Our story
In 2021 I got diagnosed cancer for the third time in my life. As I was heading for an intensive medical journey with amongst others things 18 chemo’s, I resigned as board member communication for the Dutch Foodbanks. A painful decision as my colleagues were very precious to me. I informed my network in the app daily about my medical as well as daily experiences and emotions. I received a lot of support in return from my family, friends and colleagues. It gave me the feeling I did not have to do it alone. A feeling I want everybody to have in times like these.
When my mother, Pien, was diagnosed with cancer, many thoughts crossed my mind. I did not have to go through the medical procedure myself. Fortunately and unfortunately because I would have done it with love for her if I could have. What I could do, was support her the best I can. Be there for her when necessary. But what is necessary? What kind of support did she need? Does she want to talk about her disease? As she gave regular short updates, I was always fully aware of her well-being. It was good to know when my help was wanted. And it’s that feeling that I want everybody to have in times like these.
Our mission
We want people and their loved ones to experience the connecting power of openness and emotional support during a medical or other health-related journey.
Why do we want this?
You have to go through a medical or health journey on your own. Since you are the one that undergoes the medical treatments. You must make the effort and must have the discipline to get better. You suffer the physical consequences of treatments.
But you are not alone. And you do not have to bear the emotional consequences on your own. Your dear ones sympathize. Experience learns that open communication enlightens the journey. Not only for yourself, but also for your dear ones. That’s why it’s our mission to have you experience this connecting power. We know what it brings and how valuable it can be.
Our core values
Openness
We believe that in this age of transparency openness is a condition for every organisation. It is for us anyway. We believe in the power of open communication. We will therefore be transparent about our goals, partners, salary policy and charity programs.
Truthful
Lots of research has been done about the healing aspects of positive psychology. At Stamps we stimulate our users to investigate positive elements during their journeys. Large or small.
We are aware that there will be difficult moments. We hope to motivate our users to communicate truthfully about their feelings and emotions.
Togetherness
Together we are stronger. By sharing experiences with your network, you will experience their support. Although you have to undergo your medical journey yourself, you don’t have to feel alone. Experience and research teach that openness connects.
Safety
We guarantee a safe environment in the app. Users can trust that they can share their experiences and emotions safely. It’s up to users who they invite to read their updates.
Our team
Tess van Logtestijn
Co-founder
Graduated in psychology and business economics. Has a passion for people, behaviour and preventive mental and physical health.
Pien de Ruig
Co-founder
Years of experience in marketing and communication at corporates, SME but also charity organizations. Working for charity gives her by far the most positive energy.
Jeroen, Nick en Christiaan
Tech-partners
Bytecode is our partner in the development of Stamps in the development of Stamps. With passion for technical and impact start-ups they assist us with all aspects of the app development.
Our social enterprise
We want Stamps to become a social enterprise. Our main goal is to create impact. We want as many people as possible to receive emotional support during a medical journey. We will do this in two different ways: by the opportunities offered by the app as well as by our charity policy.
On the website code for social entreprise you will find details about this company structure and its conditions.
The app Stamps will be free for all users.
To enable the continuity of the app, we need an income. Therefore, we facilitate in app shopping. You can order postcards, flowers or a little present in the app. A percentage of 6-10% of the purchase amount will be for Stamps. For us, this is a win-win situation. As the post cards directly lead to more support for the people that deserve it. And it facilitates us to develop Stamps further. We hope that in time, this will generate enough income to finance costs of app development, maintenance and coordination. If you want to contribute to the development and much more already, we are helped a lot with a donation.
Our charity policy
What counts most for us is, impact first. We are a social enterprise. All our profits will be invested in our users. By doing so, we'll contribute to our mission. We will invest in the development of our app. Development will be based on the input of our users - their wishes will be leading.
But we would like to offer something extra to patients using our app. Something that supports them as well, emotionally. We already have a lot of ideas, such as sponsored offers (magazines, massages etc), or perhaps a buddy system.
We will decide what way is best together with our users and partners. They most likely have even more experience and ideas.
