Our Story
We were the first generation to grow up with a phone in our hand. And we were the first to watch, in real time, what it quietly took.
- Four childhood friends
- Founded in college
- SparkLab 2025 winners
Let's be honest: either you're reading this on your phone right now, or it's somewhere close by, begging you to pick it up again. We know the feeling. As student-athletes, we barely had time to study, and every minute of it was a fight against the urge to reach for our phones.
But when we started thinking about our own screen time, we realized this was a much bigger issue than just losing a few hours of productivity; the truth was, we were losing friends, family members, and other people we cared about to their phones. Hanging out had started to mean scrolling together instead of being together. And there's nothing worse than talking to someone who won't look up from their screen. Someone who's decided, whether intentionally or not, that whatever is in their hand matters more than you.
This look familiar?
Separation used to be physical — an ocean, a time zone, a drive you kept meaning to make. Now it's digital. Two people can sit on the same couch and be further apart than two people on opposite sides of the planet. Same room, different worlds.
And this — this— is the problem that has been plaguing us these past few years. So with Tapd, that's what we built: a way to put the phone down…
About the founders
We're four childhood friends, just out of college, who have all struggled with phone distraction ourselves. Nothing out there was socially motivating enough to actually change how we used our phones, so we built the thing we wanted.
$20K
SparkLab 2025 winners, Union College
4
friends who built it for themselves first
One last thought
When it all boils down, this is what we truly believe in: get off your phone, read a book, spend time with people you care about. When your phone isn't taking up so much of your time, the world can be a pretty great place.
Sincerely,
The Tapd Team
Theo Goldman, Luke Randolph, Gavin Randolph, Theo Steiger
Get off your phone.
Read a book. Spend time with people you care about. The world is a pretty great place when your phone isn't taking up so much of it.