Robbie Cape and Jan Miksovsky
started Cozi to address the need for better coordination and communications
within families concerning things like shopping lists and kids’ sports
activities.
Says Cape, CEO of Cozi, “Eighty
percent of the families that are connected to the internet are still using some
kind of pen and paper method to manage their lives.”
Cozi’s software provides a
calendar-on-the-fridge experience for coordinating schedules without the hassle
of sticky notes and constant phone call reminders. Users get an integrated
online calendar, shopping list, to-do list and updatable family journal. They
can set reminders, which can be sent to a family member’s cell phone or e-mail
address. If Dad needs to pick up chicken for dinner, Cozi will send him a
message right before he leaves work. The software is simple to use, requiring
little more than pointing and clicking.
This free, web-based service is
accessible from a PC or through a $1.99 app on a smartphone. A complete mobile
version of Cozi is in the works.
Cozi makes money by selling
advertisements that are seen by its 2.7 million users, a number that is
steadily growing. The advertisements are often targeted contextually, such as a
to-do list to help families get ready for flu season that is sponsored by
Tamiflu. Cozi’s ad revenue increased 600 percent from 2008 to 2009, and Cape is
expecting a similar increase in 2010.
He stresses Cozi’s family-centric
approach. “If you look at any part of our company, our site, our office, our
business partnerships, it’s obvious that we have a fanatical focus on families.
We want families who use Cozi to have a better relationship with each other.”