Startup Storybyte raises $125K – app helps you take the effort out of storytelling

I take tons of photos. Some I Tweet and some I Instagram. But right now, I have over 1,000 that are just sitting in my phone that I’ve completely forgotten about. Sound familiar?
For startup Storybyte, they’ve created a new app that will take those photos from the deep, dark depths of your phone’s album and effortlessly turn them into stories you can share with friends or enjoy privately.

The app starts out by giving you story ideas by grouping photos from your phone location or date, or you have the option to just manually choose which photos you want include in your story.
The result: a sleek slideshow with your captions as a narrative that can be shared with friends on social media or email or to be kept privately so you can revisit later.

CEO Jonathan Cottrell explained that we all have stories in our phones, we just need a simple way to compartmentalize the memories.
“Our mission is to give stories life. We think we can accomplish that by building out technology that recognizes stories already on your phone rather than you having to be super creative and create that,” he said.
Cottrell said while there are social outlets that focus on “micromedia” the app provides the ability to tell meaningful stories that last beyond the moment in time.
“They’re promoting the idea that what I’m doing right now, right this minute matters,” he said referencing platforms like Snapchat and Twitter. “And obviously there are tons of things that matter far more than what I’m doing right at this instant.”
The app was initially created with a focus on sharing stories among families, and to those that might not be as smartphone savvy.
The business has since pivoted, but its core remains the same: to make storytelling as simple as possible and uncovering technology that will quickly recognize stories for users.
The team is working on stringing together context across social media by pin-pointing photos you are tagged in. For example, if a friend tags you at a dinner and you have photos of your own phone from that same event in your phone, Storybyte will suggest that as a story.

When I used the app, the first story suggestion was from photos I had taken on New Year’s Eve. I hadn’t looked at them since then so I really liked that it prompted me to look back at those memories. From start to finish, creating a story was really simple.
The company has raised $125,000 in seed funding and is looking to monetize on the app by bringing in brand campaigns to create their own stories.
What’s next for Storybyte? The team is looking to add a slew of new features such as a bulk filter to apply to multiple photos at once. They’re even considering turning photos into keepsakes like books or prints for purchase.
To download the app for free click here.
To read more AZ Tech Beat coverage of mobile apps click here.
Graphics provided by Storybyte