CodeLaunch 2021 – Kitty Bogle-Sherman and Courtney Harmon

Intro: [00:00:07] Broadcasting live from the beautiful legacy theater in Alpharetta, Georgia, for code launch Atlanta, 2021. It’s time for Atlanta Business Radio. Now here’s your host.

Stone Payton: [00:00:24] And we are back broadcasting live at code launch in Atlanta, twenty one Stone Payton Lee Kantor here with you with the Business RadioX Network. Next up on today’s broadcast, please join me in welcoming to the show with Mauti Misk, Katie Bhogle, Sherman and Courtney Harman. Welcome to the show.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:45] Thank you for having us. The are two things. Tell us about Maudy.

Kitty Bogle-Sherman: [00:00:50] Ok, Maudy is a place for people to remember differently. We’re building a new kind of home for your memories. So basically the idea is that there are billions and billions of photos and videos uploaded to the cloud and stored on the cloud. There are trillions actually there. Twenty eight billion new photos and videos uploaded to Google photos a week. And so the experiences currently available to experience your memories then are either social media or printing a scrapbook. But essentially, the experiences are very limited. And so we’re going to create an app where your digital presence can have a home forever.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:36] And then what was the catalyst of the idea?

Courtney Harmon: [00:01:40] So the main catalyst really goes back actually about seven years. When I first became a new mom and had a newborn, we lost an aunt that was really close to us. I’m sorry. And so it was at that time, as I was, I was going through a transition, becoming a new mom, that I had all these questions that I would have wanted to ask her. And there is no way to do that. And I just thought at that time, I don’t want my daughter to be left without with unanswered questions. So what are the things I can do? You know, what would be a way to leave your legacy? An intentional legacy, you know, really be able to be that influence in your in your family’s life, even if you aren’t there anymore. And then as we explored that idea, it’s expanded to pretty much just say, you know what, we have now thousands and thousands of photos that we take of our family and no way to really use them. They just sit in the cloud. And so really the problem is the limited experiences. So we wanted to just completely flip that on its head, something people really can’t even conceive of right now, because it’s it’s different than what’s out there and really change that experience.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:51] So now give me an example of how the experience comes to life. So I had a family member and it has like where does the context come in? Where does the threads that tie things together, where the stories are, or the experiences that maybe can combine different people together, and then we were all here at this time or we all experienced this, like how how does it all tie together?

Kitty Bogle-Sherman: [00:03:15] Well, you were right on track with your question. So basically you will be able to connect with your people. So anybody that you really actually want to share your life with and, you know, you think about it in that context or maybe contrasting with social media, you know, that typically tends to be more of a highlight reel. And I don’t think anyone here would say, oh, yes, my essence is really captured by, you know. So, you know, we’re kind of thinking about that differently. So you connect with those who are closest to you. And then we are developing a system of classification, and that’s really what’s going to make our tools so unique. So right now, what it can do, for example, is our grandfather, he uploaded a bunch of different jokes that he tells. Right. And so right now, our apps in the app store right now, what you can do is you can go in the last hour virtual code launch in April. Actually, the hackathon purpose was to implement voice activation technology into the app. So that has been done. And so you can pull Maudy open and say, hey, mordy, fetch Fopo, make me laugh, for instance. And then anything that’s been categorized in that way then pulls up. And so right now, the experience is a video pulls up and my grandfather tells a joke. But what we’re building towards and, you know, we’re in the middle of fundraising. So anyone who’s listening. What we’re building, though, is an experience where you will go into what we’re calling sets, and it’s a completely different world. And that’s where you are building basically a home that anyone in the future, your future descendants, your loved ones, whoever can come find you. And that’s where everything you’ve uploaded will live. But you also will be setting, you know, who sees what and when. So you can send messages to like, I want my child to see this on their 30th birthday or whatever, but. Oh, fine. So the possibilities are really in. Unless and it’s an opportunity that just hasn’t been tapped.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:27] So now you had this idea and then where does Kirtland’s fit into this?

Kitty Bogle-Sherman: [00:05:31] Well, we had the idea and then pre pandemic. So February of twenty twenty, we attended the memorial service for our great aunt in Little Rock, Arkansas. She was a very accomplished lady in the science and technology field. And so we had the good fortune to attend an event at the repertory theater there. And it was kind of like a celebration of her life. The play was an about Ann Richards. We’re from Texas. She’s really well known for her governor. And so in in that process, we saw you know, we heard from people eulogizing her. We saw videos people had made about her. We learned so much we didn’t know about her, but also our family and kind of where we fit into that legacy. So it was very inspiring, but also restarted, kicked that idea. Now, if we’re not, not everyone is going to have documentaries made about their lives, but every single person has a unique, interesting story. It needs to be put out there. So we were like, let’s go the pandemic here. We have two small children each. We were homeschooling for the rest of that semester and then, you know, summer twenty twenty. We realized, who knows when Covid will be over. We don’t know what that even looks like. Let’s go. Courtney said, Do you mind if I send this? I think he said I sent an application to this Covid lunch thing, and I was like, sounds cool. And then we ended up in code lunch and we were the alternate finalist out of, I think, like 160 hundred and congratulations. So the idea worked. But yeah, they really were the catalyst for like getting us into a network and then also giving us feedback on the idea. Yes, yes.

