In 2005, Catherine Cook and her brother Dave were just two normal high school students without any kind of technology or business experience. One day, the two of them sat down to go through their Yearbook, as many students do, when they had the idea of combining their yearbook with the current technology boom. They proposed doing this by digitalizing yearbooks and putting them on the internet to create an interactive experience.
The pair decided to approach their older brother who was already a very successful entrepreneur and was interested enough in their idea to invest money into it and help them get the idea off the ground. I think looking back on this story, and their brother’s belief in this idea, you can see the foresight that these young entrepreneurs had to recognize that the digital age was coming and if they could harness that, it would take them very far.
The business began to grow significantly, and in 2008 it was the fastest growing social media site in the U.S. and had 11 million members. Over the years Catherine has been a huge innovator through MyYearbook and has been constantly brainstorming features to keep it popular and current. The most recent innovation the company has done is a huge rebrand with a new name, MeetMe. A huge takeaway that Catherine has mentioned from this experience is staying true to your vision, if you do this, no one will be able to knock you down all the way, and the growth of your business can be limitless.
Sources
https://vanitystardom.com/founder-of-myyearbook-catherine-cook/
Catherine Cook – How MyYearbook.com Was Founded (businessideaslab.com)
You made some interesting points. Undoubtedly, so many entrepreneurs have thrived off technological development. Digitalizing yearbooks is just one of so many such examples. We are in the unique position today to see new ways in which technology can serve us. I believe Daniel Pink would refer to the innovation of digitalizing yearbooks as “the adjacent possible.” The technological development we’ve seen the last century has opened new doors that lead to possibilities that were once unimaginable.
I also thought your point about staying “true to your vision” was interesting. I would like to note that oftentimes, the most sensible thing to do is to pivot or adapt your vision. Entrepreneurs that are willing to improvise and adapt are more successful than those who stick to the original vision out of stubbornness. Entrepreneurs should passionately pursue their visions. But this doesn’t mean their vision will not shift along the way.
I love this idea. I think that yearbooks are so nostalgic and sentimental. Bringing them to life and turning them into something modern is so fun. I was president of yearbook when I was in highschool and having something like this would have been so cool.