Pass It Down Company Profile

Background

Pass It Down is a digital storytelling company founded in 2015 by Chris Cummings. Initially established to help families capture and preserve their stories, the company has evolved to assist cultural institutions, brands, and non-profits worldwide in creating interactive digital experiences. Pass It Down's mission is to empower organizations to engage their audiences through innovative storytelling solutions, thereby preserving and sharing cultural heritage in the digital age.

Key Strategic Focus

Pass It Down specializes in providing cloud-based digital design platforms that enable the creation of interactive online and touchscreen exhibits. Their services cater to museums, libraries, universities, brands, archives, and sports organizations, offering products such as digital collections, timelines, mosaics, and touchscreens. A significant strategic initiative is the development of Iconic Moments, the world's first NFT marketplace exclusively for museums and cultural institutions, allowing these entities to monetize and share their collections through digital assets.

Financials and Funding

As of September 2021, Pass It Down raised nearly $2 million in a funding round led by VentureSouth, with participation from Cultivation Capital, Techstars, Red Stick Angels, and Acadian Capital Ventures. This funding was intended to support the launch and growth of the Iconic Moments NFT marketplace, including hiring additional staff and enhancing the platform.

Technological Platform and Innovation

Pass It Down's technological platform is distinguished by its cloud-based design, enabling clients to build, update, and rotate exhibits instantly across various devices. The platform offers a library of customizable templates, a dynamic story editor supporting multimedia content, and responsive design ensuring optimal display on phones, tablets, computers, and touchscreens. Additionally, the Iconic Moments marketplace leverages blockchain technology to create and manage NFTs, providing museums with new avenues for revenue generation and audience engagement.

Leadership Team

Chris Cummings, Founder and Chief Executive Officer

An entrepreneur and attorney with over a decade of experience in the software industry. Prior to founding Pass It Down, he co-founded Woople, a learning management system delivering extensive educational content globally.

Wendy Overton, Chief Operating Officer

Brings extensive operational experience to the team, focusing on scaling the company's services and managing day-to-day operations.

Gregory Ostermayr, Chief Technology Officer

Leads the technological development and innovation strategies, ensuring the platform's robustness and scalability.

Competitor Profile

Market Insights and Dynamics

The digital storytelling and exhibit design industry is experiencing significant growth, driven by the increasing demand for interactive and engaging content from cultural institutions and brands. The integration of technologies like NFTs and blockchain is opening new revenue streams and methods for audience engagement.

Competitor Analysis

Pass It Down faces competition from companies such as Quidd, which develops mobile marketplaces for digital goods, and FanHero, providing video technology cloud solutions. While these companies operate in adjacent spaces, Pass It Down's focus on cultural institutions and its comprehensive suite of storytelling tools set it apart in the market.

Strategic Collaborations and Partnerships

Pass It Down has established partnerships with various cultural institutions and brands, including Porsche and Procter & Gamble, to create interactive experiences through its digital design platform. These collaborations enhance the company's market position and innovation capacity.

Operational Insights

Strategically, Pass It Down differentiates itself by offering a user-friendly, cloud-based platform that allows clients to create Smithsonian-quality exhibits efficiently and affordably. The introduction of the Iconic Moments NFT marketplace further positions the company at the forefront of digital innovation in the cultural sector.

Strategic Opportunities and Future Directions

Looking ahead, Pass It Down aims to expand the reach and functionality of the Iconic Moments marketplace, onboarding more cultural institutions and exploring additional applications of blockchain technology in the preservation and monetization of cultural assets. The company also plans to continue enhancing its digital storytelling platform to meet the evolving needs of its diverse clientele.