Waldo Photos
Photo-finding platform empowering consumers to toss their selfie sticks, put their phones back in their pockets.
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | investor | €0.0 | round |
| investor | €0.0 | round | |
| N/A | €0.0 | round | |
| N/A | $4.0m | Early VC | |
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
Waldo Photos operates an AI-powered photo-sharing platform designed to streamline photo management and sales for professional photographers and organizations, while providing a seamless experience for consumers. Founded in 2015 by veteran entrepreneurs Rodney Rice and Michael Beaudoin, the duo behind successes like HomeAdvisor and the early formation of Einstein Bros. Bagels, the company was born from personal frustration. Rice was inspired after struggling to find photos of his children at events like summer camps and tennis matches, realizing a significant gap between photo capture and delivery.
The company's core technology utilizes facial and jersey number recognition to automatically identify and deliver photos to individuals. For consumers at events like camps, school functions, youth sports, and weddings, the platform eliminates the need to manually search through large galleries. Users simply upload a selfie, and the service sends a text or app alert when photos of them are found. This creates a private and ad-free way for users to receive and share their memories.
For professional photographers and event organizers, Waldo Photos functions as a mobile-first, software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform called WaldoPro. This suite of tools helps photographers increase sales by automating the delivery of proofs directly to potential customers' mobile devices, a shift from a "pull" to a "push" model. The platform includes features like Photo Manager for hosting and analytics, and patented FaceBlocker technology to copyright-protect proofs shared on mobile. By delivering photos in near real-time when purchase intent is highest, photographers have reported significant increases in sales conversions. The business model targets verticals such as schools, camps, youth sports leagues, and professional photographers, who use the platform to manage and monetize their photo content. The company has secured significant funding, including a $5 million seed round in 2016 and a $4 million round in 2018.
Keywords: photo recognition, facial recognition, event photography, photo sales platform, photo management, mobile photo delivery, professional photography software, school photography, camp photography, youth sports photography, Rodney Rice, contactless sales, AI photo sorting, photo sharing, automated proof delivery, FaceBlocker, WaldoPro, photo monetization, image recognition, event photo sharing