingy warehouse office many years ago as a reminder that it’s all about one step at a time. It’s really hard not to rush into building new features to be all things to all people.

Rather, I’ve learned to be disciplined, and stay laser-focused on our roadmap so I can prioritize. As the former Disney Chairman, Bob Iger said in his book, anything more than three things on your list of priorities means you are not prioritizing. This also goes hand in hand with learning to pace myself to guard against burnout, which is a very real danger when living the typical 24/7 startup marathon life.

At the same time, my job is to keep my eyes and ears open to the news and to the buzz of current stories to always keep things fresh. Reading stories about how Amy Schumer proposed to her husband via text, or how a ‘badass’ group of women in Congress bond and banter about policy via text, or about a daughter’s heartbreaking last texting conversations with her mom during Covid are the kind of stories that fuel my conviction to give Keepster my all.
I’m always in awe of our customers’ stories about their books and why they made them. Whether it’s about a customer who when proposing to his future wife brought along a Keepster book containing the messages from their first date and throughout their courtship, or another who told me that when she read over her book of the texts she’d exchanged with her late brother she laughed and cried at the same time, feeling as if “ he was sitting next to me again, sharing jokes and swapping stories”.

So much these days feels kind of blended together in a crushing kind of sameness, but as a small brand we help our customers create something totally unique, made out of their own personalities. This is why I am so proud of who we are and what we do.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Los Angeles is a vast sprawling city so having a car is essential. A picnic and concert under the stars at the Hollywood Bowl is a must during their season. A concert at Frank Gehry’s Disney Concert is an equally jaw dropping experience thanks to it’s most spectacular architecture, acoustics and if you’re lucky you might even try to see the legendary conductor Dudamel conduct the LA Phil.

As a frequent museum goer I’d insist upon a visit to MOCA and the BROAD if you’re going to be downtown, and while you’re there go to the Art’s District where there’s the Hauser & Wirth Gallery and a slew of fabulous restaurants. If you’re a sports fan you can also catch a game at the Staples Centre, home to two of the greatest basketball teams, the Clippers and the Lakers.

In mid Town, there’s always something great to see at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the newly opened Academy Museum is ground zero if you’re into film. Close by are some of my favorite restaurants: Jon & Vinny’s, Osteria Angelini, Republique, Chi Spacca and Mozza.

Further west, If you’re a reader, stop off at Book Soup. Or if designer stores are your thing, be sure to take a stroll down Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. If you’re feeling peckish, lunch or dinner at e.baldi never disappoints. I am a huge fan of the Hammer Museum which is where you’re almost always guaranteed to see the most interesting art exhibitions, plus you can get a drink, snack or memorable farm to table meal at Alice Water’s newly opened restaurant, Lulu’s, which is a lovely spot in the courtyard of the museum.

The Getty Museum sits atop a hill, like a temple of sorts, and the gardens there are as special as their collection. On route to the beach, you can stop off at the charming Brentwood Country Mart for the best roast chicken and ribs, or for a more refined meal eat at Farmshop, and make time to check out all the great stores.

Another similar type destination is the Malibu Country Mart, and up and down the coast there are no shortage of beaches to choose from, plus visit the Getty Malibu Museum if you enjoy antiquities. If you prefer something a little funkier, a walk along the Venice Beach boardwalk is where you’ll also see the most colorful cast of characters, rollerbladers and the buffest of the buff, working out on Muscle Beach. While you’re in Venice you should stop off on Abbot Kinney Boulevard where there are many small brand stores, and book ahead to enjoy another favorite restaurant, Felix, or simply show up anytime at Gjusta for the best bread and take out food ever.

If you have time you can drive north to Montecito where a visit to the magical Lotusland gardens is an absolute must. Santa Barbara is also a lovely place to visit and if you have more time and it’s not too hot drive out to the desert to see the spectacular rock formations and Joshua trees and chill out at the legendary Two Bunch Palms spa in Desert Hot Springs, or if it’s wildflower season go for a hike around Palm Springs.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would never be where I am today if I had not attended LAUNCH festival in San Francisco. Though going there was part random whim and part curiosity, it was where I had my very first exposure to tech and startups. It was there that I also had the good fortune to meet the CEO & Founder, Jason Calacanis, who subsequently introduced me to a series of developers, till I finally met the fantastic team that is still with me today.

I am also immensely grateful for the opportunity to participate in the Launch Incubator, and for the three intensive months of extraordinary mentorship from Jason, and all the other participants. As the sole ‘rookie’ in our cohort, with absolutely no prior experience in tech, and the the only woman, it was truly a life changing experience.

Along the way I’ve met several people who truly understand what it means to be a founder, and who’ve given me enormous encouragement. One of those, a very dear friend, once said “ Plenty people have great ideas — but they simply remain ideas. You had an idea, you built it, and you launched it “ Another said “Judging by the rave reviews you’re getting you’ve reached product-market fit.” Their words are the beacons that have lit the way and helped me get through the toughest patches.

These days, it’s my closest team members who deserve the biggest shoutout. I’ve been blessed to be surrounded by them as they have been my best teachers and amazingly, care as much as I do.

Last but not least, what our customers say is immeasurably meaningful. The reviews that they share are not simply reviews, but in the context of each person’s life story, there is no greater encouragement than hearing how much our books mean to each one of them.

Website: https://keepster.co/

Instagram: @keepster_app

Facebook: @KeepsterApp

Image Credits
Junk Films (https://junkfilms.com/)