ABOUT US
Who We Are
Our Backstory
WHAT WE DO
Kontji, Aurora and Johnita share the same parents, John and Doris Anthony. Kontji and Tai became fast friends over a winner, winner chicken dinner in 2013. Kontji, then a TV news anchor, was emceeing an event and Tai, then a Congressional aide, was sitting in for the congressman at said event.
Aurora and Johnita worked side-by-side under the tutelage of their father, John Anthony, in the male-dominated New York City-area food and beverage industry. They're still best friends, even after working in the same office for more than 20 years.
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Chief Executive Officer Kontji Anthony is certified in Community Building and Google Analytics, she’s a Level 8 Google Community Guide, a 2016 Yelp ACRONYM app consultant and was recently honored by the Tennessee Legislature for her 28-year award-winning TV news broadcasting career. The Howard University graduate holds Columbia Business School Executive program certifications in digital marketing and leadership.
Chief Operating Officer Johnita Anthony is a 20-year entrepreneur who managed the financials for the family business. She is a Goldman Sachs 10k Small Business Cohort XIX, a community advocate and an Emory University graduate.
Chief Experience Officer Aurora Anthony is a 27-year entrepreneur who managed inventory and logistics for major nationwide manufacturers for the family business. She is a University of Massachusetts at Amherst graduate.
Chief Product Officer Taiwo "Tai" Stanback is a native Memphian with Silicon Valley BizOps experience at Instacart and Robby Technologies. She is a Yale University graduate.
WHAT WE DO
Our Backstory
WHAT WE DO
Youdle's mission is to activate local communities to share collective information to run happier, safer and more economically efficient homes.
Our Youdle concept is currently helping mothers find formula for their babies. Youdle stands for You + Data, Location, and Engagement. Our software engineers are currently developing our social shopping search engine to be released in the fall of 2022.
The platform allows Youdle "Scouts" to crowdsource real-time "shelfie" photos of products now in stock. These shelfies help shoppers locate hard-to-find products that are either on store shelves now or currently in stock online. Retailers can also feed the search engine with their own shelfies and links to products they're selling.
After launching a test web search tool, and then a mobile app, the team has collected data from shopper and retailer discovery to build the upcoming web platform.
Memphis will serve as a test city before the platform is launched nationwide.
Youdle activates collaboration between shoppers, small businesses, brands and retailers to match people with the products they want to buy.
Not only does Youdle help shoppers locate in-stock products, the search engine allows retailers to showcase what they're selling, which serves as a catalyst to rebuilding Main Street America by encouraging communities to shop local.
Our Backstory
Our Backstory
Our Backstory
In 1963, John Anthony founded a New York City-area commercial kitchen service company. Over a span of 54 years, he put his four daughters through college starting his workdays at 3 a.m. and returning home the next day at 8 p.m. His company's top pain point was locating parts, which often brought jobs to a screeching halt. That single problem stole precious time he could have spent with his family.
Fast forward to 2020, when the pandemic hit, and the same type of supply chain problems became amplified across the world with everyday people desperate to protect our families. Our world felt the sting of not knowing where we could find essential products in stock.
In March 2020, John's daughter, Kontji, learned from her sister, Aurora, that their hometown shelves were empty in New Rochelle, New York. After Kontji mailed a care package to Aurora, she launched a Facebook group called "Pandemic Product Sightings" in the city where she now lives, Memphis, Tennessee. The goal: for Memphians to crowdsource photos of essential products currently in stock, to alert people where the product was located so they could protect their families.
Within weeks, a third Anthony sister, Johnita, jumped in to help with growing demand in the group. During the pandemic, Memphians turned to one another in their hunt for life-saving products and the Facebook group became a village in one of the most generous cities in America.
As the private, word-of-mouth group evolved to 34,000 Memphians, and group needs expanded beyond pandemic products, longtime family friend Tai Stanback joined the team in August 2020.
In 2021, the sisters and Tai changed the name of the concept from Product Sightings to Youdle (YOU + Data, Location, Engagement).