EverPresent working to preserve memories, fight digital clutter

WARWICK – When Eric S. Niloff came across his 91-year-old grandfather’s collection of World War II-era photographs, he and his wife took it upon themselves to organize and preserve them for their family.
“It took literally over 100 hours. We said, ‘Why isn’t there a real company that will actually work with families to secure their history?’” Niloff said in a recent interview.
And that’s how they got the idea for their business, EverPresent.
Now two years old, the company is headquartered in Newton, Mass. and has a production facility in Watertown, Mass. In October, EverPresent expanded to the Warwick Mall, partnering with Portrait Simple to help families digitize, organize and archive photographs, videos and letters. Custom websites and books also are some of the services they offer.
He explained that moving into the Rhode Island market made sense because many of their customers were from the Ocean State.
“We had so many clients from Rhode Island that were finding us on Google and other ways and were having to drive up here,” Niloff said.
So they searched for a partner, and found that in Portrait Simple, which is staffed by professional photographers. The company also has a consultant in Rhode Island, Daniella Giorgio, to work with clients.
“Daniella has a passion for family photographs and an impressive background in marketing, event planning and customer service,” Niloff said. “We can’t wait to see what she helps local families create.”
Consultations also are available in Newton, and by appointment at the drop-off location at Portrait Simple.
“We’re like any other business – we are always happy to take walk-ins – but strongly prefer appointments so we can give the best possible service,” he said.
He said customers’ needs vary.
“If it has to do with family memories we can help,” Niloff said, adding they can transfer video cassette to DVD, perform photograph restoration and digitize photographs.
Niloff, who runs the business with his wife Jennifer, has 47 employees. They also have another Portrait Simple partnership at the West Farms Mall in Hartford, Conn. They previously worked on national Democratic political campaigns – Eric Niloff was a speechwriter for former U.S. Sen. John Kerry.
The company recently closed its second round of angel investment, bringing its total current investment to $1.2 million. Investors include former Facebook executive Chris Kelly, former Reebok CEO Frank O’Connell and Bessemer Venture Capital partner Chris Gabrieli.
EverPresent staff will even visit clients in their homes. Some people have too much material to bring to one of EverPresent’s locations, he said.
“We have clients that spend tens of thousands of dollars … Sometimes they are making a copy for their whole family,” Niloff said. “Yes, we are a tech company but really we’re most interested in advising families … We give guidance on how to preserve history, whether that mean we’re doing all the work for people or a piece of it.”
“Some people just scan everything. Some people bring us 10,000 photos and have us pick the best. We do the same thing for digital photos by helping people become digitally organized. Some people have 500,000 photos on their computer,” he said.
He said people can become overwhelmed by the amount of digital clutter they own.
“They’re completely stressed out by something that is supposed to be fun,” he said. “We take care of it for them.”

Niloff said options for preserving material wealth are abundant through local insurance agents, estate planners and investment advisors. “But when it comes to preserving irreplaceable memories and stories, that level of service has been nonexistent,” he added. “We’re changing that, and we’re honored to help families with these important projects.”

For information about EverPresent, visit everpresentonline.com/.

No posts to display