GenForward is Here
Help Us Fund the Platform, We will Help you Create your Legacy
Today is a big day for me. Today I officially launched a company based on an idea I have carried around since, get this, 1998. The company is called GenForward. I carried the idea behind GenForward right though the .com boom and bust, carried it in my head even when I was building companies in the technology sector and even though 6 years of successfully building The Survival Podcast.
Why?
Everyone I told about this idea loved it, everyone understood it, everyone encouraged me to do it. This is generally not the reaction a entrepreneur gets with an “idea”. Generally you have to explain things because the mind of the entrepreneur sees a bigger picture that is why he/she is an entrepreneur. Not this though, 5 sentences of explanation and “wow, that’s great, do it.” Yet still I didn’t do it, I waited.
Why?
Something told me to, something always said the time isn’t right, I had no idea why but now it seems clear. The ability today to leverage a platform like Indiegogo is amazing and most don’t even get why. Raising funds is one thing but what is bigger is building a community of people that believe in what you do right from the ground up.
Today you have the ability to do what no corporate giant would ever DARE TO DO, bare the very soul of your company and right from the beginning commit to doing only good things, tell people what you promise to do for them and hold yourself by that very action accountable to deliver!
This is what we have done in the GenForward Pledge, it represents the very soul of our company. You can see the pledge in this video…
So what exactly is GenForward?
GenForward is a new web based platform that creates a record of your family history and life’s lessons going forward. In other words it is like “genealogy forward”. With a GenForward account your family will be able to access information you journal for them in an simple and easy format.
Our platform will be seeded with hundreds of questions that we know people have about their families and life lessons from their past. Those questions will make it easy for members to spend as little as 2-10 minutes a day building and preserving a history for their children and for future generations.
You Can Learn More at http://bit.ly/genforward
I explain the concept in this video as well…
To Help Us Get GenForward Started Please Consider Supporting our Indiegogo Campaign
This is an awesome idea!
Hi Jack – I’d love to contribute to the campaign, but I’d like to wait a few weeks. Will the Indiegogo site allow you to surpass the $25,000 goal? Or must I contribute as soon as possible in order to join in? Thanks!
Yes there is no problem with exceeding your funding goal. You have 60 days to pitch in at any level you choose.
Great, thanks!
It reminds me of the days that people used to write in journals. A very simple idea that I could see being expanded in all sorts of ways. Very good Jack.
Jack, this is a wonderful idea. I’ve loved everything you’ve done since the Jetta days (can’t believe it’s been so long!), but this one really strikes a chord with me. I’ve been trying to create this type of record for my own [future] family on my own for a long time now. I’m both happy and disappointed with my own efforts. It sounds like you’ve taken this important idea to the next level and – more importantly – the “convenient” level. I’ll be glad to contribute, and I hope the future outcome is as they say, priceless.
I think I get this for the most part. It sounds like a great idea. One question. Is everything you put in there about you or would you be able to, for example, put in notes about your kids so they could see them later?
You can write your own question or edit the ones we provide so you can put in anything you want.
I also figure by end of the first year that we will have hundreds of features on a to do list. Basically we plant to let users do what ever they want as long as we can figure out how to make it happen. How many extra features we develop at first will be a direct reflection on how well our funding goes.
This reminds me of Deb Roy’s talk, just be for the 18 min mark of this video.
http://www.ted.com/talks/deb_roy_the_birth_of_a_word
I love, love, LOVE this idea! I’m working on a project this winter to organize my family history and get it online to share with other family. I am fortunate that some of my grandmas took the time to jot a tiny bit down – I treasure every little snippet they left me of their lives. There is a whole lot of reflection going on as I work on this project – comparing my life to what I know of their lives, past and present. Just this past weekend I started to put together a list of questions for my own parents to answer about themselves, growing up, their parents, grandparents. I decided to break it down in sections so I don’t overwhelm them. I’m getting an extra membership for them. I love genealogy – but I want more than a list of names on a sheet of paper. I want to know their stories, struggles and all. Blah, blah, blah – I could go on forever. Let’s just say I think this is a FANTASTIC idea!
I’m in! I am so stoked about this!