CO-FOUNDER BRETT KOPF'SJOURNEY TO SUCCESS WITH REMIND AND OMELLA

Brett Kopf during interview with Fernette and Brock

“…Can I just start off by making a blanket statement that I think dyslexia can be such a gift?”

— Brett Kopf

 

Brett Kopf is co-founder of Remind and Omella, two companies that grew out of his interest in solving problems that mission-driven organizations and schools face.

Brett’s path from struggling in school and spending almost every day in the principal’s office, to difficulty deciding on a career path in college (agriculture?) seem disconnected to his remarkable success as a business co-founder, but there were signs of his talents even as a child.

Brett remember enjoying talking to his principal, and in his job today he likes talking to customers and figuring out what they need and then brainstorming about how what he could create could solve their problems.

A lot of people don’t like customer service because they might hear a lot of complaints and that can be exhausting – but if you are a problem solver, listening to customers all day long can also give you a lot of ideas about what your next product or business could be.

Brett describes Remind as a company that would result if Venmo, GoFundme, Google Forms, and DocuSign had a baby. Schools, parents, students, administrators, and now tutors need to be able to communicate securely and exchange money – and Remind was designed for that – and in an uncomplicated user interface. Maybe the secret behind its successful design is that it was designed by a dyslexic!

While the idea for Remind sounds pretty simple, its design is so user-friendly and helpful, it spread by word of mouth and today, remarkably, 80% of teachers use it.

Brock recently introduced me to Omella. It could save non-profits — like Dyslexic Advantage, schools, religious institutions, and small business — thousands of dollars each year. The principle is that for something like a donation, 3% credit card fees are waived and donors are given the option of providing Omella with a tip over their donation amount if they choose to. It has the potential to be win win because charities get more of their donation and donors don’t get charged extra unless they opt to give a tip to Omella for providing the service.

It’s a a creative idea for a company – and it’s easy to set up. It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles that more established platforms have, but if your needs are simple, it just might be a good fit.

Watch Brett’s interview with us below!

 

 

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