The Future of Kinnection

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Welcome to the Business Gay podcast where we talk about all things business, marketing and entrepreneurship. I’m your host, Calan Breckon. And on today today’s episode, I have founder and CEO of KINNECT, Omar Alvaresz. KINNECT is a platform dedicated to preserving memories and relationships through digital and physical experiences. With a background in major global brands and a personal drive to combat loneliness, Omar’s focus is on building meaningful connections and empowering people to celebrate their legacies. Omar’s passion for storytelling originated from various instances of loss in his own life. His grandfather’s battle with Alzheimer’s and losing his friend to leukemia. In losing both his grandfather and friend, he knew there was a need for KINNECT, not only for them, but for their families. KINNECT is not just Omar’s latest venture. It reflects his life’s work to bring people together one story at a time.

I’m excited to chat with Omar about KINNECT and the future of connection. So let’s jump in.

Hey, Omar, welcome to the podcast. How are you doing today?

[00:01:44] Omar Alvaresz: Hey, I’m doing well. Thank you so much for having me. And hello to everyone listening.

[00:01:48] Calan Breckon: Yeah, I’m really excited to jump in with you. So how about we just start off with tell us a little bit about what KINNECT is.

[00:01:55] Omar Alvaresz: Yeah. KINNECT is a brand and with two products that we’ve built that helps people connect over their memories. So think about what are the things that you would like to preserve of your family and your friends and also what’s a newer way to engage with them.

[00:02:09] Calan Breckon: Perfect. And KINNECT is spelled with a K, not a C, just right there With Kinect offers both digital app and physical storybooks, which I found extremely interesting. And I was like, oh, I like that. How do you see the interplay between these two mediums, enhancing family connections and.

[00:02:29] Calan Breckon: Preserving memories across generations?

[00:02:32] Omar Alvaresz: Yeah, great question.

The first one is, I think a lot of us, when we think about our Friends or family, our grandparents. It’s not that we don’t want to connect with them, but we often find ourselves quite busy dealing with the mundane parts of life, like do going to work or relationship stuff. Maybe it’s a proximity thing or a sentiment or tone difference because of the cultural differences.

So I look at KINNECT is kind of coming in and instead of giving open forum spaces like LinkedIn or Facebook, where you jump in and you have to think about what story to post or what dinner item you’re eating or what post to comment on, it’s actually like we encourage a person to reflect on a personalized question.

So a question that we think that would get you or me to respond. And then part of the equation also in that, in the technology, is that we also measure if the family and their friends engage with it, if they like that to also comment. And like, our goal is to really think about, like, how to drive, like, meaningful conversation and engagement with friends and family. Where I think a lot of, like, what we’re exposed to today is just more about, like, sharing very frivolous updates, things that don’t really matter when you, like when you really sit down and talk to someone, like face to face.

So, yeah, that’s how we’re kind of looking at using our products to digitally connect. And then for the book component of it, how do we then like, memorialize or celebrate our lives, our stories, in ways that kind of fall into like Mother’s Day or Father’s Day holidays. These moments where we really want to celebrate those stories, like in a physical, tangible way. So really kind of see them supporting one another.

[00:04:09] Calan Breckon: Yeah, this really got me excited, actually, because my grandma is 94, so I mean, she’s still going strong, but she’s very most definitely clearly closer to the.

[00:04:20] Calan Breckon: End of her life.

[00:04:21] Calan Breckon: And I was thinking about this in terms of being able to take time with her and create a space with her where maybe we get together a number of times where I ask a bunch of questions and a bunch of things about her life to maybe put into this storybook and then preserve that and be able to like, gift that to like, cousins and family so that we have the story of my grandma.

[00:04:44] Calan Breckon: And my grandpa who already did pass.

[00:04:46] Calan Breckon: Away, but preserve that story for next generations or for my nieces and nephews who are still too young to really quite comprehend anything to have that.

So could you tell me a little bit more about that storybook process and what you’ve seen with it and how you’ve used them?

[00:05:05] Omar Alvaresz: Yeah, I think when it Comes to a making a book about your life or even a vacation book, there’s so much complexity that goes into it. A the organization of it all. Be like, how do, how does it look like? Does it make me want to reopen the book? I hope, right, because you put all this effort into it. And I think when we’re looking at building our process in KINNECT, we are launching right now of a desktop experience that’s live and getting ready to launch a mobile version. But the way we really thought about it is how do we make it so easy that someone that’s looking to write their life story only has to focus on three items? Which I know sounds kind of weird, but we really can do that.

