USN Can Sandboxx be helpful at Navy OCS?

[Sandboxx]

Hi All,

Sam @Sandboxx here - curious if our app could be helpful for Navy OCS.

What is Sandboxx? We are a mobile app company who's mission is to better connect our military community. We have started with connecting today's smart phone users with their loved ones while they are away from their phone, such as basic training and OCS environments. The app lets you write a letter from your phone. We then turn it into a physical letter and send it same day. Best thing about the letters is that we include a pre-stamped and addressed return envelope and writing paper with every letter you send. All the recipient needs is a pen or pencil to return the letter. I will put a video link below.

We are sending 100's of letters each week to USMC OCS and we have started to get questions regarding if Sandboxx would work for Navy OCS. We think so, but we wanted to ask some pros who know Navy OCS better than we do. We also had a few 100 letters go to the Naval Academy during their plebe summer two months ago, so we know the cadets liked it.

Thanks for the support and helping us with this. I also attached a PDF so you can get a better view of how it works best.

Link to the Sandboxx Letters video:

Link to download the app: https://www.sandboxx.us/app

Regards,

Sam

 

[picklesuit]

How much would your company charge/letter and how much reverts to profit?
Pickle

 

[Sandboxx]

Pickle, the app is free to download and we give everyone their first letter free. It costs us roughly $1.50 to produce each letter (2 stamps, paper, tech and printing). We charge $3 per letter if you by a single, but you can buy them in bulk for $2 per letter. Right now we give a % of letter revenue away to a few charities that is branch specific allocated. For example, in a day if we get 20 letters for the Air Force, 50 for the Marines, and 30 for the Navy, we split this into 20% for Air force Wing Moms, 50% for Marines and Micky, and 30% for the Navy. We are currently evaluating Navy 501c3s for our Navy allocation (open to some ideas).

A little more than you asked for...

 

[Renegade One]

Um…you need a smartphone to write and send a letter? Something here I obviously don't understand, which is increasingly the norm...

 

[picklesuit]

Pickle, the app is free to download and we give everyone their first letter free. It costs us roughly $1.50 to produce each letter (2 stamps, paper, tech and printing). We charge $3 per letter if you by a single, but you can buy them in bulk for $2 per letter. Right now we give a % of letter revenue away to a few charities that is branch specific allocated. For example, in a day if we get 20 letters for the Air Force, 50 for the Marines, and 30 for the Navy, we split this into 20% for Air force Wing Moms, 50% for Marines and Micky, and 30% for the Navy. We are currently evaluating Navy 501c3s for our Navy allocation (open to some ideas).

A little more than you asked for...

Exactly what I asked for. Thanks for the response and the transparency.
Pickle

 

[nnneyugn]

Um…you need a smartphone to write and send a letter? Something here I obviously don't understand, which is increasingly the norm...

From what I understand (@ 1:11 mark of the video explains), your SO is the one with the smartphone. The picture is sent to the people at sandbox where they print and process the letter to the person on the otherside (deployed or has no access to email, phone, etc).

Edit: I understand your comment. I think sandbox is like a third party who handles everything for you. You just take the picture and pay for the service without stopping your day.

 

[picklesuit]

If you need another 501c3 to donate funds toward, Dogs on Deployment is run by a Navy LT and a Marine CAPT and have a solid mission.

http://dogsondeployment.org/

 

[zippy]

Hi All,

Sam @Sandboxx here - curious if our app could be helpful for Navy OCS.

What is Sandboxx? We are a mobile app company who's mission is to better connect our military community. We have started with connecting today's smart phone users with their loved ones while they are away from their phone, such as basic training and OCS environments. The app lets you write a letter from your phone. We then turn it into a physical letter and send it same day. Best thing about the letters is that we include a pre-stamped and addressed return envelope and writing paper with every letter you send. All the recipient needs is a pen or pencil to return the letter. I will put a video link below.

We are sending 100's of letters each week to USMC OCS and we have started to get questions regarding if Sandboxx would work for Navy OCS. We think so, but we wanted to ask some pros who know Navy OCS better than we do. We also had a few 100 letters go to the Naval Academy during their plebe summer two months ago, so we know the cadets liked it.

Thanks for the support and helping us with this. I also attached a PDF so you can get a better view of how it works best.

Link to the Sandboxx Letters video:

Link to download the app: https://www.sandboxx.us/app

Regards,

Sam

This would be a cool app for deployments. Especially for the VP gang who often det out to random (sometimes 3rd world) countries where there's no big US presence (and postal system) but you have a smart phone and wifi.

 

[Scaevola]

I recently completed OCS and wish I'd known about this service before I left. My wife works full time and was also taking care of our two-year-old at home by herself, so being able to write letters from her phone while on the go would have been much easier for her than traditional snail mail. The photo feature is a really nice touch; we are so used to viewing and sharing photos digitally that we don't even own a color printer anymore. And the pre-addressed return envelope would be one less excuse to procrastinate on writing back home!

You may already know this, but OCS students are (by and large) allowed to have their phones for the last three and a half weeks of the 12-week training. If you were thinking of marketing a specific package or message for that audience it might be worth taking that into account.

 

[Sandboxx]

Um…you need a smartphone to write and send a letter? Something here I obviously don't understand, which is increasingly the norm...

Nothing will ever replace a handwritten letter. We just want to make it easy for those on the go.

 

[Sandboxx]

I recently completed OCS and wish I'd known about this service before I left. My wife works full time and was also taking care of our two-year-old at home by herself, so being able to write letters from her phone while on the go would have been much easier for her than traditional snail mail. The photo feature is a really nice touch; we are so used to viewing and sharing photos digitally that we don't even own a color printer anymore. And the pre-addressed return envelope would be one less excuse to procrastinate on writing back home!

You may already know this, but OCS students are (by and large) allowed to have their phones for the last three and a half weeks of the 12-week training. If you were thinking of marketing a specific package or message for that audience it might be worth taking that into account.

Ah! We wish you did. What do you think would be the best way to share Sandboxx as a resource with those who are heading to OCS and the loved ones around them?

 

[Scaevola]

Ah! We wish you did. What do you think would be the best way to share Sandboxx as a resource with those who are heading to OCS and the loved ones around them?

That's an interesting challenge. My OCS class came from all over the country with vastly different experiences before showing up. Some did a lot of research before showing up, and others none at all. Only a small fraction even found this site despite the wealth of information available.

Maybe you could buy some Google keywords like 'Navy OCS' - not seeing any ads there right now, so even a cheap bid should get you some impressions. There might be a way to target via Facebook for people who self-identify that they're officer candidates at US Navy. If you can get a couple people interested, it should spread by word of mouth among students and their families. Seems pretty common for moms/spouses of students to find each other on social media and begin networking.

 

[kjsupply05]

This is pretty awesome! Downloaded it today and told all of my family members to get it too! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Renegade One]

Nothing will ever replace a handwritten letter.

This. No one, certainly no SO worthy of the name, should be so "on the go" as to be unable to pen a few lines by hand every couple of days. Add to that, I never saved a machine-prepared letter. I saved every nicely scented letter I ever got while in AOCS or on deployment.

I do "roger up" to times changing. Oh, well.