Most Social

Corey Grayhorse

Image you or a loved one is serving in the military overseas, and missing the folks back home. Text message and Skype are two of the easiest and most preferred ways to stay connected these days, but each has its limitations: text messages are convenient, but short and a bit impersonal; Skype is wonderfully personal, but must be carefully scheduled. Ava Martinelli has created a third option that combines the best of both: FaceMessage is an ad-free app that allows users (of iPhones or iPads) to send video messages of up to three minutes, as well as share them on social media. Think of it as Skype without the scheduling – you can record your message now, send it instantly, and when the recipient has some free time, they can watch it and respond. “For military families, this app will be a great way to communicate back and forth without relying on live face-to-face communication or connections,” says Martinelli. The app was launched in earnest this past March, after an initial launch that led her to go back to the lab and improve the functionality, and it now boasts over 3000 users in more than 27 countries. But Martinelli, who dreamed of being an entrepreneur since age six and owned a mortgage company for 20 years before selling it in 2008, won’t stop there. “Obtaining a minimum of 1 million users is the goal,” she declares, adding, “and endless ideas await for additional apps.”