Courtney Harmon: [00:07:19] Evolution, providing a stage for us to collect market feedback, you know, really evolve our idea. What you gave us the confidence to go and start getting funding, which we haven’t gotten a significant amount yet. So and we’re in the middle of finishing out that round. And the idea has really evolved to something that has a very clear vision for us right now. And we’re excited now to just go execute on that.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:46] So now, what compelled you to say, you know what, I’m going to go to Atlanta to like, what are you here?

Courtney Harmon: [00:07:54] Well, I feel like we probably are giving you way too long of answers right now. But basically, my sister Courtney was living in Florida. We’re originally from Texas. I live in our hometown of Longview. Well, while all of this was kind of transpiring, she lived in Florida. So I would pick her up at the airport in Dallas. I would drive two hours, pick her up. We would go do all this. And this is

Lee Kantor: [00:08:16] No middle ground.

Kitty Bogle-Sherman: [00:08:18] Well, you know what? She moved to Texas in June, so also used to live in Atlanta. We’re southeast. We’ve been all over the place. So this really is a place we’re familiar with. And we’re just this is such a great event. We’ve gotten so much out of our other two events with this program that we know this is a place to be.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:38] So how have you seen the event evolve over the innovations you’ve got to be part of?

Kitty Bogle-Sherman: [00:08:44] Well, we’ve only been involved during the Covid era, and I will just say that the production value, in my opinion, has always been very high, and they have just somehow managed to work around every challenge. I would say, you know, compared to the event we attended last November in DFW. From what I’m hearing, we’re going to have like maybe double the attendance. And so I think that’s a pretty nice step for them to take.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:12] Now, any advice for entrepreneurs out there who maybe haven’t heard about Covid launch or they’re thinking about code launch?

Kitty Bogle-Sherman: [00:09:20] I think that you should definitely get involved, really, no matter what stage you’re at. There’s something for everybody here. As long as you know kind of what your goal is and what you’re trying to get out of it. It’s a great networking opportunity. And the people at Covid launch really care about this community of, you know, startup entrepreneurs. And it’s really exciting. You can learn a lot from anybody that’s here, and it’s a great way to just evolve your product.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:44] Now, any advice from from a networking standpoint, how do you kind of squeeze the most through an event like this where there is so much going on?

Courtney Harmon: [00:09:54] I think as an entrepreneur, you need to be really clear about what your goals are for the event. So, for example, in November, we knew we weren’t going to be on stage. We’re thinking, OK, well, who’s going to come to our table? We barely even know how to talk about this idea properly. And so we wore costumes and kind of in theme with our branding at the time. But it really works because I think, you know, Jason Taylor, I don’t want to speak for him, but I think, you know. He really took that as OK. These ladies will bring some value. So really, I think that’s it. What can you bring and what are your goals? And for us, we knew our goals. We’re not trying to get funding here. We’re trying to get some market validation. We’re trying to get to know people who can help us and we can connect with. And that’s what we did. And then our goal, for example, tonight is we’re ready to build a waitlist. So we have an Oculus giveaway, and that’s what we’re here to do. So I would say be specific about your goals and always, always think of how you can bring value

Lee Kantor: [00:10:55] And when you show up here with you and plan and

Courtney Harmon: [00:10:59] Execute. Yes, sir.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:00] Now, if somebody wants to learn more about Maudy, you mentioned the App Store as a website as well. Those investors who want to kind of learn more, what’s the best way to connect with you? I would say

Kitty Bogle-Sherman: [00:11:11] Either LinkedIn or Maudy app, A.R.T. i e a p dot com. Good stuff. Did I miss anything, Courtney? We’re also on Instagram,

Kitty Bogle-Sherman: [00:11:21] Although we’re not posting regularly yet.

Courtney Harmon: [00:11:25] That is coming. Yes. And it’s going to be great.

Kitty Bogle-Sherman: [00:11:28] And that’s also at App.

Stone Payton: [00:11:31] What an inspiring story. Thank you so much for visiting with us. Of course, we’re going to visit your booth. So we’re also going to continue to follow your story. And I think we touched on this in our last segment. Yes. Someone will emerge this evening as the winner of the event. No one loses here. Anyone here is going to gain, particularly if they’re of the right frame of mind. If they come in with a plan like you described, I can see why you’ve had the success that you’ve had so far. Congratulations on the momentum. Keep up the good work. One more time. Points of contact that people want to reach out to have a conversation with you make you a big check by your app. I already do. Let’s make sure we leave our listeners

Kitty Bogle-Sherman: [00:12:10] With that, OK? LinkedIn, Katie Vogel, Sherman, Courtney Harman or Maudy App. And again, Maudy Adcom has our contact information on it as well. We look forward to hearing from you. And thank you very much. You guys are just some more people are meeting that have been incredibly kind and generous to us, and we really appreciate it.

Stone Payton: [00:12:30] Well, it’s absolutely our pleasure. All right. We’ll be back in the future with code launch in Atlanta. Two more.