What Wishly is
A Wishly is a small gift with a built-in screen, filled with personal messages written by the giver. One press of the button shows today’s message, and every 24 hours a new one unlocks, for up to 14 days.
It’s for the moments when one card isn’t enough: cheering someone up through a tough time, counting down to a birthday, or letting a new family know you’re thinking of them.
The products
- WensBloem: a flower that gives a new wish every day, as a pick-me-up or a countdown.
- WensBeer: a teddy bear for new parents, with up to two weeks of wishes.
- WensBoom: a Christmas tree ornament for the dark days around Christmas and New Year.
Wishly also supplies companies, with wishes from colleagues instead of a gift card, and with the company’s own branding on request.
How it works
- The giver writes 3 to 14 personal wishes and uploads them to their account.
- Wishly programs the wishes into the device and delivers it on the chosen day.
- The recipient presses the button once every 24 hours to read the next message.
My role
I co-founded Wishly with Carmen, whom I met at Frisse Blikken. Carmen is the creative lead: she designs how every product looks and feels. I’m the technical lead: I taught myself printed circuit boards, electronics and firmware, and built the hardware and software that make each Wishly work.
It started as a gift for one friend and a prototype on the attic desk in Utrecht. It grew into a real company that ships products to customers, from the idea through prototypes to production, which is exactly what I now do for clients.