Lalo shut down its family memory-archive app after two years: users would not pay

A consumer app where small groups of family and friends collect digital memories of loved ones in private profiles

Families will pay for a private app that gathers photos, video, voice and stories from relatives into a shared memory archive

Only institutional money came from investors targeting 'overlooked founders', including Overlooked Ventures, plus a large amount of Medina's own money

Medina first considered the idea in 2003, when his wife asked him to tell a story about his late father and he realized he hadn't known him well. He built Lalo, named for his father, as a solo founder with contractors, after more than eight years at Amazon.

The app collected images, video, voice and text in profiles shared with a small group of family and friends. Medina says traffic grew, media reached out and Apple wanted to feature it, but customers would not pay, and the company never raised enough venture capital to pivot or hire the talent it needed. He went two years without a paycheck.

In July 2023 Medina decided to close Lalo, started telling users and gave instructions on how to download their posts and memories. He returned to Amazon as a technical advisor.

Customers were not willing to pay for the product despite growth in traffic and attention

Medina could not raise enough venture capital to fund a pivot or hire senior talent

He was a solo founder who had put in his own money and drawn no salary for two years

Medina's advice to early-stage founders: jump in, test a lot, and don't quit your day job; traffic, press and an app-store feature did not substitute for willingness to pay.

As of July 2023 Lalo was closed and contacting users; Medina advised early-stage founders not to quit their day jobs.