Deliver a Valentine’s Day voicemail

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Brandon Garavet, a recent college graduate of Caroll University in Waukesha, has launched Say Greetings, an interactive online greeting card alternative that allows users to select pre-recorded or record customized phone greeting messages that will get sent to a designated phone number.
“My background is in the telephony business,” Garavet said. “A friend and I came up with this idea to create a greeting card message platform. We wanted to provide people the opportunity to send and receive a more convenient, fun and interactive greeting alternative to the traditional card or e-card.”
Users can select a series of pre-recorded greetings for any holiday or they can record and customize a greeting of their own, Garavet said.
Once a message is selected and a telephone number or numbers is entered, the Say Greetings interface will call the number on the designated delivery date and attempt to deliver the message, Garavet said.
“If the indidviaul doesn’t answer, our system will automatically try to redeliver the message later.”
Individuals who see the caller ID number can also call back and hear their message that way, they can also log online to see who sent them the greeting and sign in to send greetings of their own, he said.
“There is no other company out there that targets this type of end user,” he said. “Say Greetings allows a person to record a message and layer background music on it as well. They can then select up to five people to send it to for one price.”
Users can log on to www.saygreetings.com and set up a profile, Garavet said. From there they can purchase a credit package. Each pre-recorded message costs a specified amount of credits, and personalized messages can be recorded for additional credits.
“We really see exponential growth opportunities with this product,” he said. “It can be used beyond greeting card occasions to send out mass announcements to group members, employees and committees.”
Garavet also hopes to be able to add pre-recorded messages from familiar celebrity voices that can be sent as Say Greetings.
 “We want to keep this as simple as possible, so users of all ages and technology experience can effectively and efficiently utilize the product,” Garavet said.
Say Greetings is also in the process of developing mobile applications for iPhone and Android platforms.
The website, www.saygreetings.com will store personalized messages and account activity, Garavet said.
To try out Say Greetings for yourself BizTimes readers can enter the code BIZTIMES on the website to receive one free greeting between Monday, Feb. 14 and Monday,  Feb. 21. Those interested can also ‘like’ Say Greetings on Facebook or follow them on Twitter to be eligible for a grand prize drawing of a year’s supply of Say Greetings or a $75 gift card to FTD.com. Winners for the prize packages will be selected on Sunday, Feb. 13.