So the first thing is the person joins and decides what book length they want to start with. And then from there the first thing they have to do is decide if they want to answer a question that they can put together or they can use one of our thousands of questions. From there, then they go into the page design they want to design and write within. And then three they go in and actually start putting it together, Upload a picture to fulfill that story. Or if they’re going to write and just do a longer form story, they can.

We also have some pretty freaking cool things to it. Like you can use voice to text if you just prefer to speak about the story versus typing it. And another element that makes me quite emotional is like, how do you really bring this book to life? And so we added QR codes. So if the person like your grandmother wants to add a QR code to that page and add a video or add a voice note to that page, they can.

And that way like in five years, 10 years, or you’re talking about your like cousins or nieces, grants, like whatever it might be, who don’t really realize these stories impact us yet. When they hear that voice and be like, whoa, that’s like, it really does add a layer to that, to that page. So that’s like how we’ve really built the experience to like start with the question, pick your design, and then write within and then repeat until you’re done. And that’s it. There’s like nothing more, nothing less in there.

[00:07:02] Calan Breckon: That’s amazing. I almost got a little teary eyed. I was like, okay, so it has a lot of prompts in there that can help guide you through those questions. So it’s not like you coming up with these questions yourself, which I’m sure I have a ton of curiosities I have about my grandma’s life that I would be asking, but there are prompts that kind of take you through and you can do it as much as you want or as little as you want. Is there like a size limit where it’s like, okay, this book is getting crazy long. Like we need to like play within the realm we are.

[00:07:32] Omar Alvaresz: Our biggest item on there I think is 400 pages.

And I know it is jaw dropping long, like who has that much to say and high key. Once that person, the first person that I get that asks for more, that person is going to be memorialized. I connect. I can’t wait to celebrate that person. But yeah, right now Our highest is 400 pages. It is jaw dropping. But if you really think about someone’s life who’s, who’s not to say that 400 is not even enough. Right, right.

[00:08:01] Calan Breckon: So digitally, obviously it’s going to be worldwide and everywhere. With the physical book, are you starting just with the US or Canada or is it international? How does that work?

[00:08:11] Omar Alvaresz: Thanks for asking. That is a big component of what makes me so freaking excited about what I’m building. When my grandfather was diagnosed with dementia and we were looking for something for him to start saving his memories before it progressed where he couldn’t, we were only able to find products and brands that were saying it’s for the family. But then you go into it and you realize that they’re talking about English speaking families in the US only.

So my grandfather, he’s native from Puerto Rico, he only speaks Spotlight, spoke Spanish and when he passed away, all his memories kind of faded with him. So at KINNECT, it’s really important to me as a queer first gen Latino to really think about how to build inclusivity from the forefront. So even though we’re entering a very competitive market which with existing legacy brands for the physical book, we’re the first ones that have beautiful designs. A, like we’re coming incorrect and then two, we’re also offering English and Spanish to start and have built technology. So if someone’s asking for a different language, we can quickly work on implementing that language for that person upon ask.

So we’re really, really excited about the book. Already coming into the product, into the space, having a sign of like, hey, we’re here to make impact from the get go and being inclusive from that start.

[00:09:29] Calan Breckon: Nice. And what about like international shipping if somebody like has wants it in Canada or what have you? Like, I know there’s a lot of stuff going on with tariffs. So have you run into any kind of issues around the physical Storybook with what’s going on currently.

[00:09:46] Omar Alvaresz: So the beautiful part about the book is since it is web based, meaning that anyone across the world can log in and start working on their book. The second component is how we’ve partnered with a publisher to do this. So the unique part is every single person that orders a book, without them realizing it, they’re actually ordering from someone local.

So there’s someone that that publisher has partnered with and it’s in the area of either your city or your state. So that way, like if, if I’m printing in Chicago, requesting in Chicago, I can probably most likely have a printer ship from Chicago. To me, it’s not always the case, but that’s like the, the benefit of finding a partner that has these like really strong relationships.

[00:10:29] Calan Breckon: That’s freaking amazing because you’re supporting local business, which is so important to me as a small business owner, and supporting small businesses, that actually gets me really, really excited.

