In mid-2012, Jeff Abney made an observation about the trend of media hardware. 
He noticed that media that was once divided among several different channels – television, computer, radio, and cell phones – were converging into one single piece of hardware with the advent of the smart phone. However, while people began consuming media through a single piece of hardware, the digital identities under which they communicated online, like Facebook, email, Twitter, or Google+, remain splintered. And so, while communicating with someone in reality is simple, because they can only be in one location at one time, communicating with someone online can take place over multiple channels, and with varying degrees of success.
It was then that he spoke with Gayden Day, the founder and owner of the advertising agency Rocket Red. Since the advent of the Internet, Gayden had spent her career reaching out to consumers via these same online channels, working to push them content for the brands she works for. When they spoke, Jeff pitched her an idea: what if there were a single, unified platform on which brands could communicate with their customers, and customers could communicate back? Just like two people meeting in person, what if customers could communicate to brands what their personal interests are, and in return, brands would know what content was relevant to that customer, and would be able to push only content that was relevant. Such a platform could transform marketing from being a digital shouting match between brands to a conversation between a brand and its customer. Gayden loved the idea, and the two formed a team.
Their company, Brandfitters, is founded around the values of conversation, community and commerce. Through the platform, customers can converse with the brands they care about, providing valuable feedback to the brands to guide them in their product development and sales efforts, and receive relevant content and promotions in return. Customers of a certain brand can meet other customers and share with one another recommendations and ideas. And when customers are made aware of products and deals their favorite brands are offering, they can make a purchase immediately through the Brandfitters platform.
As the co-founders, and President and CEO, respectively, Jeff Abney and Gayden Day are the ideal team to execute on this idea. With Jeff’s background in sales, and with Gayden’s wealth of marketing experience and domain knowledge, they bring the knowledge and expertise needed to transform this idea into reality. Joining them is Jason Guthry as CTO, with a background in enterprise software, and Joseph Williams, who has worked on several start-ups as a back-end developer.
The product demo is in progress and is almost complete, and the company has several active conversations with potential clients, including SallyBeauty. Come out to Gilley’s on October 29, from 1:00p.m. – 5:00p.m. to meet the team in person and learn more about Brandfitters. Register at PitchDay.VentureSpur.Com!