SENDING A GIFT JUST GOT EASIER

Sending a gift as easy as a text. That’s the premise behind Goody, a new app co-founded by serial entrepreneur Edward Lando.

Lando, who has acted as an angel investor in over 300 companies, has always loved building products that the people around him could use. “Before this, I’ve helped start a few other consumer companies, some of which were fairly accidental,” Lando tells MR. “This one though was an idea I had in my notebooks for years: an easy way to send gifts to the people in your life and stay in touch with them. So, I finally decided to start working on it in April 2020.”

“We offer an incredibly easy way to buy things on your phone for the people you care about,” Lando adds. To send a Goody, users only need to input the cell phone number of the person receiving the gift. Then, users can navigate by occasion to find the perfect gift for that special someone. The receiving person gets a text that a Goody has been given, which allows them to input their address where they want the gift to arrive. Once the Goody is accepted, the sender is charged for the gift.

Gifts offered on Goody range from home goods and skincare to food and wellness gear. Participating brands in the service include Happy Socks, Le Labo, Mejuri, Theragun, Sugarfina, Apotheke, Glossier, Blue Bottle Coffee, Crate & Barrel, Urbanstems, and more. Lando also notes that his team reaches out to brands constantly in order to broaden the app’s offering.

And for all the naysayers that may think this is an impersonal way to send a gift, Lando has this to say: “I would tell them to try the app first, which is the opposite of impersonal. ‘Love,’ ‘fun,’ ‘intimate,” and ‘warm’ are words we hear from our users every day.”