During my senior year of college, I recognized that I had a passion for startups and education. I was in the midst of completing 5 years of undergrad in accounting and finance, but my amazing parents/family supported my decision to pursue an alternate path. I went on to learn to code and design and leave my highly sought after role at Ernst and Young to work at a startup.
From there, I went on to join a couple friends and launch a startup—an accelerator school for software engineers. We grew this company from just Austin to also be in San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles. After we expanded to new cities, we were acquired by a competitor for a multimillion dollar deal and were also invited to the White House to discuss the future of education.
Around the time of the acquisition, I unfortunately fell into a clinical depression. This was the first time in my life. I had barely any energy to even take a shower and I was having suicidal thoughts. It was miserable. Much of my social network was quite surprised to hear I was facing depression because historically I was always a high energy, social, and positive person. I later discovered that depression can hit anyone for reasons that can be beyond our conscious awareness. I luckily survived this depression. It lasted for about 6 months. I was then able to return back to the company that acquired us and continue working.
After not too long, I fell into another clinical depression and had to take a leave of absence from work. This pattern of falling into depression periodically unfortunately continues until this day which totals more than 6 years at this point. And to my awareness, I fall into depression quite randomly. I begin feeling good for months which includes me eating very clean and exercising, meditating, seeing friends and family, and sleeping regularly. Then all of a sudden I will wake up being like, “oh shit, I feel like off. I’m in a depression.”
Clinical depression for me is quite scary. Not only do I not have energy to get work done as well as social anxiety which keeps me very isolated, but I also have suicidal thoughts. I have had multiple close calls with committing suicide. It’s not a great feeling!
Now that I am currently out of a depression, I often think about and get asked, “how did you get out of your depression?” My answer is, “I don’t know. I simply survived it thanks to my inner strength and the support from my family and friends.
With the awareness of the importance of family and friends in my life, it was time to gift my 1.5 year old nephew for Christmas. One day, I was reading a simple picture book to him and thought I could make a simple picture book for my nephew but instead of dogs, cats, and giraffes, it could be a picture book of those closest to him, family and friends.From there, I used my design skills and My Family Book was born!
Books were given out to family and friends. The response was very encouraging, so Shaan and Hans decided to officially launch My Family Book.
How We Got Here
Founder’s Dream:
Family Books are designed to help your youngest family members learn who their family is. We worked with a team of experts to develop the concept for My Family Book. Books from My Family Book put an emphasis on the photos. Color schemes are selected carefully, based on the image, to be gentle on children’s eyes. We worked with children's optometrists and speech pathologists to ensure the pages are optimal for toddlers including - large fonts and image background removal to reduce distractions. The love of the family is instilled in us by nature and no one can take that from you. “My Family Book” is not just a product but a thoughtful & lasting keepsake that keeps you connected with your family and loved ones.When you purchase a Family Book, you preserve those precious moments of your youngest family members - that you can’t ever get back. Each Family Book is built to cherish forever. Our goal is to provide the highest quality photo books that not only kickstart young minds but also demonstrate the power of strong family connections.Family Books aim to reimagine picture books by transcending family and learning barriers. My Family Book is an exciting way to brighten learning skills of children, and awaken positive, loving, and critical relationships with family members. Each Family Book is guaranteed to supply heartwarming emotions and give a simple view of family relationships.Bad Days HappenMy Family Book has your back. Each book supports family relationships by introducing little ones to the most important people in their life. Children who have strong bonds with family and friends are better prepared to face life's challenges, have greater confidence, and fewer behavioral problems later in life. My Family Book is an educational tool with the laxity to improve verbal reasoning, sight recognition, and bonds with family and friends. Children are delighted to see themselves and those closest to them in their very own Family Book. Each page provides families with a sense of meaning and connection.Love, care, and attention to detail are at the center of everything we do at My Family Book.
They really love us
It took some time to receive our book in the mail (~2 weeks). But it was worth the wait, my daughter adores her Family Book.
Just ordered 8 books for my extended family! My first order was exactly what I was looking for. This is such a cool keepsake!
My families book came out beautifully, thank you!! The images really stand out compared to other board books we have ordered in the past.
It took some time to receive our book in the mail (~2 weeks). But it was worth the wait, my daughter adores her Family Book.