Actress/singer Selena Gomez has invested in Postcard on the Run, as has CrossCut Ventures and a fistful of Silicon Valley names. The company raised $750,000, which is pocket change to the likes of angels Mike Jones (former Myspace chief executive), Kamran Pourzanjani (former PriceGrabber chief executive officer), Yves Sisteron (GRP Partners managing partner), Aber Whitcomb (former MySpace chief technology officer and co-founder), Ryan Steelberg (Brand Affinity Technologies chief technology officer and president President), Chris DeWolfe (former MySpace chief executive officer) and others with similarly senior affiliations, several of whom are now with MindJolt. Nonetheless, it has to be helpful to have them involved.
Founder and chief executive officer Josh Brooks may not have gone far to secure this funding, either. He previously held content related vice presidencies at MySpace and Project Playlist, having formerly been an artist manager at The Firm.
Besides investing, Gomez (pictured) also will serve as a creative advisor to Postcard on the Run (POTC), an app that turns a smartphone or Facebook photo into a physical, printed postcard mailed the old-fashioned way, and said she will play an active role as the company expands.
POTC also announced a new option to help differentiate itself from competitors: Smell Mail. For a 50-cent premium, users can add a Scratch’n Smell® sticker to their postcards. The available scents are chosen to match some of the most common photo scenarios: Baby Powder, Holiday Spice, Pine, Fresh Flowers, Chocolate, Popcorn, Mint, Bubble Gum, Suntan Lotion, Ocean Breeze and Teen Spirit.
Other features POTC is using to distinguish itself include: Postal Gopher, a built-in mailing address retrieval service; Signature, which lets users add their name or message using their finger as a pen; and GPS stamping, which puts a mini map or local point of interest on the back of the card to show the senders’ locale.
Behind the public face, POTR is making its SDK available to other app developers as a way for them to monetize and share images and to produce a physical end product.
“I’ve always loved the old-fashioned touch of sending real postcards, but I never have time anymore with my busy travel schedule. Now it’s easy with Postcard on the Run,” Gomez said in a statement. “The one thing that I always have with me is my smartphone. In just seconds, I can send personalized photo postcards to my family and friends right from my phone. It’s a new way to stay in touch the old school way.”
Related link:
http://www.postcardontherun.com
