Before Heylo arrived in 2019, group organizers faced all the daunting logistics of running a community. They had to juggle everything across disparate channels like WhatsApp groups, Facebook events, and payment platforms. Often, they found themselves in a “policing” role chasing membership payments and verifying signups.
The tide began to turn when Eric Winters, struggling to find his community in San Francisco, noticed the absence of an online space where meaningful groups could stay connected. This observation sparked the genesis of Heylo, conceived by Eric along with co-founder Brandon Pearcy as a mobile app designed to simplify community management. Heylo’s vision was simple: To transform community leadership into a joy, not a time drain. And to ensure the financial sustainability of in-person groups. By automating payment reminders, Heylo takes the burden off leaders, allowing them to focus on more crucial tasks. It consolidates all communication and monetization efforts onto one single platform, simplifying the process for everyone involved.
It all started with in-app messages, but eventually, Eric and Brandon wanted to take it further. Emails were a guaranteed channel to reach every member, every time. If Heylo could integrate group leaders’ app messages with email notifications, it would be even easier for communities to stay in sync.
This is where Brevo came in. Just like Heylo’s own all-in-one approach, Brevo offered a comprehensive suite of tools on one single platform. The Heylo team could invest in both transactional and marketing emails, along with automation tools and other functionalities later down the line.
Eric said, “The ability to have one place for customer touchpoints is great. We have one consolidated view. This has been super valuable for us, particularly as a young company. We don’t have all the time and resources in the world, and Brevo is the solution that meets our needs.”