Forever (website)
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Digital archiving, online storage |
| Founded | May 2012 |
| Founder | Glen Meakem |
| Headquarters | Pittsburgh , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Glen Meakem (Founder) |
| Products | Digital preservation services for photographs, documents, videos, audio content; digital scrapbooking; media digitization and conversion |
Number of employees | 55 (2018) |
| Website | forever |
Forever.com is a startup focused on digital archiving and online storage, specializing in preserving photographs, documents, videos, and audio content. Established in May 2012 by entrepreneur Glen Meakem, the company operates out of its headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
History
Founded by Glen Meakem in May 2012, Forever officially debuted to the public in November 2013 after initially attracting 1,000 members prior to launch. The enterprise centers its business on providing long-term digital preservation solutions for personal media collections. The inspiration for Forever stemmed from Meakem’s 1990 family road trip, during which he recorded relatives’ histories, motivating him to develop a secure, lasting online repository for family memories.
In December 2012, Forever raised $9 million in Series A financing from Meakem Becker, a venture capital firm co-founded by Meakem himself. To accommodate its growing operations, the company moved to the twentieth floor of PPG Place in Downtown Pittsburgh. By November 2013, marketing initiatives had attracted 1,000 paying subscribers. Subsequently, in December 2013, Forever completed an $8.6 million Series B funding round aimed at accelerating growth and increasing its presence in the digital preservation market.
Acquisitions
In September 2014, Forever expanded its offerings by acquiring Panstoria, a digital scrapbooking business. This acquisition granted Forever’s customers access to Panstoria’s services and broadened its user base by an additional 100,000 individuals.
A year later, in September 2015, Forever purchased Life Highlights Digital Media, a Wisconsin-based firm founded in 2011 by Brenda Broberg that specialized in digitizing family photographs and videos. The Green Bay location of Life Highlights was transformed into a Forever Retail Store and by March 2016 evolved into the North American Media Conversion and Processing center for digitizing client media. By March 2018, the company’s workforce had grown to 55 employees.
Services
As reported by Barron's, Forever distinguishes itself from competitors such as Google Photos, Amazon Prime Photos, Dropbox, and Shutterfly through its personalized customer service.[1] Customer support representatives assist users with creating greeting cards and digital scrapbooks.[1] Additionally, Forever provides services converting VHS tapes into digital formats while ensuring file formats remain future-proof.[1]
The company offers complimentary accounts with 2 gigabytes of storage and paid plans ranging from 10 GB up to 1 terabyte.[1]
Data backups are maintained across three international sites and protected using encryption standards comparable to those employed by financial institutions.[2]
Forever Guarantee Fund
Forever has created the Forever Guarantee Fund, a fully restricted endowment intended to guarantee the longevity of its services.[1] The initial capital contribution was $1 million, with 70% of customer payments directed into this fund while the remaining 30% finances operational costs and service development.[3] According to founder Glen Meakem, the fund is diversified through investments in stocks and bonds aiming for an annual return of approximately 8%, from which 4% is withdrawn yearly to cover expenses.[3]
The fund’s objective is to sustain customer accounts for up to one hundred years after the account holder’s death.[3] Nonetheless, industry experts note that this century-long guarantee relies on Forever’s continued existence.[3] In cases where the company cannot maintain operations, terms of service require that data be returned to customers utilizing resources from the fund.[3]
Reception
Michael Spring, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences, observed that the service might be considered "expensive" and primarily attract individuals with discretionary funds.[3]
In April 2018, Bob Vishneski, a specialist in media software, underscored Forever's promising role in the realm of Digital Estate Planning, highlighting its importance for safeguarding digital assets through thoughtful account management.[4]
External links
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