A Boston-based startup is taking the hassle — but not the personal touch — out of greeting card shopping.
Significard, which launched in January, is a subscription service that automatically mails personalized greeting cards to a user’s friends and family. The company created a quiz to match recipients with greeting cards that fit their interests, said Ekaterina Taunova, co-founder and CEO.
The cards are sourced from independent artists, and most are made from 100% recycled materials.
Taunova said she started Significard for millennials who want to connect with loved ones, without the time-consuming experience of browsing for the perfect card.
“Whenever you go to the store or browse online, there’s too many choices. And none of them really fit the story between you and the receiver,” Taunova said.
To narrow down those choices, subscribers take a quiz for each recipient and note the birthdays and holidays they’d like to send cards for in their account. Significard sends reminders and card recommendations in advance of these special occasions.
At any time, Significard has around 2,000 cards for its algorithm to choose from. However, there is still some personalization involved in the card selection. The platform selects 10 cards for each recipient, and a member of Significard’s team chooses three for the subscriber to pick from.
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Significard has three subscription levels: Five cards a year for $11.99 per card; 10 cards a year for $8.99 per card; and 20 cards a year for $6.99 per card. A one-time card order costs $13.99.
The startup has come a long way since 2020 when Taunova began experimenting with an idea for a greeting card business. At the time, Taunova was a systems analyst at the Joslin Diabetes Center. She was also an artist and loved making cards for her colleagues and friends. To test the interest in a personalized greeting card business, she hand-made each card order.
After hitting 50 subscribers, Taunova realized this was not sustainable. She brought on Nicholas Kridler as co-founder and chief technology officer to automate the card matching process, and she started connecting with local artists.
Since launching in mid-January, Significard hit 200 subscribers without spending money on promotions, Taunova said. By June, she hopes to reach 10,000 subscribers by investing in marketing efforts.
Significard raised a pre-seed family and friends round in November 2020. Taunova declined to share the details. She said the startup plans to open a seed round in April.
As Significard continues to grow, Taunova said the startup’s mission will remain the same.
“The main mission is to spread significance,” Taunova said. “It was about helping people feel valued and connected on a deeper level. This is one of the main reasons why we’re keeping physical greeting cards instead of digital, is that feeling of receiving that physical card with a handwritten note.”