In, in a world dominated by social media, you know, everybody’s on it, the tiktoks all of all the time. How does KINNECT differentiate itself to fostering genuine connections rather than that kind of superficial interaction we experience quite often? Although I will say TikTok is a lot more genuine than I would have believed before I got on the app. But after being on the app, it, it does have a genuine interaction component to it. But I’m curious how you’re doing that at KINNECT.

[00:11:08] Omar Alvaresz: Yeah, I think every app has its, like, has its space, its place, if you will. I love my TikTok. I get on there and I know that I’m gonna be like freaking out to a RuPaul like episode recap of something I just watch and. Or a really cool trend that’s happening. But at the same time, when I think about the functional capacity of family and what that means, like what application on my phone really fulfills the purpose of family. I think of Google as like their search behaviors. TikTok as more like content entertainment. I look as Facebook and Meta becoming more social commerce. And I see Connect kind of fulfilling that same line of thinking, but focus on family.

And the beautiful part about how I’m building it is like when you, when you start a KINNECT app right now on the Apple Store, the user has to create a group and then have to decide who comes into the group. So we’re starting with privacy from the get go. And then from there the experiences that we provide in the product, like daily reflections or micro books to kind of capture your current space and reflection. And you can decide if you want to share that with those individual groups or the larger KINNECT community.

So we’re kind of giving people, like, A, the authority to decide who they want to share content with, and then B, we’re also allowing them to define who comes into their groups. There’s a ton of, like, other optimizations that we have coming up in play. Even, like, a partnership with an architect that works at Google to help us think about, like, more voice, directive, interview style, things that can drive connection.

But, yeah, we just kind of think that we’re looking at focusing on privacy and focusing on vulnerability.

I think. I think you and I can probably, like, think about queer spaces. And when you feel really vulnerable and open and comfortable in a queer space, there’s something really beautiful about those feelings. And if we can make the product feel that way, where someone who is transitioning and is sharing their daily reflection with their parents five states away, they’re not able to, like, let’s say, be there for them, but they’re able to kind of have a different way of engaging with them on a daily basis.

Seeing their face share, like, a meaningful reflection or thoughts, versus, like, seeing a really weird curated Instagram post of something that is more politically based or something.

[00:13:24] Calan Breckon: Yeah, definitely. And I also like the. The group aspect of you can also have, like, your chosen family group. It’s not just necessarily your family being part of the LGBTQ community. For both of us, it’s having that chosen family option where it’s like, okay, this is my safe group of people that we want to have those deep connections with, because you don’t have that with all of your friends. But there is that kind of core group sometimes where it’s like, let’s create the space for us so that, you know, later on we could keep these memories and maybe print books and stuff about our friendships together and our relationships together. And that’s really great.

[00:13:57] Omar Alvaresz: Yeah. I don’t know how you feel about the term code switching. I know it could be looked at as, like, horrible, especially, like, in a workplace environment.

[00:14:05] Calan Breckon: But it’s a fact.

[00:14:08] Omar Alvaresz: I think, like, social groups, like, if I think of my fraternity brothers versus my queer spaces, like, these are relationships that I still value and think they’re my part of my chosen family. But it’s not like I’m responding and talking about the same topics in each one. And that’s how I look at memory sharing and memory reflections. Like, there are things that you want to tell everyone and then things you want to tell certain groups. And, like, maybe your future family thread, if your cousin’s growing up in it, maybe they shouldn’t know about the things you’re doing, you know. So I think like having authority of who to connect and share things with and knowing it’s going to be stored and organized. So that way someone in five years or 10 years almost has like this Netflix repository of your life, of your reflections and how they decide to use it for grieving or connecting. There’s just so much usage for it in a really beautiful way that’s thoughtful and not just like friend based or you know, showing off.

[00:14:59] Calan Breckon: Definitely I love that. How are you, you know, because KINNECTs focus on the emotional well being side and family and connections. How are you approaching marketing to ensure that the message really resonates without feeling hyper commercialized in today’s hyper commercialized world.

[00:15:18] Omar Alvaresz: Yeah, it’s coming across in different layers of the business.

The first thing we want to do is like not be like using scare tactics. I think a lot of big companies and generally a lot of folks try to think about the easy way into in their terms acquire a customer. So they almost look at let’s say what’s called inflection points. What are the reasons someone might search for your product and then start making all these like landing pages and marketing gimmicks to like fulfill that need? I’m trying to avoid that and say like we are built for like the purpose of humanity, of connection and belonging and I hope that our services and features and even our physical product focus on stories kind of proves that.

