At Lily&Strum, we are a passionate group of entrepreneurs with a simple goal – to make great gifting easy for you. And we know that being a “great” gifter takes organization, inspiration and even validation.

Our idea has always been a good one, and we’ve spent the last 16 months figuring out exactly what it takes by testing, thinking, listening, learning, improving, implementing, re-designing, growing, building, talking, sharing, laughing, and yes, even crying.

So what startup lessons have we learned?

1. You can’t build a skyscraper without a foundation. If you don’t start with something simple, it is no good.
2. You can have the most polished interface in the world, but if it is not intuitive, it’s no good
3. You may have a big network, a lot of friends or even a big family, but if you can’t figure out how to extend your reach, it’s no good
4. Your business model may work on paper, but if you don’t test, re-test and then adapt, it is no good

So we adapted and we changed. We are proud of our work and we are proud of what is ahead. Most importantly, we know we’ve got something good. Here is our promise to you.

We won’t ever let you forget important moments and we’ll always find you the most awesome and coolest gifts without any hassle.

Best of all, it’s now FREE. That’s right. No credit card needed, no annual subscription, just a simple sign in and you’ll have access to unlimited profiles, occasions and stellar recommendations all at your fingertips.

We are finally ready. Ready for YOU to give us a try. Now is your chance to make a difference in our start up and get the benefits of someone (a whole team!) looking out for you.

But don’t take our word for it. See for yourself. Give Lily&Strum a try. We bet you’ll wonder how you lived without us!

Happy Gifting,

Traci Lipple – Founder
Stephan Mueller – CEO
Rick Romero  – CTO
Lauren Urbschat – Director Of Curation

The post 4 Startup Lessons Driving our Success appeared first on Lily&Strum.

This video will show you how easy it is to become a better gifter. Watch how Lauren finds great gifts for her sister’s birthday in less than 3 minutes!

Hey, what’s that site?

Here are some of the great gifts recommended in our video and where to find them.

1. Striped Scarf ($56) SchoolHouse Electric and Supply Co.

2. Gift Certificate ($50-$300) Shoes of Prey

3. Faceted Turquoise Swoop ($45) Midwinter Co.

4. Arcos Earrings ($82) Summerland

Do you know a maker or online retailer with a great story and great gift ideas? Email curation@lilystrum.tony-tone.com, we’d love to check them out and maybe even add their products to our inventory of gift recommendations.

For more great gift ideas, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest.

The post How To Find Great Gifts with Lily&Strum appeared first on Lily&Strum.

I’ll be the first to admit, I am one lucky lady. Women were envious and men were resentful of all the thoughtful things my husband Joe (fiancé at the time) did to make our long distance relationship work. Okay men don’t throw up. Ladies, you’ll love this.

(All of these postcards arrived from San Francisco over a few days and I had to piece the message together.)

So you can see. He’s good. But I’ve got hundreds of stories. It got to the point where if one of our friends’ or colleagues’ significant others would do something nice for them, it was branded “a Joe thing.” (Cue opportunity light bulb.)

While we couldn’t clone Joe, we went to work brainstorming ways we could help men be more thoughtful. The deeper we went, the more we realized that it wasn’t just men who needed us. The fact is that most people mean well and have good intentions, but when it comes down to it, they’re just too busy to take action, they forget, or they just lack inspiration.

(Good use of household bathroom products and what a nice surprise to wake up to!)

We envisioned a gifting platform that could track all the people and occasions in life that needed to be celebrated; one that could offer timely reminders and tailored recommendations, so you’d never miss a moment and always get it right.

And that’s how Lily&Strum was born.

With development well underway and a passionate team behind us, we are on a mission to help everyone become the great gifter they always wanted to be. No more occasions sneaking up on you. No more endless searching. No more mediocre gifts.

Request and invite for a beta. Go ahead, they’ll love you for it.

Sincerely,

Traci (& Joe)

The post The Lily&Strum Story appeared first on Lily&Strum.

Gift Guides

We study what’s trending, read reviews, and stalk follow well-known style bloggers. We mine big retailer sites like Amazon and Nordstrom for hidden gems and seek out regional boutiques like TheShop in East Liberty(Pittsburgh, PA) or Firefly in Venice Beach, CA that offer unique inventory you can’t find anywhere else. We figure out who would love which gifts the most, and report our findings back to you. We do the work, and you get all the credit.

The Science of Gifting

Let’s be honest. Giving a good gift is hard. Giving a really awesome gift every time is nearly impossible. But we can help! We’ve got tons of experience and lots of advice to share. You may not always like what we say (it may hit a little too close to home), but our goal is to steer you a little closer to the impossible every time.

Curators’ Corner

This is just that. We feature our picks of the best gifts and the best boutiques each week. Call it “the Curator’s Corner,” but really it will be your weekly dose of “awesomeness” (and we don’t care if you claim them as your own!). 

And so much more.

For gift recommendations tailored especially for you and yours, request a Lily&Strum beta invite.

The post All T-h-i-n-g-s Gifting appeared first on Lily&Strum.