March 22, 2021
South Bend, Ind. – HelloFrom today announced a $20,000 investment from the Elevate Ventures Community Ideation Fund. The South Bend-based startup plans to use the funding to add customers and prepare for larger investment rounds.
HelloFrom’s platform allows customers to be reminded of important occasions and simply select from a personalized selection of greeting cards on their phone or computer. By answering a few simple questions, users can add contacts with personalized preferences and key dates such as birthdays and anniversaries.
The HelloFrom service then identifies when a card is needed and sends a reminder to the user with a curated selection of greeting cards. After selecting one of the cards, HelloFrom sends the user the selected card, an envelope, a stamp, and a brief suggestion of what to write in the card.
Founder and CEO Ryan Biggs graduated from Ball State University and moved out of state. During that time, Biggs said that he received greeting cards, however, due to a demanding career, he found that even with good intentions, he missed the opportunity to send them. Biggs said the conundrum prompted him to find a way to use technology to make the process easier. In 2019, Biggs moved back to his hometown of South Bend and launched the platform in 2021.
“Ryan has very unique experiences and a set of skills that have allowed him not only to come up with this idea, but to execute at a high level,” said Nicholas Kuhn, Elevate Ventures’ entrepreneur-in-residence serving Startup South Bend-Elkhart, a partnership focused on startups in north-central Indiana. “I’m excited to see the greeting card market disrupted by this innovative startup.”
Biggs said that along with support from Elevate and Kuhn, Notre Dame’s IDEA Center team, particularly John Henry and Ben Hoggan, pushed HelloFrom to hit milestones, speak to advisors and raise money, putting the company on a fast-moving trajectory.
“The funds from Elevate not only enable us to create and market our platform, but it inspires our team to continue to prioritize our efforts here in Indiana,” said Biggs. “We will use these funds to grow our customer base and ultimately raise larger funding rounds to create jobs. We hope to put South Bend in the homes of millions of Americans.”
