• Memmo.me, a Swedish rival to greetings app Cameo, has been growing rapidly during the pandemic.
  • Celebrities using the platform have been earning more than $20,000 a month as its popularity grows.
  • Sales grew by over 50% every month between July 2020 and January 2021, Insider understands.
  • See more stories on Insider's business page.

Memmo.me, a Swedish rival to greetings app Cameo, has been growing rapidly during the pandemic.

The startup, founded in 2019, operates a video platform where users can pay for video messages from their favorite celebrities.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been an accelerant to the business, given high-profile professionals have been unable or unwilling to engage in regular work. Some celebrities using the Memmo platform have been earning more than $20,000 a month as its popularity grows, Insider understands.

The startup's sales grew by over 50% every month between July 2020 and January 2021, Memmo.me's CEO Gustav Lundberg Toresson told Insider. Users can go to the Memmo website, find a celebrity on the platform in their price bracket,  send a request, and a few days later your Memmo is sent by SMS or email. 

The business is betting on its local approach to win business. Memmo.me tends to focus on local markets to pick up regionally popular names who tend to have a stronger audience.

Some popular recent examples include Cyrell Paule from "Married at First Sight Australia" , American actress Tori Spelling, British TV legend Paul Chuckle. and cult favorite English soccer player Jimmy Bullard. Recent additions also include former Liverpool, Real Madrid and Manchester United player Michael Owen.

Michael Owen Memmo
Michael Owen.
Memmo

"The pandemic accelerated the shift to digital for celebrities and creators," Lundberg Toresson told Insider. "Suddenly, public figures were confined to their own homes, unable to go and meet fans at Comic-Con, or share their experiences on the after-dinner speaking circuit. But on Memmo.me, demand has soared because fans are able to connect with their heroes in a digital, yet genuinely personal, way." 

Earlier this year, the startup raised a $10 million Series A to continue operating in markets like Sweden, Germany, Finland, Norway, the UK, Spain, Italy, and Canada.

US rival Cameo has been more cash-hungry by comparison. The company is in talks for a new $100 million fundraiser at a unicorn valuation, per Bloomberg.

Toresson is no stranger to entrepreneurship and founded his first company aged 18. However, the inspiration to build more came from a dinner he had in the US with friends, which was interrupted by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who left a lasting impression on the Swede.

To date, more than 100,000 video greetings have been created by more than 5,000 creators on the platform.

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