Shelf is a social network built on the media you consume

Social media has become increasingly homogenous, presenting everything from text to short videos across platforms where algorithms often overshadow your creativity. In this ubiquitous environment, it’s harder than ever to get a true sense of someone’s vibe before deciding to follow them.

Enter Shelf, an app that lets you create a personalized “store” of your media habits, then connect with others based on the movies, shows, books, games, and music they consume. It also lets you track your progress as you read your favorite book or watch a popular show.

“If you look at the culture on the internet, it’s moving away from posting selfies to what I’m reading, what I’m watching, screenshots of my movie reviews, etc. It’s basically about getting to know a person on a deeper level, trying to understand what they’re into… that’s what Shelf is all about,” Jad Esber, co-founder and CEO of Koodos Labs, the startup behind Shelf, said in an interview.

Esber grew up writing poetry anonymously online, then spent the early years of his YouTube career in London from 2015 to 2018. During that time, he worked on the creator side of the Google subsidiary, helping people create content, grow their audiences and monetize their work. It was during this time that YouTube expanded its creator ecosystem into various emerging markets outside the U.S.

After spending more than three years at Google, the Cambridge University MA graduate returned to academia, joining Harvard University to research online consumer trends and study the Internet academically. This ultimately helped him develop the Shelf concept in a market full of social media apps with millions and billions of users.

“We built many, many products,” Esber told TechCrunch. “They all failed until Shelf, and Shelf came out of those experiences.”

How does it work?

The Shelf app, available for iOS and Android, lets you connect your media accounts, including Apple Music, Goodreads, Netflix, Spotify, and YouTube, and then creates a customizable “storefront” website that updates automatically based on your consumption progress. You can also manually add links to any other online service to your virtual shelf—even links to your favorite TechCrunch articles, which you can then showcase to your followers.

The New York-based startup also plans to expand the list of services it supports, including gaming platform Steam.

“(A)s humans and as people online, we’re very multi-dimensional. We’re not just interested in music, movies, shows, all of those things. Adding support for certain categories will broaden the user base, but at the same time deepen the use case for existing users,” Esber said.

You can choose the URL for your digital shelf based on your preferences. Likewise, the app lets you customize the interface by changing the background color and moving elements to suit your taste.

Koodos plans to monetize Shelf by offering new customization options. Esber told TechCrunch that he may also explore monetization insights that the app reveals.

Unlike apps that call for data through APIs, Shelf works independently of whether the platform has its own API. Typically, when users select an external service like Spotify or Apple Music from the Shelf UI, they are logged in (either through a redirect to that app or through a pop-up screen). Once a user is logged in, Esber can pull all of that user’s media consumption information directly from the app.

Esber also said the startup does not use the data that Shelf pulls from its in-app service user list to train its AI, which has become common practice on online platforms these days.

Data sharing is handled by a technology called DataMovers, and Koodos is partnering with other apps to extend the solution (though Esber didn’t say which ones). He compares DataMover to fintech data transfer network Plaid.

“Just like with Plaid, we’re enabling users to access their data across other apps as well,” he said.

Private Testing Experience

In addition to allowing users to create their own publicly accessible storefronts, Shelf has begun testing a private version for some users who only want to track their own media usage without sharing that information with others.

“We’re going to be a fun tool that everyone can use for a long time. Everyone has a bookshelf in their living room or at home. So why can’t everyone have a Shelf?” Esber said.

Launched publicly this summer after beta testing late last year, the Shelf app has added half a billion items to its shelves by its users. Esber declined to say how many users there are, but said the app’s shelf count is growing by 40% month over month, with users visiting the Shelf app an average of five times a week to check or update their digital shelves or keep up with others’ shelves.

Koodos has raised a total of $7 million from investors including First Round Capital, M13, Blockchain Capital, and IDEO, as well as founders of companies including Zynga and VSCO. The group also includes Pinterest co-founder Evan Sharp, Dubsmash co-founder (now Reddit vice president) Suchit Dash, and Harvard market design pioneers John Deighton and Scott Kominers.