Our journey with YAY began in 2016, when our Advent baby was born. We were looking for a way to capture memories with a clear thread. Instead of endless photos, we wanted to write down vivid everyday stories – memories that would still tell a connected story years later.

Soon we realized: many families and people in special life moments shared this heartfelt wish.

That’s how YAY was born – from a spark that still shines today. In a world full of fleeting smartphone moments, we want to contribute to lasting memory happiness.

Milestones in our company history

2016

In parallel to our first child, an idea is born: Creating a solution for remembering the most emotional memories in 30 years.

2017

We launch the first version of our product. Our first client is a mom from Berlin!

2018

We launch our photo book software to enable all parents to print their pictures, videos and stories with some clicks in the most beautiful way.

2019

We develop a bunch of new features. Use can now filter their diary entry and photo book by child and time period. At the end of a year, we realize a huge internal process: We rebrand as YAY. After all, our online diary is about keeping our customers’ eyes on the YAY moments in life.

2020

Due to the worldwide pandemic, parents looked for possibilities for processing their new everyday life, and preventing grandparents from isolation through shared everyday stories. Many families used YAY to write Corona diaries.

We had the honor to talk about YAY strengthening parents' mental health during these hard times in 2 TV shows and a radio show!

2021

Our founder Imme got the honor to speak about the emotional connections of meaningful memories at TEDx.

In her talk „Stories Behind Pictures“, she evolves the idea of bringing generations together by refocusing on the written word. Watch it here and get away forever from memories you forgot instead of saving them for your child!

Since 2022

YAY is now also available for B2B partners who want to turn their customers’ photos into beautiful printed photobooks — fully automated.
This includes wedding apps with QR-based photo sharing and event platforms that want to offer their users more than a purely digital experience.

From print integration to curated photobooks, we support you as your fulfillment partner every step of the way.
If you’re interested, visit yayphotobooks.com.

A heartfelt THANK YOU to all families, world travelers, memoir writers, and partners.

Imme & Philipp

Join our mission

Our customers are convinced:

A journal is a great way to practice gratitude. It also is a way to make sure, their children will always know how much they loved them.

Are you a memory lover, too?

Join our mission