As rising stars in the tech world, our Ambassadors of the Week are Tommy Stadlen and Frederick Blackford, who represent the United Kingdom. They are co-founders of the imaging app, Polaroid Swing.
Swing combines photo and video to create an engaging, animated photo-viewing experience. At the rate of 60 frames per second, the app captures a quick, soundless video which converts into a one second snapshot. A selection of filters is offered, and once the photo is posted, users can scrub through the image by either tilting their phone from side to side or using their finger, giving movement and life to the photo. Inspired by the original Polaroid brand, the images have the inherent look and feel of its iconic quality.
The two British entrepreneurs have not only bought the name’s licensing rights from the firm which owns Polaroid, but they have garnered investment from the firm itself. Swing has the backing of Twitter co-Founder, Biz Stone, who acts as Chairman as well as creative direction from Cole Rose, designer of Instagram’s early filters and its logo.
At the 2015 Bangkok Summit, Tommy and Frederick hosted a Special Session, Ambassadors in Action: Polaroid, during which they presented their app to a global audience. Swing has gained serious media traction, having been featured in Wired, Independent, Fortune and DailyMail.
Tommy, now a tech entrepreneur, is a former McKinsey consultant and author of Sunday Times Bestseller, Connect: How Companies Succeed by Engaging Radically With Society. Frederick is actively involved with Kickstart, an award-winning social enterprise that aims to lift millions of people in Africa out of poverty cost effectively and sustainably.
