In late 2016, while sitting in a bar with some friends, we were talking about some of the cool stories people in our families had and how much times have changed for our grandparent, parents, and even within our own lives. We realized that so many stories get lost through time and how sad it is that, in another decade, some stories from early in the 20th century will be completely lost.

It was from this realization that The Autobiography Project was born. We wanted to create a way to allow anyone and everyone to document their stories and leave their little mark in the history books.

Phase 1

Like any new startup idea, the first step is to test the idea and see if there’s product-market fit. In this case, see if people are even interested in the project and sharing their story.

We decided to execute by creating a simple survey, asking both high-level and detailed questions about a person’s life. The results of this survey will give us some more insight into the type of person that’s more likely to contribute as well as how much they’re willing to share.

Ready to be a part of the project? Take the survey yourself.

Phase 2

Once we’ve collected enough responses to feel like we’re getting somewhere, we’ll begin building a back-end platform to support the project at larger scale. This includes:

• The initial questionnaire
• Managing user accounts
• Managing the network of people
• Automated emails requesting updates throughout a person’s life

We’ll likely expand the main website some more, making it more functional, descriptive, and leading into the backend platform, giving users better ability to edit and submit their life stories.

Phase 3

As the project expands even further and our network of autobiographies increases, we want to build a fully searchable site. Think Ancestry.com, but with peoples’ life stories. Want to read about your great uncle 50 years ago? Want to see random stories for people who experienced a world even first-hand? Our vision includes making these stories accessible to the masses, linked to other people, events, and time periods.

Who are we?

We’re a small team of people, based in Phoenix, AZ who want to do our best to preserve the stories of others.

Carissa Schultz

Connect: Instagram, Website

Kirk Morales

Connect: Twitter, Instagram, Website

How you can help

1. Participate in Phase 1: fill out our survey and document your life story.
2. Follow us on Twitter: @autobioproject
3. Join our mailing list
4. Spread the word! In order for Phase 1 to be successful, we need to first build a database of life stories.
5. No pressure, but if you feel compelled, please donate to our cause, either with cash or in kind services. At this point, all donations will be put toward technology/operating expenses, as well as spreading the word about our cause and project. We don’t have a formal avenue for donating, but if you’d like to, please reach out via Twitter.