Austria Online Magazine x Skypod Founder and CEO Richard Jardine

1. Tell me about your goals for Skypod to expand its range in the future.

We have received a lot of positive feedback from people and organizations around the world. We are now working hard to implement even more ways for people to create and share Skypods with their loved ones. We are also working with organizations to bring digital time capsules to people in need around the world. Two of our fastest-growing geographical areas include Europe and South America, where we have seen a large increase in signups and usage.

2. How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the way people use Skypod?

During uncertain times like these, more people think about how life can change dramatically from one day to the next. That caused the number of people creating and sharing Skypods to surge during this pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic also inspired us to donate $3 Million of Skypod credits to the people around the world who are most impacted by the pandemic.

3. How does the $3 Million Skypod donation work?

Skypod’s $3 Million donation of Skypod credits is available worldwide, just like the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Each eligible person will receive $100 in Skypod credits to create Skypod digital time capsules for loved ones. Because Skypods starts at just $1.99, they can create a number of messages with these free credits. No credit card is needed, and there are no strings attached. All they need to do is sign up at www.Skypod.com/together.

While we have not set a specified end date, the credits will all have been distributed once the first 30,000 eligible people sign up. So, if you or someone you know is a police officer, doctor, nurse, healthcare worker, frontline workers, or coronavirus patient, encourage them to sign up as soon as possible.

4. Why did you decided to make the donation worldwide?

Skypod serves people all around the world so we are always looking to help people worldwide. With the pandemic having caused severe pain and suffering for so many people around the globe, too, we wanted to help as many people as possible.

In fact, we initially set the donation to be $1 Million in Skypod credits but the response was so positive that we increased it to $3 Million. Now, we can help up to 30,000 first responders, doctors, nurses and COVID-19 patients all around the world.

5. How easy is Skypod to use?

It’s extremely easy to use. Anyone around the world can fill and share a Skypod digital time capsule in just three simple steps.

First, you create a new time capsule and fill it with messages, images, or videos. It takes just a few clicks to fill your time capsule.

Second, you choose between one and one hundred recipients. All you need to do is enter their email addresses.

Third, you choose the date and time the recipients can open the time capsule, up to five years into the future, and click send.

That’s it. The recipients will receive an email right away letting them know you created a time capsule and when they can access it.

6. Once people use up their free credits, can it be refilled?

Yes, although because Skypods cost as little as $1.99, the free credits will let people create and send several digital time capsules for free. However, if someone wants to purchase additional Skypods, they can do so at any time.

7. Can Skypod’s digital time capsules be saved by the sender once the recipient receives them?

Yes, outgoing Skypods are automatically stored on the sender’s side until thirty days after the scheduled “open date” that the sender chose. We do offer additional storage plans if people want to take advantage of our secure, encrypted storage capabilities for a longer period of time.

8. What makes Skypod unique?

Our patent-pending technology allows Skypods to be delivered immediately to each and every recipient while also keeping the contents secure and encrypted until the time and date the sender chose, which can be up to five years in the future.

This allows senders to create several age-appropriate messages and make them viewable by a recipient over time. It also gives both senders and recipients peace of mind knowing their messages have been delivered and have an “open date” scheduled.

9. Tell our readers something that they should know about you as the founder of Skypod.

My business motto is to give, give, give, which I learned that from Oprah. Give, give, give, is now a core company value shared by my partners, too.

We want to help as many people as possible and are always looking for ways to help people create and share memories with people who matter to them. That’s why our pricing starts at just $1.99. It allows us to help a lot of people share and enjoy Skypods both during and after life.

However, as Skypod grew, we identified two groups of people we wanted to help even more. First, while we set our pricing low to enable as many people as possible to create digital time capsules for their loved ones, we know there are still many people who can’t afford to. Second, we wanted to help people who have been diagnosed with potentially terminal illnesses.

To help those people, we do two things. First, we partner with organizations to help us donate Skypod credits to people in those categories. Second, we donate Skypod credits to people in those categories who contact us directly. If you fall into either of those categories, email us at support@skypod.com and we will do our best to help you. Our customer support agents forward every donation request to me. I read every one personally and have never turned someone away.

People can follow Skypod on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter, and connect with us at www.Skypod.com. First responders, medical workers, and COVID-19 patients can visit www.Skypod.com/together to