https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1okYgAi4uSE
We all went online, seeking likes, love, attention. Every post, photo, and thought engineered to capture the spotlight. But when we pull down to refresh, we were lonely again.
We swipe through clothes we can’t afford while Netflix plays a show we’re half-listening to in the background. We sit in the sun listening to Gracie Abrams while texting someone on Hinge. We’re distracted, and just consuming empty entertainment calories, disconnected and alone.
We’ve missed the broader and more detailed picture. We’ve missed out on all of the smaller things surrounding us that shape who we really are, like what captures our attention when we’re not scrolling; the music we listen to on repeat throughout our week, the books we’re diving into, or the shows that stay with us long after we close our laptops. It’s the things we love from week to week that we carry with us throughout our life.
As humans, we're hardwired to seek connection – that connection with ourselves, and with others. The kind that makes us feel grounded, understood, and at home. But the internet is too loud and we can’t hear ourselves.
Shelf offers an antidote: a digital home where we can gather the scattered threads of our lives and weave them into a tapestry that reflects our true selves. It can be as simple as connecting with a loved one over that song we have on repeat, or as complex as your Shelf serving as a quiet powerful commentary about what’s happening in your life.
Through Shelf, we can finally see one another in a new light, fostering connections that transcend the superficial. Shelf gives us a way to reclaim who we are on the internet; allowing us to participate in hyper-connected networks built to pay homage to our senses and each other.
This isn’t the first app from koodos labs, the team behind Shelf. We’ve been driven by a singular focus to help people have more control over their identity online & have built a series of apps that help people connect more deeply with themselves & others — including koodos, a music journal.
We’re a small, majority first-gen immigrant team of digital explorers that have either started or contributed to products you’ve probably used before. We’re also deeply rooted in the academic & open-source community. We have a diverse extended support network, including advisors that have started companies like Pinterest or Dubsmash, and investors that are behind companies like Airbnb and Snap or artists like Justin Bieber or Lorde.
Here is our stance: