The idea was born when I found myself with a stack of polaroids after a vacation with my bf and his family and wondered to myself, what if I could share these just like digital photos?

I got to work prototyping and eventually found myself where I am now. It’s been quite a journey. At first I never expected that angl would grow into more than a project that I did a couple hours a week but the more of you I showed, the more enthusiasm and energy built around it.

Something you should know about me, I’m really hard on myself, a perfectionist that demands the best from myself day in and day out. I was honestly scared that I was making such a simple project. I was scared that I wasn’t doing enough to contribute to saving the world. But the first lesson I learned along the journey is that you simply have to start somewhere.

I don’t love the example but Elon Musk did not start with rocket ships, he started with  Zip2 , licensing city guide software to newspapers.

What’s beautiful is that the more I showed folks what I was building the more I realized I was solving a real need.

When was the last time you bought a greeting card? They are almost a relic from the past these days that stuck around out of formality but they are corporate and kitschy and they don’t empower the user to tell their story. They are not meant to be displayed and usually end up lost in a drawer or in the recycling. Which, if you think about it is really quite sad because often times the cards that we write with gifts are the only personalized aspect to what we’re giving. Really cards have the potential to be quite a powerful way to share and connect. In fact some of my favorite and most heartfelt memories have been reading cards written by a close friend, family member or my partner.

With angl I thought, why not elevate this and take inspiration from digital social media posts to put the user in full control, empowering them to tell their narrative with their own photos or artwork rather than a cheesy halmark artwork. But the issue with social media is that it can’t be given as a gift, in fact it lacks anything magic or meaningful all together. In the age of the internet we’ve religated our most cherished memories to our digital timelines. In some cases, I think that this is totally fine because it’s so wonderfully convenient. However, connection, real connection, is not about convenience. We say it’s the thought that counts but the truth is that it’s the effort that counts not the thought.

So posts are the best of both worlds. A real magical tactile experience that also puts the user in total control. And unlike regular cards, they’re meant to be displayed forever on a desk or mantle, elevating the photograph and the message.

As my friend Ken recently put it and I have said ever since, I’m making memories real, and it turns out people want that. I’m humbled and grateful, thank you all.

BTW!! Pls check out Ken’s project Audioh , unlimited streaming audiobooks for $9/month!

Throughout this whole time I’ve been working in the service industry as a waitress, getting GE requirements out of the way at community college and teaching myself to program. Back in January, I worked on angl only one day per week but now since I’m in a better position financially, I have been able to reduce my shifts to 3 days per week and over summer since I haven’t been in class, I have been able to work on angl a considerable amount in my free time.

Back when I started, I was using the workshop of my previous mentor where there was a laser CNC machine. In fact, that’s one of the reasons that I decided to work on this particular project in the first place. When the idea came to me, when any idea comes to me I always consider if it’s within my means to make it happen and one thing that made me super excited about angl was the product is so simple, just paper and wood. Easy to manufacture and cheap enough to produce that I could bootstrap the business even on my servers wages.

However, just as I was getting the project where I wanted to go, I had a falling out with my mentor and could no longer take advantage of the CNC machine at his maker space. That began a new journey not only to build angl but I felt like I was going all the way back to square one. I needed to find a maker space with a laser cnc machine that was a also a safe space where I could be self and do my best work.

I reached out to my friend Chloe, a fellow maker and she pointed me in the direction of Double Union, a women and non binary maker and hacker space in the Mission neighborhood of San Francisco.

(Chloe makes custom electronics for off-grid living and home automation, please check out her work here )

I applied for membership and was accepted shortly after. They have a Glowforge laser CNC machine that would allow me to keep the project moving forward. Since then, I have used Double Union as my main base of operations for building angl. Not only does it give me access to the tools I need, but it’s really amazing for the community aspect as well and it’s given me access to San Francisco in a way that I’ve never had before.

Coming off one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Many of you reading this I will have met at buildspace but for those of you who don’t know about it: buildspace is an organization that brings together creatives, dreamers, musicians, entrepreneurs, artists, truly anyone building a project, in SF and tech circles world wide we refer to these folks as builders. Every year they run a 6 week program called nights & weekends where we come together and participate in weekly challenges, lectures and labs that push us to do our best work and expose us to literally thousands of other participants. I have made some of the most amazing connections through this program so I highly recommend checking it out here. Angl would not be where it is now without buildspace. Specifically my ability to pitch angl wouldn't be where it is now.

I am honored to say that my next task is to fulfill an order of 50 posts for a wedding!

Here I am at Underdog film lab in Oakland who, as of July 18th, so kindly became the first store to stock angl Posts! This week I booked over $500 in revenue from my first wedding as well as the Buildspace IRL event. I am close to something that I have been working toward my entire life, which is to build a successful business that will allow me to do what I love fulltime.

WAIT, honestly if you only take one thing away from this post, let it be this lesson:

When I started Angl, I told myself if I could get my product in one store, if I could just bring in a couple hundred a month it would be a massive success. Well, now I’m here. Event though I usually just let these milestones slip past. I am going to force myself to stop and smell the roses. I have accomplished my goal. Angl is well on its way to becoming a successful business. Now it’s time to go after my dreams, but this time I’m bringing you along for the ride!

Please follow my story on instagram, here on my blog, and subscribe to angl the newsletter. 

I think that’s where I will wrap up this article. Thank you all again.

Goodnight!

- koii

p.s. My SEO optimizer says I need to mention angl more so, angl angl angl angl angl angl angl angl angl angl angl angl angl angl angl