🔊 Press To Play (The Origin Story)

Welcome to Press To Play!
I’m Geoffrey Stern, the Founder of VoiceGift, and I’m excited to share a little bit about myself and the origins of our company.

My dad had a company that made floral ribbon, and I think I inherited from him a love of producing things. Learning about his business, I developed an appreciation for using a gift—or the gesture of tying a bow on a bouquet—as a way of expressing thoughts and emotions.

It occurred to me that when flowers are exchanged, or we spend time wrapping a present, crafting a gift, or preparing a tin of brownies, we’re investing a part of ourselves in a relationship and capturing the emotions of the moment.

It’s also an invitation to interact. The ribbon gets tied by the gift-giver and invites the recipient to untie it.

After graduating college and looking to start a business, I stumbled upon early versions of voice-recording chips and electronics. In every culture, there’s a variation on the idea that when it comes to a gift, it’s the thought that counts.

I figured that if a gift-giver could record the thought behind their gift and have it delivered with the gift, the recipient would feel that connection every time they pressed the button and heard that familiar voice.

I had found my ribbon!

As a young entrepreneur, I knew I needed to prove my concept. Beanie Babies were the hot toy in the late ’90s, and people were collecting and gifting them in high volumes. So, I found suppliers for both the voice recorder electronics and a plush teddy bear with a Velcro pocket for the recorder.

Since the idea was to engage as many senses as possible, I thought that maybe the sound of a familiar voice and the touch of a soft plush would be further enhanced with a T-shirt that could be printed with a photo. Sound, touch, and sight.

It wasn’t easy to find teddy-size T-shirts, but when I did and shared a sample of my recordable bear, the supplier called back a few days later with his quote—and a question.

He wanted to know if he could share my “Talking Teddy” with another customer.

After agreeing, I got a call from Maxine Clark, the founder of Build-A-Bear Workshop, who at that time was a fellow entrepreneur with a single pilot store.

With trepidation in her voice, she asked me if she could just purchase the voice recorder. Without hesitation, I said yes—and the rest is history.

Since that time, I’ve produced over 60 million Sounds for Build-A-Bear Workshop, putting an equal number of smiles (and sometimes tears of joy) on the faces of their customers, young and old.

During that time, our recorders have delivered thousands of proposals and saved countless last-messages transferred from answering machines or smartphones.

Our company remains the exclusive provider of Sounds to this amazing retailer, which has invented a new concept called retail-tainment—combining shopping with emotional engagement and expression.

For 20 years, I’ve had a front-row seat as a partner with a company that created a new gift category—and is now selling Build-A-Bears to parents who were given them as kids.

The most important thing I learned was the power of a familiar voice to bring people together, even when they are apart, and to trigger emotions and memories.

During COVID, I started receiving calls from assisted-living homes where grandparents were craving to hear the sounds of their children’s and grandchildren’s voices—and vice versa.

I shared these calls with my daughter, who had experience in the direct-to-consumer world. She told me that I had to offer my products online. She also suggested that the power of voice transcended just stuffed animals, and that I should create products that, no matter what the occasion or season, would let gift-givers and DIYers express themselves through voice.

I had never sold retail—always staying behind the scenes, supplying other companies. I was both reluctant and exhilarated.

I told her I would only take this step if she joined me and we created a brand together. Abigail said yes, and VoiceGift was born.

Stay tuned for stories, inspiration, and behind-the-scenes looks at how voice, emotion, and memory come together to make every moment speak.