So I think right now when we think about marketing and coming across, it’s really leaning into cultural marketing. So how do we lean into the culturals and traditions a lot of our ethnic groups kind of maintain as part of why they’re so excited about legacy components or two. How do we think about using marketing to be really honest about like why it’s so freaking hard to connect with friends and family and like it’s so interesting how many of us think about like man, I wish I talked to my mom or cousin or friend more. But then when you, when you think about it versus actioning on it, there’s very little that us of us actually do it. So I think a lot of like what I’m hoping for is our marketing comes across as really inspirational, really much of a reminder. It’s not being like product focused only. It’s really thinking about like how do you be impactful in what we’re communicating? Almost like Nike back in the day is like Nike today is different. We, I think we can all Nod our heads. They’ve had such a fricking change in their behavior. And when I interned and started working there, my first job, I remember coming up beforehand as like using their, their ads as like part of like what I would bring to school is being inspired to be a better athlete. You know, I don’t think that they’re not doing that anymore. I don’t think a lot of people are looking to Nike ads and being inspired to change or do something. And that’s what I’m hoping that I get to build a connect is how do I create that sense of reflection and probably being scary, but just being normal. The our time here on earth and what a relationship feels and means.

[00:17:27] Calan Breckon: Like, yeah, I think you’re coming in right at the perfect time because the world is going through a very interesting shift right now and like we probably will be for the next five or 10 years. But I see this shift very much moving back towards community and relationships and like genuine relationships with humans and humanity. Whereas like the hyper commercialized western version of society is so individualized. I think we’re now coming back to a collective. And so I think that this is definitely perfect timing for, for all of that coming together. For sure.

[00:18:02] Omar Alvaresz: I don’t know if you saw this article, but maybe the folks out here too, but there was this really interesting article that cited Mark Zuckerberg says that social media is dead. And I found that to be so funny because I think the person who originally tried to create social networking fell into social commerce to focus on capitalistic behaviors versus like the things that really matter to a relationship or connection kind of saying that. So I think we are at a time where people are, especially the young folks that I get to meet, they are like anti meta. They’re looking for alternatives. They’re looking for more privacy. Privacy is a luxury these days.

And I think we’re coming in this new time where Bad Bunny, the number one global search artist, especially on the male side, right, is talking about saving his memories and stories of the Puerto Rican history. And that was his entire thesis of his album this year and starting to Coliseum and worldwide tour drawing billions. That’s his entire album is focusing on that reminder that as Latinos, as people call us queer folks, we got to like lean into our people, lean into our stories and our community.

So I agree there’s this, this moment happening.

[00:19:11] Calan Breckon: Yeah, it’s. It’s definitely the perfect moment for it. Okay, let’s wrap things up with what’s an exciting milestone coming up for you or something exciting coming up for you that we can look forward to in the near future.

[00:19:23] Omar Alvaresz: We are expanding our digital product to live on Android and web so it’ll be joining the same systems as our storybook experience and that’s going to allow us to a reach a global audience, have multiple languages. So we’re taking this like small idea product that’s on the Apple Store that we do love. But we have been working on these really, really cool updates knowing that we’re about to be multiplatform and really fulfill. Like when we say family that doesn’t mean just like the US Based family. It’s like family means those are for me in Guatemala or Puerto Rico, etc.

[00:19:56] Calan Breckon: Nice. Amazing. Where can folks find out more, download the app, get in touch.

[00:20:03] Omar Alvaresz: Yeah KINNECT.club and KINNECT is KINNECT in perfect.

[00:20:10] Calan Breckon: And I’ll make sure to have all those links in the show notes for everybody who’s listening. Omar, this has been a fantastic conversation. I’m really excited for this and honestly I’m going to be looking at it for my grandma because like time’s getting, time’s getting short. So thank you so much for coming on and sharing today.

[00:20:27] Omar Alvaresz: Yeah, thank you for having me and thanks all. Looking forward.

[00:20:30] Calan Breckon: Thanks for tuning in today. Don’t forget to hit that subscribe button. And if you really enjoyed today’s episode, I would love to love a star rating from you. The Business Gay podcast is written, produced and edited by me, Calan Breckon. That’s it for today. Peace, love, rainbows.