SOURCE: from: Everyone

 

LOS ALTOS, CA--(Marketwire - April 7, 2008) - With end-of-year teacher and graduation gifts, spring holidays and bridal season around the corner, Silicon Valley mompreneurs Paula Cho and Michelle Nieda today launched the first hassle-free group gift service online called from: Everyone (www.fromeveryone.com).

from: Everyone is an easy-to-use online service for anyone who wants to collect individual contributions toward the purchase of a group gift without the headache or hassle of asking for and collecting money from each participant and trying to find a gift agreeable to all.

Company co-founders Paula and Michelle created from: Everyone after volunteering to organize the holiday and year-end group gifts for their kids' teachers and coaches on behalf of fellow school parents. Paula and Michelle were bewildered by how such a seemingly thoughtful gesture could become a time-consuming chore each and every time they did it.

"Anyone who's ever tried to organize a group gift can relate to our experience. It was a frustrating, time-consuming process to reach out to everyone, collect the money and pick a gift the group could agree upon," said Paula, co-founder and mother of three school-age kids. "Everyone wanted to recognize the teachers for their hard work during the school year, but instead of feeling joy in giving them a gift, we felt frustrated with the process. We thought, 'there has to be an easier, better way.'"

YMCA Workout Sparks A-Ha Moment

The better way came as a light bulb moment at their local Y. During their daily workout, side-by-side on Elliptical machines, Paula and Michelle conceived of from: Everyone as an automated service that could benefit room parents coordinating teacher appreciation gifts, sisters and girlfriends planning baby and bridal showers, siblings pitching in for Mother's and Father's Day, family members pooling together for birthdays and graduations, friends and relatives contributing for weddings, and office managers and administrators organizing employee gifts and incentives.

They envisioned centering the service upon one gift that could be tailored for each recipient and occasion -- the gift card*. They also wanted to provide a charitable option for the increasing number of parents who host birthday parties for their kids and, in lieu of gifts, prefer a donation to a local charity in their child's name.

*Gift card sales totaled $97 billion in 2007 according to The Tower Group.

Silicon Valley Super Moms Go Start-Up

"When we came up with the idea for from: Everyone, we tested it with our friends and fellow moms to see what they thought of the concept," said Paula. "Every single one of them loved it and wanted to start using it immediately. They were relieved to know there's a solution that will help save them time and energy at the end of the day and still enable them to celebrate the people who are important in their lives."

Paula and Michelle became entrepreneurs overnight. In their "spare time" as full-time moms, Paula and Michelle invented from: Everyone's patent-pending solution to simplify the group gift giving process. It automates every step online, from inviting and collecting contributions for any size group to packaging and delivering the gift or donation, and takes just minutes for gift organizers to get started and for gift participants to reply.

So Easy to Use, Busy Moms Multi-Task When Using It

"I set it up while I was cooking breakfast for my kids," said Silicon Valley mom Amy Hofmann.

from: Everyone sends the invitations by email, collects the funds by credit card (individual amounts are kept private), sends reminders and thanks to everyone, and delivers a gift card or donation made with the group enclosure to the organizer or recipient. The recipient can redeem the gift card from the retailer's local store or Web site, with the freedom to buy what s/he needs or wants most. For charitable gifts, from: Everyone submits both the donation and details of individual contributions to the charity, which then sends each participant a tax deductible receipt, when applicable.

Following are examples of the spring season's most popular group gifts and charitable donations at from: Everyone:

--  Birthdays & Holidays:
    Anthropologie, Best Buy, J. Crew, Nordstrom, YMCA
    
--  Engagements, Weddings & Anniversaries:
    Crate & Barrel, IKEA, Pottery Barn, Williams-Sonoma
    
--  Bridal & Baby Showers:
    Make-a-Wish Foundation, Sephora, Target, Toys "R" Us, Victoria's
    Secret
    
--  Office Birthdays, Retirements & Goodbyes:
    Brookstone, Discovery Store, Home Depot, Humane Society, REI
    
--  Teacher & Coach Gifts:
    Borders, Peet's Coffee & Tea, Trader Joe's, Sports Basement
    

About from: Everyone

from: Everyone is the first online service to make group gift giving simple, thoughtful and convenient for all. Founded in Fall 2006 by Silicon Valley mompreneurs Paula Cho and Michelle Nieda, from: Everyone is a privately held company headquartered in Los Altos, CA. For more information, go to www.fromeveryone.com.