It started like most days.
My teammates and I were on our chat tool, the way we communicate throughout the day. Messages about new features and opinions on design changes were sprinkled with animated gifs and jokes.
Then, my teammate Luke hit us with this:
When I saw these messages I couldn’t believe it.
The Telegraph then pushed out an announcement about Apple’s choice of Caribu:
We were so happy for the Caribu team.
A little over a year ago, Ben Mallett, the founder of Caribu came to Crew looking to find an iPad developer to help him create the first version of an iPad app. The concept behind the app was endearing. Ben and his team wanted to create a way for children and their family members to never miss out on a bedtime story. No matter where they were in the world, the app would provide a way for children and the people closest to them to do a video call and read illustrated stories, page by page, together.
Here are some images from the Caribu creation process (see the full story here):
Early sketches of the iPad app concept:
The Caribu team started by working out of the founder’s flat:
Final version of Caribu
Caribu was built to solve an innate desire we all have. Connectivity. Especially when we’re young, we clutch to the people we love and we don’t want them to leave our side. Caribu was designed to help strengthen this connection between one of the most important relationships we have in our lives.
We were so happy to see Caribu featured on stage at the Apple Keynote.
It’s an honor coming after the team also won a place in the Microsoft Ventures Accelerator Program in London.
To add to this resume, the Caribu launch was covered by The Next Web, Gizmodo, and Forbes. And the app was recently featured in the App Store in 30 countries.
While I was writing this story, I started to tear up. This review from one of Caribu’s members got to me:
“This is awesome. I have business trips regularly and hate leaving my little guy. This will help.”
What Caribu has done to help people stay connected is deeper than any engagement metric or App Store 5-star rating can illustrate. Even if just one family finds this app useful, a connection between a child and someone who cares for them has been strengthened. This is priceless.
I think about all the families that can benefit from Caribu. I remember how important stories were to me when I was little. My mom used to have a basket full of books: Curious George, Clifford The Big Red Dog, The Berenstain Bears. Oftentimes, I wouldn’t go to bed until she had read through the entire basket.
This is a memory that has stuck with me into adulthood. And this is the memory that Caribu helps create for children all over the world.
We’re thrilled we could be a part of the Caribu story.
