Why Keepsake founder Nick Talwar moved his startup from Silicon Valley to Chicago

When Nick Talwar began working on his photo sharing app, he knew right away Silicon Valley wasn’t the place he needed to be. Sure it's the most saturated tech hub in the country, but that isn't always a good thing. 

 

Talwar had grown up just miles from the Microsoft headquarters in Washington and spent time in the Bay area after returning from college. While he knew and loved these tech meccas, he also knew his startup, Keepsake, wasn’t going to flourish there like it could somewhere else.

 

That somewhere else was Chicago, a place he had family and had visited a couple times, but where he had very few connections. What he did know was that Chicago was a city of innovation with a growing tech community that was incredibly supportive — perfect for Keepsake.

 

“Chicago has a long history of supporting those who build things, of getting behind ideas that are true and earnest and good for society,” Talwar said. “People have a strong civic sense here.”

 

Now that he’s been in the city for six months, he’s spent time developing and launching his app which helps store and share memories in real time. Users can transfer photos into the app and then organize them into albums, which they can then share with their friends. Everything takes just a few taps and users can see when their photos are viewed and if connections choose to save them. You can also revoke access at any time, as privacy is the number one priority for Talwar and his team. 

 

Talwar grew up next to Microsoft’s headquarters, so he developed an interest in tech at a very young age. At just 13-years-old in 1998, Talwar and a friend began designing websites for people in their neighborhood. It was the dotcom boom and businesses were beginning to realize they needed a web presence. A couple of self-taught 13-year-olds built websites much cheaper than the pros, and thus his first dip into entrepreneurship was a success.

 

After attending Duke University for college and studying engineering he returned to fulfill his dream of working for Microsoft and spent four years developing algorithms and building out search for Windows 8. It was around then he took a roadtrip with friends. They had a great time, but afterward when they all began asking for each other’s photos, no one had any. Either a phone had been lost or not backed up, and they were left missing all those memories they had created on the trip. Talwar found the whole experience laughable and knew there had to be a better way, especially with the way mobile technology was advancing. 

 

So, he decided to take six months off from work and do whatever he wanted (he even dabbled in making chocolate), and made a deal with himself — if he still wanted to develop this product after six months he would actually do it.

Six months later he hadn't lost that urge, and he began picking everyone’s brain who would listen. He even said he went on 95 coffee chats in the Bay area in two months alone. Most of them told him mobile wasn’t ready for something like this.

 

“Whenever people tell me something isn’t possible, especially as an engineer, I think, well, if we take a crack at it maybe we can make something really culturally significant.”

 

That’s what Talwar and co-founder Jon Kent are aiming for — to make significant advances in the way we share and store photos. They have spent the last six months utilizing the UIC and Columbia community to gain feedback on the app and implement features users recommended. Their goal is to build something truly usable and exciting.

 

The app is currently free, but they will eventually move to a fremium model with additional features to generate revenue.

 

While Talwar declined to divulge exact funding numbers, he said they’re angel-funded. In 2015 they hope to make Keepsake available on Android (it's currently only available on iOS) and continue to get the word out about the app, especially in Chicago. 

 

As for how he feels about Chicago and keeping his product here?

 

“I feel like 2015 is Chicago’s year, to really tip the scales from a tech perspective and to create an ecosystem that includes everybody.”