Today we’d like to introduce you to Vanessa Quigley
Hi Vanessa, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
As a young mom I loved to scrapbook. It was my creative outlet and also felt like an important job to be done–to help my family hold on to the stories of our life together. But over time and with 7 kids I didn’t have time for that, or even printing photos! One night as I watched my youngest look longingly through a little photo album his preschool teacher had given him, I had an aha moment! I knew I would never have time to scrapbook again, but if I could just print all of my Instagram photos into books, then he would have more to look at than that year of class parties and field trips. So I invented a way to take the work I’d already been doing–curating the best photos to share with friends and family on Instagram, and created automatic photo books. It was a game changer for our family and, based on how quickly our company grew, it was for many other families too!
Today we help millions of families get their photos off their phone and into the hands of their loved ones. Some things about our business has changed over the years, for example now most of the photos we print come straight from our customers camera roll instead of from Instagram, and our new messaging app HeyFam is the newest growing photo source. However, our mission to “Connect and Strengthen Families” is still the focus of everything we do at Chatbooks.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
When Chatbooks burst onto the scene to some it seemed like an overnight success. We were thrilled to finally have product market fit, but it was actually many years in the making. For years my husband and a small team of guys had been building a cloud based solution to family memories while maintaining the belief that “print is dead”. We personally invested all of our savings in this solution before I had the aha moment that changed. everything. In hindsight I wish he had listened to the people over the years who participated in product focus groups, especially when they said that what they really wanted were photo books! Lesson learned–always pay very close attention to what your customers say and do!
As you know, we’re big fans of Chatbooks. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Chatbooks is a family memory system to help connect and strengthen families. We think photos deserve to be seen, not trapped on your phone and by focusing on our four core values—beyond easy, super affordable, great quality, and amazing service—we continue to help Chatbookers everywhere print their everyday magic.
The first photo book was printed in March 2014 and the 1 millionth Chatbook was printed in February of 2016. We are celebrating 10 years of Chatbooks this year!
We were named Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 2017, authored DIY advice book Real Moms, Real Hacks, and hosts The MomForce Podcast, which is in the top 3% of parenting podcasts nationwide.
Chatbooks currently has 150 people on the team and was named the #1 place to work for women in the United States, by Fortune magazine in 2021 and the #1 Technology Company by Top Workplaces.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
As a stay-at-home mom of seven before launching Chatbooks, I knew I could do hard things. I’m happiest when stretching myself, learning, and growing, and I’ve never experienced more growth than I have these past 10 years building our business..Despite feeling insecure about my lack of business experience, it turns out, all of my years in the trenches of motherhood actually prepared me quite well for entrepreneurship. I had many opportunities to practice time management, multitasking, project management, budgeting and financial planning, crisis management, leadership and team building, and more! And just as there is no one right way to be a mother, there is no one right way to be an entrepreneur. My success has come as I have embraced my unique experiences and point of view. Also, some of the best companies are built to solve real life problems and everything about Chatbooks, from our product to our award winning company culture was a solution to a problem I personally had as a mother.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://chatbooks.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chatbooks/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/Chatbooks
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@chatbooks6094
- Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-momforce-podcast-hosted-by-chatbooks/id1464755075
- Other: https://tiktok.com/@chatbooks
